How to lace soccer cleats

A cleat has exactly one adjustment that costs nothing, and almost everybody uses it in exactly one way. Criss-cross from the bottom, pull tight, tie a bow. That pattern is fine for a foot that matches the last, and it is the wrong tool for the four problems above — each of which has a published fix that takes two minutes.

These are not soccer-specific tricks. They come from Nike's own lacing guide for running shoes, and they work the same way on a cleat because the mechanics are the same: laces pull the upper down onto the foot, and where you route them decides where the pressure lands.

Standard lacing, done properly

Worth a paragraph because the baseline is where most fit problems actually start. Thread the lace through the bottom eyelets with equal lengths on both sides, then crisscross progressively up the shoe, tightening as you go, and tie at the top with comfortable tension. The two parts people skip are starting with the lengths equal — which is why so many cleats end up with one long and one short end — and tightening as you go rather than only at the top, which leaves the forefoot loose no matter how hard the bow is pulled.

Heel lock lacing, for a heel that lifts

The most useful pattern on this page, and the fix for the most common complaint. If a kid's heel comes up out of the cleat when they walk or run, the foot is sliding — which is where blisters, lost first touches and black toenails come from.

1. Lace normally up to the second-to-last set of eyelets.
2. Feed each lace end through the top eyelet on the same side, creating a small loop on each side rather than crossing over.
3. Cross the ends over and feed each through the loop on the opposite side.
4. Pull tight until the heel feels secure, then tie as usual.

Nike's own description of what this achieves is worth quoting as the reason to bother: it creates a firm grip around the heel, minimizing movement and preventing blisters. That is the mechanism behind the most predictable blister in youth soccer, which is why best soccer socks to prevent blisters sends people back here.

The runner's loop is a close cousin and works the same way: build a loop on each side at the top eyelets by threading from the outside in, then cross each loop to the opposite side and feed it through the other loop before pulling tight.

Wide foot and high arch lacing

These two matter a great deal in soccer specifically, because soccer cleats are rarely sold in width letters at all. Lacing is the width adjustment the category does not otherwise offer.

• Wide foot lacing. Skip a set of eyelets at the bottom and cross the laces above the gap, then continue normally to the top. Nike describes this as expanding the width of the midfoot region to comfortably accommodate wider feet.
• High arch lacing. Lace normally until the middle, then feed each lace straight up through the next eyelet on the same side rather than crossing over, repeating on both sides to the top. This relieves pressure points on the top of the foot.
• Window lacing. When one specific spot hurts, skip the eyelet beside it and run the lace diagonally to the next pair, opening a small window over the sore area.

What none of these can do is widen the toe box, because there are no laces over the toes. If the pinch is at the little toe, the cleat is the wrong line and lacing will not rescue it. Do soccer cleats come in wide sizes covers which lines run wide, and best soccer cleats for wide feet is the shortlist.

Two lace holes at the top

A lot of cleats have a second, slightly offset eyelet near the top, and parents reasonably wonder whether they have been ignoring half the shoe. They have not: the second hole is there to make heel lock lacing possible. Lace up through the first of the two, then use the second for the lock loop described above. If the heel is not slipping, the extra hole does nothing and can be left empty.

The same logic applies to cleats with a fold-over tongue or a collar. Lace to the top as normal, fasten whatever the shoe adds over the top of it, and do not try to use the collar as the tightening mechanism — it is a cover, not a closure.

Laces that are too long, and the one thing not to do

Junior cleats ship with laces built for the largest size in the run, so on a small pair there is often a foot of extra lace. Three things that work, in order of preference: double-knot and tuck the ends under the crossed laces; take one more turn around the shoe before tying; or replace them with shorter laces, which cost almost nothing.

The thing not to do is tie the excess around the ankle. It concentrates pressure on a joint, it comes undone unpredictably, and it is the kind of improvisation Law 4's general prohibition on dangerous equipment exists to cover. Tuck, do not wrap.

If no pattern makes the cleat fit, the cleat is wrong rather than the lacing. How should kids' soccer cleats fit is the page that settles it, and if the player cannot tie laces at all yet, girls' laceless soccer cleats and best laceless soccer cleats for kids cover the alternatives — with the warning that a laceless cleat gives up every adjustment on this page.