Jordans, Kyries, Nikes, New Balances, and Converse: all of those are brands that are familiar to sneakerheads. At FHC, not only do we have athletes with good shoe game on the daily, but they also have a spectacular shoe game on the court and field.

Seniors Nate Delaney and Levi McKenzie are best friends, and they both share the same love for shoes. In fact, they have made gifting shoes to each other a regular and expected occurrence. Since each of them works at a sports store that carries high end shoes, both Nate and Levi benefit from using their large employee discounts to add to their already stellar collection of kicks.

Nate’s off the court shoe collection consists of a small selection of Jordans and Vapor Max’s. Additionally, his non-sneaker prize possessions include Uggs and Timberlands. On the court, he wears PG 5s. He chose those shoes because he strongly believes that, “When you look good, you feel good, and you play good.” Although some people not necessarily agree with that mentality, Nate sure does have some of the best shoes at FHC.

Levi lives by the statement that, “If you have cool shoes, it intimidates the competition because everyone knows that if you have valid shoes, you are a valid hooper.” This is what drives him to have the best shoe game out there. That is why he owns a few pairs of Jordans, Air Max’s, Vapor Max’s, and Uggs—of course. On the court, his shoe rotation is unsurpassable as he has three “drippy” pairs of shoes: Kobe AD’s, Kobe Mentality’s, and Nike Precision 6s. He emphasized that he wears his Kobe’s the most because,”They are the most comfortable and have the best traction. I play my best in them.”

Now that we have heard from the boys, it’s time to hear how the girls view shoe game.

Senior Delaney Smith plays both lacrosse and basketball and has a fire shoe game in both. She has the Nike Huarache 5 Lax Cleats for lacrosse and an unspecified Nike pair for basketball. She added a fun fact about cleats by saying, “Lacrosse cleats and football cleats are really similar, so they can be interchangeable.”

Delaney and Nate have the same perspective on the shoe game as Delaney also believes that if you look good, you feel good, and you play well. Delaney also commented, “Having shoes from a better brand leads to more beneficial outcomes in the long run, and it gives you a confidence boost!” Delaney’s catalog of requirements for her shoes for any sport are simple: mid-rise, high traction, comfortable, and cute. All of those requirements were met when she was in the process of selecting her basketball shoes, even when this season’s team decided to select matching shoes.

Maya Holser plays softball, and through her shoe selecting process, she had two requirements her shoes had to meet: comfy and clean. She found a pair from New Balance, specifically the Fresh Foam Velocity 2 Metal Fast Pitch Softball Cleats]. She made her selection not only because they were comfortable and clean, but because they looked best with FHC’s softball uniforms. “White shoes are the best shoes to wear for any sport because they look the best with any uniform. For softball, mine get really dirty and gross by the end of the season to the point that they are no longer white. They are tan-ish brown.”

Overall, having good shoes does in fact affect your game—no matter the sport. Shoe game isn’t praised enough in the athletic world, but after hearing Levi’s, Nate’s, Delaney’s, and Maya’s opinions, I hope that shoe game is prioritized in your life as well.