Why using this to add grip to your basketball shoes sucks!

How do you get good traction/grip on basketball shoes when playing on dusty courts?

If you google this, you'll end up here, on SlippNott.com, where they say the following: 

"Google ‘how do you get better grip with basketball shoes,’ and you’ll find these common tips:

1. Keep shoe soles clean.*

2. Keep court floors clean.

3. Use a traction mat, gel mat, or grip lotion.*

* Countless articles online advise wiping your shoes with a damp towel throughout the game. Some may even recommend a gel mat or grip lotion for shoes. Don’t believe them! "

We're going to break down why that actually isn't true!

And how you can get longer-lasting court traction, and save a ton of money!

Take it from these coaches...

 

Keep the shoe soles clean, and keep the court clean

Odds are neither of these are going to happen. 

You normally have zero control over what court you're going to play on, both at the middle/high school level or at AAU events. Neither is going to be appropriately maintained and cleaned, unfortunately.

I grew up playing basketball year-round. When I think back on those days, after playing 2 or 3 games in a day, the last thing on my mind was cleaning my shoes afterward. Add in how they smelled... my mom wasn't doing it either!

I never wore my basketball shoes anywhere but the court but it didn't matter. If the court was dusty, you were going to be slipping.

Use a traction mat, gel mat, or grip lotion

The company that posted this blog, SlippNott, sells sticky pads. 

This is where they are 100%, unequivocally, wrong.

If you step on something sticky, it removes the dust from the soles of your shoes and then you step on that same dusty court, what do you think is going to happen?

You're basketball shoes are going to have traction for a few possessions and then you will be back, reapplying over and over, just like you would with a damp towel.*

* Except the damp towel is free, replacing their sticky sheets is not. It's actually very, very expensive. 

So when they say...

"the gel on your shoe ends up removing the dust on the floor – and soon you’re back to sliding. So, the product designed to improve traction actually does the opposite!"

They are oddly enough describing exactly what an adhesive-based sticky sheet would do. Your basketball shoes do not want to be sticky, they want to be grippy.

What happens when you need to reapply?

Now that those three possessions of traction are over with, you need to step on it again, right?

Well, good luck!

So first, you need to be subbed out.

Next, that top sticky sheet is covered with dust from everyone's shoes, so it's worthless. 

Tear off a new sheet.

Whoops, you didn't grab the top sheet and ripped off 3 sheets. Expensive mistake.

Now you have a dirty sheet of plastic in your hand, where do you put it? You're about to sub in.

Every player wants a fresh sheet when they go in.

Out of replacement sticky sheets after 10 games. Spend $100 for 10 more games worth. 

Repeat. All season.

Sounds fun and cost-effective!

I still want one of these, how do I get one?!

Hopefully, your coach buys one and spreads the cost of it over the whole team, because it is not cheap.

No player has ever shown up to the gym with their own sticky pad. They cost well over $100, they're pretty big and heavy, it just isn't practical.

We will be fair, having one of these is better than having nothing at all. It'll work better than your hand, sweat, or water but there's definitely a cost.

So what if your coach decides, I don't want to pay for that. It's not worth it. Are you out of luck?

No.

Fixes for individual players:

If your team doesn't have anything to help your basketball shoes out on dusty courts, there is finally a way you can bring your own solution.

Basketball Shoe Traction/Grip Spray

It's small enough that you can take it to all your games and practices anywhere you play. It'll fit in your backpack and last all game.

No need to reapply over and over. No adhesives to make the shoes sticky magnets for dust and dirt. No harmful chemicals for the shoes. Just grip.

As we said, basketball shoes want to be grippy, not sticky!

Grip Spritz is 'Traction in a Bottle'!

Fixes for teams: 

Now you're thinking, by the time each player gets a bottle it'll cost a lot, they all have to spray their shoes and dry them, and it could take a while to do.

The same fix as the individual bottles, except it's faster and easier for the team.

Courtside Basketball Traction Mat

(Not a sticky mat)

Still no adhesives. Still no harmful chemicals. Still lasts an entire game.

The other advantages...

No peeling off plastic sheets. Not one, not three accidentally.

No trips to the trash to throw away the dirty, used, plastic sheet.

No constant reorders to make sure there's enough for the season.

No overspending for a short-term fix.

"That was boring. I'm not reading all that. Summarize it for me."

When your basketball shoes need more grip and you're playing on dusty courts, think about this...

Why would you step on something sticky, and then go on a dust-covered court and expect things to get any better?

The current way of making your shoes more grippy, actually just makes them more sticky... hence the name, sticky pad.

Ditch the overpriced, short-term, team-only option.

Players can bring their own traction spray with them. It lasts all game and goes with you to every gym you play in.

Teams can save money and cut the headache of peeling off sticky sheet after sticky sheet and actually provide the players with game-long traction on dusty courts.