Free tip on vertical jumping!
Let’s get started: Lace ‘em up tight!
I’m serious about lacing up tightly. Some players lace up so loosely and their feet will slide around within the shoe so they lose a slight amount of reactivity. Any amount of “sliding” you do in your shoes diminishes the power you put into the ground. So lace your shoes up tight enough to secure your foot tightly into your shoe. You will notice being slightly more reactive cutting and even jumping from a run, especially if you lace up habitually too loosely.
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A few words about footwear…
The most important part of a shoe is how well it fits.
The only real advancement shoes have made that make a difference is an added “carbon shank” that stiffens the sole of the shoe. This makes the foot a stiffer, morereactive lever in applying force into the ground and supports your foot muscles during plantar flexion (driving your foot into the ground). Several shoes are making stiffer soles but Hyperdunks, Kobes, and several others actually have the carbon fiber shank.
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Most basketball shoes have stiffer soles, so as long as you are not
using a flimsy soled walking or running shoe you are probably fine. Don’t overestimate the difference this can make, it will probably be unnoticeable, but the combined effect of everything in this document will add up.
Lighter shoes feel quick and nice, and really that feeling of lightness is going to be better than any actual reduction in weight since the actual amount of reduced weight is not significant.
Feeling good in a shoe (aside from the fit) is important, and the boost it gives your psyche can actually be meaningful. In a nutshell this is the importance of footwear for the purpose of jumping higher.