Kia, receivers and more

Jill, I am baffled at the numerous injuries to our key players in the last couple of years and some comments under the Kia Injured post has me really wondering about the shoes our team uses.

I used to work at a shoe store and have fitted many recreational and high school athletes and know that Adidas' specialty is in soccer cleats which are designed differently from football cleats.

Can it be that Adidas is not spending the money and effort to support football because there just isn't a good market in recreation football vs. the soccer market?

Can you or someone at the Daily News look into this and write an investigative article like the OC Register did? I think warrants some attention no matter how locked in UCLA is with Adidas because I know the shoes not only can affect injuries but also physical performance and a mental aspect if the players lose confidence in their shoes as well.

PS I know that Adidas and other shoe makers make custom shoes for their high profile clients. Not having a on campus liaison in recent seasons may be a key to not getting the proper fit our players. We should demand at least this much from our shoe supplier, IMO.

I think the above comment should be taken seriously and warrants an investigation into the cleats on the football shoes. It makes sense that the wrong type of cleats would cause injuries. The turf can also be a factor. We need these athletes to stay healthy for the team's success but more than that, the school has an obligation to keep these young men from having debilitating problems in the future.
I have heard from some of the track athletes that they do not like the Addidas running shoes either!