Basketball is a sport of continuous action for which a player must adopt the best shoes which stay with him to perform well on the court.
However, when it comes to basketball shoes, every player prefers such shoes, which provide a fine grip and traction.
Besides, players love the sound of yelping of these shoes on the wooden surface of the court. Thus, grip is a substantially significant aspect of basketball shoes that should never be neglected.
No matter which surface you’re playing on, if your shoe grip is not good, it won’t allow you to move, run, and act well while playing, which would eventually impact your execution.
If your basketball shoes provide you with pronounced grip, they will help you make rapid turns and moves, and you can change your direction more effortlessly while playing.
However, on the other hand, if you don’t get an adequate grip on your shoes, then your performance may suffer, and it may lead you to falls and injuries.
In today’s article, I have discussed various quick tricks to get a grip on basketball shoes so that your performance does not lack in any way and you stand out on the court.
How to Get Grip on Basketball Shoes?
Keep the Court Surface Clean
Usually, basketball shoes start losing their grip because of the dust and dirt on the court surface. If the court floor is not cleaned regularly, a layer of dirt starts remaining on it, due to which the shoes lose their traction.
However, if you feel a lack of shoe grip on the court surface, allot cleaning responsibility to some people. The court floor can be cleaned in several methods.
The first method is to mop the court. You can wipe a mopping cloth on the surface, either dry or wet. If you clean the floor with a dry cloth, it would only remove dry dust and dirt.
However, after dry mopping, clean the surface with a wet cloth, clean it from the depth and leave no dust particles.
Once you have mopped the ground with wet clothing, let it dry. Playing on a wet floor can cause slipping and lead to several injuries.
Clean your Basketball Shoes
Most of the time, it happens that the court floor is cleaned, but still, you lack grip with your shoes. It is because your shoes need to be cleaned.
You can clean your shoes by wiping off the dust with a piece of cloth. If dust is collected on your shoe’s outsole, it may lack traction and affect your performance.
Assure that you clean your outsole every time before starting playing the game. If your shoes are intended for indoor use only, you should not wear them outside. This can make your shoes filthy and lose grip.
However, you can simply clean your shoes by constantly wiping their outsole before every play. For this purpose, you can wipe a damp cloth on its outsole to clean it deeply.
Fix your Shoe Grip
You may sometimes find that your shoe is losing grip while playing the game. However, if it happens, some players instantly damp their outsole of shoes either by wiping them down with a moist cloth or by wetting them with saliva.
Besides, some players wet their hands with water and get it through their shoe sole. Moistening the shoes’ outer sole helps them a lot in fixing the grip in the middle of the game.
Use Grip Lotion on Shoe Sole
If nothing works with the loss of grip, you can simply pick some shoe enhancers such as grip gel or lotions. You can apply these enhancers by simply sitting down and apply them to your shoe.
Once you have applied it to your shoes, wait until it dries. After applying and drying the grip lotion on the sole of the shoes, you would find its grip improved.
However, the effect of the grip gel isn’t long-lasting; you can apply it again on your shoes in the middle of the game for sustained performance. But don’t forget to dry the lotion before start playing.
Since it is in the gel form, so it may attract dirt faster. No doubt that grip enhancers help you get an ideal grip on the basketball shoes, but they attract dirt particles simultaneously, which ultimately leave your shoes slippery.
Use Shoe Grip Mat
Most league players use mats that are specifically made to sustain the grip of their basketball shoes. These mats help in cleaning your shoes instantly by dragging them onto the mat.
You can easily do this if you feel that your shoes lack traction while playing the game; just stand on the mat and rub your shoes to clean them. You would get dirt-free shoes within few seconds.
You can frequently use this mat in the middle of the game whenever you feel less traction in your shoes.
Replace Old Shoe Sole
If you feel that none of the methods is working our whatever you do, just replace your old outer soles with the new ones. This method is perfect for those who don’t want to spend a lot of money buying new shoes.
Just change the soles of your shoes and replace them with the new ones; the grip of your shoes would become as enhanced as new shoes.
Other than that, keep a slip grip spray to bring traction to your shoes. You can directly spray the whole outsole of your shoes, and you would find grip.
Verdict
I have seen many players instantly discard their shoes because of a lack of grip on them. Well, in my opinion, doing this is wrong. They must try some methods before disposing of their shoes.
As it is a very common issue on the court that your shoes sometimes lose traction, it doesn’t mean to waste the old ones and buy a new pair.
I hope the tricks and hacks I have discussed in the article help you significantly to get a grip on your shoes.