Youth shin guard size chart

Bands are approximate and vary between manufacturers — always check the specific brand's chart, since some run only three sizes across this whole range. The ages are a rough guide only; two seven-year-olds can be four inches apart, which is exactly why you size by height.

Why height and not age

What you are fitting is the length of the shin bone, and that tracks height rather than birthday. A tall seven-year-old and a short nine-year-old may well need the same size, and buying by age is the single most common reason a guard ends up wrong.

Shoe size is not a useful proxy either, despite being the number parents have to hand.

How high should shin guards go?

The top should sit roughly two finger-widths below the bottom of the kneecap. The bottom should stop just above the ankle bone.

That covers the full length of exposed shin without interfering with the knee. The failure mode to avoid is a guard that is too long: it digs into the knee when the player bends, so they compensate by wearing it low, which leaves the top of the shin bare. A too-long guard protects less than a correctly sized one.

The crouch test

One check, ten seconds, and it settles the question better than any chart:

1. Put the guard on, under the sock, as they would wear it.
2. Have them crouch right down, as if tying a lace.
3. If the top of the guard digs into the bottom of the kneecap, it is too long. Go a size down.
4. Then have them jog on the spot. The guard should not slide down.

If your child falls between two sizes, take the smaller one. A guard that slides is worse than one that is slightly short, because a guard that has moved is not covering what you bought it to cover.

Sleeve guards need a second measurement

Sleeve-style guards — where the guard sits in a pocket in a compression sleeve — have to fit the calf as well as the shin. A very slim or very sturdy leg can need a size either way from what the height chart says.

Measure the calf at its widest point and check it against the brand's sleeve chart. A loose sleeve defeats the whole design, since the point of a sleeve is that the guard cannot migrate. See the slip-in and sleeve picks.

Left and right

Most youth shin guards are shaped, with a left and a right — usually marked L and R inside, and sometimes only distinguishable by the curve of the ankle padding. Worth checking, because a guard on the wrong leg sits badly and rubs.

Cheaper symmetrical guards exist and are fine, but they fit less closely at the ankle.

When to re-check the size

At the start of every season, and mid-season if your kid has visibly grown. Shin guards do not become painful the way outgrown cleats do, so nobody notices — the guard simply ends up sitting too low and covering less of the shin than it should.

The crouch test takes ten seconds. Do it at the start of the season and once around the halfway point.

Buying without the child present

Height is the number you need, and it is the number a parent can give you over a text. That makes shin guards much easier to buy as a gift than cleats, where fit and foot width both matter.

If you cannot get a height, buy something that fits anybody — a ball at the right size for their age is the safe choice. See the gift ideas.