Right Shoes For The Right Sport
Tips When Buying Shoes

I have lost count of the number of times I had to remind sportsmen to put on proper shoes for training, and whenever I see players running about in their canvas shoes and slipping around, or not being able to make sudden stops and turn, I always wonder how a proper pair of court shoes would probably do wonders to their performances.

It is also the reason why they would eventually suffer from sprained ankles, painful knees or even pulled muscles because of the lack of proper foot support.

We use our legs and feet everyday, hence we ought to be taking better care of our precious limbs. The last thing any sportsmen would want is to be unable to participate in competitions due to injuries which can be prevented beforehand.

Eviscom Pte Ltd
Brands available: Fatpipe
Contact person: Juha
Address: 38A Jalan Pemimpin, #04-01, Wisdom Industrial Building, Singapore 577179
Mobile: 90251604
Website: Eviscom Facebook Page

Tiasa Pte Ltd
Brands available: Exel, Unihoc, Canadien, Zone
Address: 26 & 28 Jalan Benaan Kapal, Singapore 399630
Telephone: 64406045
Website: http://www.valhall.com.sg/

Naz Sports Unlimited
Brands available: Salming, Kronstrand, X3M
Contact person: Ngasti
Address: 53 Ubi Ave 1, #02-52D, Paya Ubi Industrial Park, Singapore 408934
Mobile: 97503954
Email: sales@salmingsingapore.com
Website: http://www.salmingsingapore.com/

Accarat Sports
Brands available: Blast
Contact person: Gary Huang
Address: Smash Sports East Point Mall #02-57 or Hello Sports Pte Ltd Queensway Shopping Centre #02-01 or 2 FLY 2000 Sports Pte Ltd Tampines Sports Hall 495 Tampines Ave 5
Moblie: 97435576
Email: accaratsports@hotmail.com
Website: Accarat Facebook Page

We have no affiliations to any of the above distributors at this moment of posting. Although efforts have been made to obtain the most recent details, we shall not be held responsible for the accuracy of the information found above. Any dealings which you have with any third parties listed here is solely between you and the person with whom you are dealing. We shall not be liable for any disputes arising from any such dealings.

Kindly do your research before committing to any monetary agreement.

This post has been updated on 3 February 2012.

Unihoc
Exel
Canadien
Zone
Fatpipe
Salming
X3M
Blast
Kronstrand
Karhu

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are probably numerous floorball equipment manufacturers in the world but only equipment bearing the IFF Certified Equipment mark are allowed for use in official competitions.

SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden is the appointed certification body by IFF to certify the technical requirements of floorball products.

The three most important factors to consider when choosing a pair of court shoes are purpose, comfort and support.

Purpose:
A pair of shoes made for badminton is different from another pair which is made for volleyball. With advances in technology, there is an increasingly number of shoes being designed for specific sporting purposes. You do not wear soccer boots to play floorball because it is just not made for that purpose. Similarly, not every court shoes are suitable to floorball. There are floorball shoes available in the market, but being somewhat of a niche sport at the moment, you will not be able to find much options.

However, if you analyze floorball movements, you will find it very similar to tennis and handball, even though all three are very different sports. You will require surface grip for quick acceleration and the ability to change direction suddenly without having to slow down or be commonly seen to ‘slide’ to a stop.

Therefore, the most important issue here is grip, and tennis shoes comes out tops.

Comfort:
A pair of comfortable shoes will do your physical well-being a lot of good because at the end of the day, you would rather have floorball training to kill you, and not perish under your own pair of shoes.

The shoes should provide sufficient cushion on the inside, and have good impact absorption capabilities. Research have shown that sprinting creates an impact ten times your body weight with the ground every time you land, and a well-cushioned pair of shoes will ensure that you do not go home with your feet battered. In addition, with the amount of running that you will do, blisters will be the last thing on your mind.

Support:
This is important because direction changes and sudden stops are frequent movements in floorball. A pair of shoes which provide ample support to your ankle when laced tightly, will prevent cases of ankle sprains, however minor they may be. It will ensure that your feet remains firmly in place within the shoes and prevent your joints from giving way.

