Shin Guards
Franklin Shin Guards Review: A Season of Sunday League Use
Two years in the bag, about thirty games a season, and one honest note about a size chart that is aimed at kids.
Two years, one pair of Franklin Sports Superlight shin guards, and the end of the Sunday morning bruise ritual. Notes from a 48-year-old center midfielder who plays twice a week and would like to keep doing it.
Two years in the bag, about thirty games a season, and one honest note about a size chart that is aimed at kids.
Two years in the Franklin Sports Superlight guards, three games in a borrowed adidas Tiro pair, and one honest answer about which one suits a 48-year-old who plays twice a week.
Twenty years of Sunday league, one pair of slip-in shin guards, and a bag that lives in a work truck. Here is the honest list.
Two years, one pair of Franklin Sports Superlight shin guards, and the end of the Sunday morning bruise ritual. Notes from a 48-year-old center midfielder who plays twice a week and would like to keep doing it.
Most shin guard problems start before the first tackle: the guard is the wrong length, the straps sit too low, or the whole thing slides under the sock. Here is how I check a pair before a Sunday game.
Two years, two pairs, and one set of straps that gave out before the shield did.
Six years, two braces, one right ankle. What held up, what wore out, and who this lace-up brace is actually for.
Six years in the lace-up brace, one month in the pull-on sleeve, and a plain answer about which one holds an ankle that has already been rolled.
Ten reasons a lace-up ankle brace has stayed in my bag for six years of Sunday league, from a 48-year-old center midfielder who is not finished yet.
Six years after a bad roll on wet grass, a 48-year-old weekend midfielder on the one piece of gear that goes on his right ankle before every game, and what he would tell you at his kitchen table.
Six years, one right ankle, and a lot of standing in parking lots fiddling with straps. Here is the order of operations that finally worked.
Six years of Sunday league on one braced ankle. What held up, what frayed, and the two minutes nobody warns you about.
Eighteen months, two pairs, a grass field on Sunday and a turf field on Wednesday. Here is what held up, what did not, and who these sleeves are actually for.
A weekend-league midfielder compares the calf sleeves he kept with the pair he returned, with notes on fit, staying put, and 18 months of wash cycles.
Ten reasons, from an over-40 midfielder who plays twice a week, plus the things I would skip.
One turf night a week, two pairs of compression sleeves, and 18 months of figuring out what actually helped.
The five-step pregame routine I actually run at 48, in the order I run it, and where the sleeves fit into it.
Eighteen months on two pairs, about 90 games, one turf night a week. What held up, what rolled down, and what these sleeves do not do.
Three years, one garage floor, and a hundred-plus Sunday games. What held up on the TRIGGERPOINT GRID 1.0, what hurt, and the ten minute routine I actually keep.
Three years of weekly use on a 13 inch GRID, and several years before that on a smooth roller that slowly went flat. Here is what actually changed.
Ten minutes in a San Antonio garage, twice a week, for three years. Here is what a foam roller actually does for a 48-year-old midfielder, and what it does not.
Three years, one garage floor, and the ten minutes that made Monday feel normal again.
The ten minutes I spend in my garage after a match, in the order I do it, plus the mistakes I made for years before I got the order right.
Three years of Sunday league and Wednesday turf pickup, and the roller is the only thing in the garage that has not worn out. Here is what it does, what it does not do, and who should buy something softer.
Five months, two leagues, one bad ankle. What the grip pads actually fix, and what they quietly stop doing by August.
Two layers, two jobs. After five months of wearing grip socks under my team socks on turf and grass, here is where each one actually earns its place.
Ten things that actually changed after five months of wearing grip socks under my team socks, from a 48-year-old midfielder who is not getting any faster.
Twenty minutes into a Wednesday pickup game on turf, my foot rotated inside a planted cleat. I blamed the cleats for two seasons. It was the sock.
Foot slide inside a cleat is usually a layer problem, not a lace problem. Five months of Sunday grass and Wednesday turf, and the setup that finally fixed it for me.
A rec-league midfielder's honest notes after five months in Yufree grip socks, including the fit issues, the tradeoffs, and who should skip them.
Two years in the bag, about thirty games a season, and one honest note about a size chart that is aimed at kids.
Two years, two pairs, and one set of straps that gave out before the shield did.
Six years, two braces, one right ankle. What held up, what wore out, and who this lace-up brace is actually for.
Six years of Sunday league on one braced ankle. What held up, what frayed, and the two minutes nobody warns you about.
Eighteen months, two pairs, a grass field on Sunday and a turf field on Wednesday. Here is what held up, what did not, and who these sleeves are actually for.
Eighteen months on two pairs, about 90 games, one turf night a week. What held up, what rolled down, and what these sleeves do not do.
Three years, one garage floor, and a hundred-plus Sunday games. What held up on the TRIGGERPOINT GRID 1.0, what hurt, and the ten minute routine I actually keep.
Three years of Sunday league and Wednesday turf pickup, and the roller is the only thing in the garage that has not worn out. Here is what it does, what it does not do, and who should buy something softer.
Five months, two leagues, one bad ankle. What the grip pads actually fix, and what they quietly stop doing by August.
A rec-league midfielder's honest notes after five months in Yufree grip socks, including the fit issues, the tradeoffs, and who should skip them.