Camp doesn’t enforce shin guard use during scrimmages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never played soccer, so in theory, shin guards seem beneficial to me, but my U17 kid says they’re uncool, no one does it and they’re not really necessary. Enforcement in non-game situations is spotty and situational, but i just today watched a bunch of very skilled players scrimmaging at a D1 ID camp - no shinguards…

Indeed. They're uncomfortable - especially in hot weather, and they offer very limited protection against a rare injury. Pro teams don't wear them in practice either. They probably also helped somewhat back in the day when (a) they were much larger than they are today, and (b) players deliberately kicked each other in the shins as a tactic. Refs don't tolerate that these days, so it's very rare to see a deliberate studs up tackle because it results in an instant red card.