Having analyzed thoroughly one of the most important equipment for floorball, there are many young people who are still running around in street soccer shoes. These are not exactly suitable because they are built in such a way that you can feel the soccer ball with your feet, which means they have less or minimal cushioning. More often than not, the soles of these shoes are also too thin to provide effective absorption. It is true that street soccer players sprint as well, but in order to play well, they need to feel the ball, and something else have to be compromised. However, there is no such problem with floorball.

I have some recommendations where shoes are concerned.

The list is of course, not exhaustive. Besides being suited for tennis, handball and floorball, the other common factor is cost. All these shoes are expensive.

Cost is something that weighs significantly, especially on young people, which makes for better understanding when they opt for another option over the correct pair of shoes. This is an issue which cannot be addressed in the school context, and henceforth unavoidable. The design of the shoes is another major consideration for fashionable young people.

Nevertheless, let this information remain with you, so that you may be able to pursue floorball healthily when you have the financial capability.

When it comes to selecting a stick there are several factors that should be taken into account. The flexibility or stiffness, weight, length of the stick, shape of the grip, shape of the shaft and type of blade.

Flexibility:
The sticks flexibility/stiffness is commonly listed in millimeters on the handle of the stick. The smaller the number, the less flexible the stick. Beginners usually start off with sticks of a higher flex. As the player advances in skill and strength, he may prefer a stiffer stick for greater power.

Weight:
The weight of floorball stick varies slightly depending on the model. Naturally most players prefer a lighter stick in comparison to a heavier one for comfort reasons. The benefits of a lighter stick include the possible ability to handle the ball at greater speed, but a heavier stick can act as a counter weight and therefore increase the speed when shooting the ball.

Length:
The length of the stick varies according to player preference. It is measured from the floor up to your bellybutton with the blade included. The maximum length allowed by IFF is 1120 mm. There is no need to say that a shorter stick will give player better ball control as it brings the ball closer to you. The down side will be when you are struggling for a ball together with a rival player usually longer stick will benefit. A stick which is too long will result in bad posture and difficulty in controlling the ball.

Grip:
The grip of the stick shaft can be round, dual, square, oval, hexagonal and octahedral. There are accessories in the market which can modify a stick with a round shaft into one with an oval grip. It all comes down to personal preferences and can only be best decided by playing with or trying out a few different ones prior to purchase.

Shaft:
There used to be only straight round shafts in the market, until technology created shafts with half bubbles, full bubbles, curves and bows. The structure of each shaft affects the flexibility of the stick and angle of the blade, so unless one is really comfortable with a particular type, the advice is to stick to a straight shaft and try out the different variety as the player progresses in skill and experience.

Blade:
The blade of the stick can be made of either a hard or soft plastic material. A harder blade enables to make quicker passes and to take quicker shots, while a soft one will assist with ball control. A hot air gun can be used to heat the blade so that you can reshape it. There are many models of blades in the market, but take note that the blade and shaft are certified as a single equipment, so interchanging blades between sticks of different brands is illegal.

To sum it up, beginners usually are suited to sticks which are flexible and for general play. Only when the basic skills are mastered, should the player try out the different options of sticks available. Do not be deceived by cost. A more expensive stick does not necessarily translate into better playing skills, if one does not know how the benefits are derived.

The design for the jersey has been finalized and sent for printing. The colours will be navy blue and red with white print. Each jersey is personalized with the player’s name and number and it will be expected to be a trademark for the CCA. Black socks are included, and shorts will be a consideration in the near future.

This design is jointly deliberated upon and contributed by Mr Han and Miss Chern.

Some of the factors taken into the design and selection of jersey include:

• Cost
  Each jersey cost $15, as compared to a branded jersey which costs much more. With low cost, we can afford to have home and away colours. In addition, players do not have to pay for the jersey as the budget is sufficient enough to cover the entire expenditure.
• Practicality
  These jerseys can be used for all competitions besides the inter-school tournaments. Subsequent batches will use the same jersey design in order to save money in the long run.
• Replacability
  In the event of damage or loss, the jersey can be reprinted as the material used is not unique.
• Renewability
  With available numbers from 1 to 99, all players can select a unique number, and have the jersey printed with his name at the back. This means that there will not be any clashes and all jerseys will be uniform.

Do take care of your jersey and wear the name of Catholic High School proudly!