First of all, I’m not accusing anyone named Paul of having bunions on his feet. That’s the inflamed swelling of the sac on the joint of the big toe, according to Webster’s Dictionary. I mean, do your child’s feet look big enough to make a footprint resembling Lake Winnipesaukee?

Mine does!

Paul Bunyan is a legendary character in Minnesota, who chopped down trees by the hundreds, and created lakes with his footprints. He carried an ax, and traveled with his ox named Babe. My son is well-known in his junior high (for his size and personality), carries a 32-inch bat, pitches in the high 70’s, wears size 14 shoes, and is still growing. But he is too young yet to travel with a babe.

So how do you find soccer, football or baseball cleats for a child with feet that resemble small water skis? We already started looking for 14W cleats for this year’s baseball season. He needs rubber to play first base on artificial turf, turf shoes to pitch on portable mounds at tournaments and metal cleats for the rest of the games. 

We usually look locally at the sporting goods stores first. Once in a while we have found a pair in his size. If that doesn’t work, we go to the web. Many of the online sporting goods stores will ship for free if you purchase a certain amount, and will let you return the shoes if they don’t fit. I don’t know how big Paul did it without the internet!

So, does your child’s feet take on a similarity to the Great Bay, or even Baboosic Lake? Where do you go for athletic shoes?

Tags: Baseball, Brandon Hammerstrom, cleats, feet, Football, Minnesota, paul bunyan, shoes, spikes