Cutting a newly-bought pair of socks sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it? Well, maybe if you’d want to shorten the length but the real reason has a whole lot of science behind it. Athletes come up with a lot of hacks when they start exploring their sports with a creative eye.
Since their work needs to be productive and cutting up socks contributes to it, they recommend it to their teammates as well.
So this is the sign for you to level up in your sports performance too.
Why Do Soccer Players Cut Their Socks?
It actually helps with some extra grip, which decreases the chance of potential leg injuries, which can at times leave you and your career on crutches alike. So athletes try to just cover the shins with the cut-out part and prefer to eliminate the rest. Players actually aim for their cleats(shoes) and their socks to have friction and feel like it’s the part of their body, unlike loosely fitting and slippery ones.
This problem occurs as soccer players are usually bound to use some ineffective activewear from the companies of their club’s sponsor and follow that as uniform.
Most of their socks are designed in a way that makes them less grippy around the feet area to create necessary friction inside the shoe. This may cause the foot to slip or twist inside, making you lose balance and eventually tumbling or tripping over. It may sound trivial but a twisted or sprained ankle is enough to leave you benched for weeks possibly.
Cutting Socks Yourself – Is It A Good Idea?
Yes! Cutting your own socks is perfectly fine- most of the players cut their socks by themselves to fit their comfortability and customize them according to their own size and liking.
Now, Soccer Players Cut Their Socks in Two Different Ways
The first is to cut out the entire area from the ankle down, leaving only a hollow tube shape almost like a footless sleeve. This enables them to wear another sock that is better at grip underneath the cut-out sleeve one which they’re made to wear.
The second way that soccer players cut their socks is to cut holes of about one inch in diameter randomly around the calves in the sleeve. This solves the problem of socks being tight and suffocating for those with the thick calf as they may feel their blood vessels being constricted leading to poor blood circulation (muscle cramps aren’t fun).
While it also improves the air circulation which helps the player to feel less sweaty.
Worried About the Fraying of Your Socks? Try These Tips
Pick the socks of your uniform and start to cut them around the ankle area. Keep in mind that you have to avoid cutting at an overly stitched, padded, or ribs area or you’ll up with split threads and it’ll cause fraying in no time. However, fraying can only be delayed, as sports are rough so it’ll happen at some point. However, this tip works for a smoother play for a longer time.
Additionally, the scissors you use should be as sharp as they can be for a cleaner cut. But if a clean-cut just isn’t possible for you then you can make up for that by using a lighter to burn the edges of the loose threads and edges of the sock. It should work to prevent fraying when an athletic tape is wrapped during usage.
All in All
For a sportsman, any hack goes, as long as it gives better effectiveness and boosts their productivity. If you’re aspiring to become a prominent sports figure, we believe hacks like these should be up your sleeve all along and this article should help get you started on that.
Expand your capabilities, even by unconventional means- try it and let us know how it worked out in the comments!