All-Star Cheer Shoes

[New2CheerMom]

Hi all! New to cheer and wanted recommendations on where to buy cheer shoes and what brand. We are getting shoes from the gym for competitions but wanted a pair for practices. They are both young and outgrow shoes fast so don't want a pair that costs a lot but also don't want them to fall apart in six months. Do you recommend only using the shoes we buy from the gym? Thank you!

 

[cac4life]

Hi all! New to cheer and wanted recommendations on where to buy cheer shoes and what brand. We are getting shoes from the gym for competitions but wanted a pair for practices. They are both young and outgrow shoes fast so don't want a pair that costs a lot but also don't want them to fall apart in six months. Do you recommend only using the shoes we buy from the gym? Thank you!

Hey! if they are getting shoes through the gym, and if you want another pair, I recommend buying the same shoes that they will compete in for practice so that they get used to that type of shoe. I've always just used the same pair for comps and practices, and needed new shoes at the beginning of every season and sometimes in the middle of the season.
Now for shoes, I personally like, as a flyer I've always loved the nfinity flights. I also have ankle issues so I liked the nfinity high tops. I also like the varsity ascends. warning about those, when u 1st get them the heel feels so low, and like the shoe will slip off your foot. It won't! U just have to break them in and this feeling goes away. My gym is getting rebel shoes this year, so we will see if i like those!

 

[New2CheerMom]

Hey! if they are getting shoes through the gym, and if you want another pair, I recommend buying the same shoes that they will compete in for practice so that they get used to that type of shoe. I've always just used the same pair for comps and practices, and needed new shoes at the beginning of every season and sometimes in the middle of the season.
Now for shoes, I personally like, as a flyer I've always loved the nfinity flights. I also have ankle issues so I liked the nfinity high tops. I also like the varsity ascends. warning about those, when u 1st get them the heel feels so low, and like the shoe will slip off your foot. It won't! U just have to break them in and this feeling goes away. My gym is getting rebel shoes this year, so we will see if i like those!

Thanks so much!

 

[NJ Coach]

Hi all! New to cheer and wanted recommendations on where to buy cheer shoes and what brand. We are getting shoes from the gym for competitions but wanted a pair for practices. They are both young and outgrow shoes fast so don't want a pair that costs a lot but also don't want them to fall apart in six months. Do you recommend only using the shoes we buy from the gym? Thank you!

It depends really. You said they are young and you are new to cheer, so I'm going to assume they are on a lower level, lower age team. You should be ok getting a "cheaper" pair of practice shoes, though I would recommend getting ones as close to their competition style shoes as possible. If they were older/higher level, I wouldn't suggest getting a second pair at all until their original pair breaks down. As they get older and move up through the levels, they're going to want to use the shoes that are broken in and that they have practiced in.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Confession:

This is going to sound cheap of me but for "new to cheer" littles who are not really tumbling I always recommend the Target brand ones or Apex via OmniCheer. Kids regularly decide not to continue with an activity after one season so I am hesitant to suggest a $100 shoe.

And once you spring for the higher end brand shoes - one pair only. I always wore mine down to falling apart before buying new ones. It's a sad day when you HAVE to retire your most broken-in pair. I am a high top Reebok era dinosaur though so I have very little input on what wearing a lot of these newer brands feels like.

 

[retiredl5cheer]

Confession:

This is going to sound cheap of me but for "new to cheer" littles who are not really tumbling I always recommend the Target brand ones or Apex via OmniCheer. Kids regularly decide not to continue with an activity after one season so I am hesitant to suggest a $100 shoe.

And once you spring for the higher end brand shoes - one pair only. I always wore mine down to falling apart before buying new ones. It's a sad day when you HAVE to retire your most broken-in pair. I am a high top Reebok era dinosaur though so I have very little input on what wearing a lot of these newer brands feels like.

I second this. Most of my minis wore the Target sneakers and they were great.

 

[catlady]

Also, you can often find new open box, slightly blemished, or those "my kid didn't like" or "my kid just quit" barely used shoes on ebay at a fraction of the cost. I don't know if my kids were typical, or not, but both of them said every shoe felt very different and they stuck with the same Nfinity shoe their entire cheer years. Oldest's favorite shoes were discontinued, she couldn't find a new style she liked and I found four pair (enough to get her through her cheer years) at 60% off on ebay. I never bought a used pair, but it was always worth a look before buying full price.

 

[DonnaM]

I second this. Most of my minis wore the Target sneakers and they were great.

Mine wore the target shoes for rec until a friend passed down a "they don't feel right" set of Nfinity evolutions. After that, cheap just didn't work.