Youth Baseball - Sneakers Versus Cleats

Do you have children playing in youth baseball leagues? Do they wear sneakers or cleats? As a youth baseball coach parents ask me which is better. My response always is what type of field are they playing on?

A good youth baseball tip is if the youth league plays on a grass/dirt field, plastic cleats are preferred. The cleats provide better traction in the dirt and grass and especially on a muddy field.

If the youth baseball league has a field turf or artificial turf field, I strongly recommend sneakers over cleats, especially for pitchers. The reason why is that cleats cannot "dig in" to the turf for traction. Think of it as trying to run on the living room rug wearing spikes.

My local youth baseball league plays on both fields. I see more and more kids wearing the cleats on both types of fields. So, I guess another factor in the equation is what your child is comfortable wearing.

What do you think?