“Why didn’t you stick that trick?!” you hear your coach ask you for the ten millionth time. Likewise, for the ten millionth time, you use the excuse that your feet slipped. Well, with the help of these shoes, these words will never come out of your mouth again. My gym always had a strict policy that insisted on socks when practicing. We complained often about this rule, after all we compete barefoot, it would make sense to practice barefoot. As we grew up and understood the concepts of warts and athletes foot, our appreciation for this rule grew as well. However, socks could sometimes have a negative impact on our gymnastics. The most common problem were that they were too slippery, and falling off in a beam routine because you slipped on a skill you otherwise would’ve been able to save but couldn’t because of your socks is unacceptable. The solution we found was Pegasus gymnastics shoes. Warning: these shoes are not colorful, not particularly comfortable, and smell terrible after a week’s worth of practice. Why do I swear by them? The bottom of this shoe is gripping material that enables the gymnast to control their landings easier and feel more secure when doing tricks. They aren’t cheap, but these shoes will give you a solid year or two before they let you down. I have not found any shoe that even compares to the Pegasus shoe, and I would rather the girls that I coach wear shoes than socks. In fact, I recommend wearing socks and shoes to avoid an unreal odor. I feel better spotting when I know that the grippy shoes will catch my gymnast if I accidently slip.
Gymnastics: Coaching & Doing 