Jacob Apigian

Cole Yoders
EDD Senior Thesis
Presentation and Justification of the Problem
I. Summary of the Problem
Many athletes deal with the problem of the studs of their cleats being worn down
by rough surfaces when they walk on them. By creating something to help prevent the
wearing down of the studs of cleats, we can extend the lifetime of a cleat. This can save
money in the long term and also become a safer alternative than walking on those
surfaces when wearing cleats.
A. Costs
The estimated annual cost of youth sports equipment and participation in
America is around five hundred billion dollars (UofFlorida, 2016). The implicit costs
include coaching fees, medical insurance, rental of practice facilities, camp costs,
transportation costs, tournament fees, and individual lessons. These costs add up
quickly, making the average parent in the United States spend at least six hundred and
seventy one dollars per year on sports related-activities for their kid(s) with one fifth of
those parents admitting to spending over one thousand dollars annually (Visual News,
2013). These costs can increase the likelihood of a childs removal from participation in
sports (Figure 1). Since the costs already consume the majority of the money in an
average familys budget, there is little money for the costs of necessary equipment.

Figure 1 (Money, 2012)

B. Safety and Convenience
Not only do the costs present a problem for children and their parents when
participating in their respective sports, but the equipment can also be unsafe and
inconvenient for the athlete. When specifically looking at outdoor sports, cleats as well
as shoes are required for before, during, and after playing the sport. These cleats and
shoes must last long and be relatively inexpensive since they are additional costs for
the parents of the athletes. Therefore, preserving cleats is imperative, and can be done
by minimizing the amount of times cleats are in direct contact with rough surfaces.
Athletes are only able to wear their cleats while on grass or turf. Cleats do not allow the
athletes to walk comfortably or safely across other surfaces such as concrete or
pavement. For example, soccer players avoid walking on concrete sidewalks or asphalt
parking lots for extensive periods of time.

Often times, cleats will be covered in mud and/or grass after use, so the players
will track those conditions where they walk after playing. This does not allow players are
to conveniently go indoors or inside of cars. Due to these limitations, players must have
access to tennis shoes at the time so they can freely walk on all surfaces, indoor and
outdoor. To ensure safety and comfortability, athletes must transport an extra pair of
shoes with them for the times in which they are not using their cleats.

II. Market Analysis

In spite of the problems presented above, youth sports participation has grown
exponentially in recent years. It is safe to say that more than half of the current youth
population participates in at least one sport, (Figure 2). 30 to 45 million children ages 6
to 18 play organized sports in the United States (UofFlorida, 2016). About twenty five
million of those children play in competitive school sports, and about twenty million play
in organized out-of-school sports (Uof Florida, 2016). This massive amount of
participants creates a massive market for businesses and companies to profit by
providing the athletes the equipment necessary. The industry has erupted with
popularity and it has added an automatic financial burden to the athletes in youth sports.

Figure 2 (Koba, 2014)

III. Problem Statement
With respect to the problems presented above, our solution will allow athletes
who wear cleats to essentially transform their cleats into athletic shoes. Our product will
be made out of a durable material (most likely rubber) that allows players to protect their
cleats studs and hard, plastic soles from damaging surfaces. It will also act as a
supportive sole which has the purpose of protecting indoor floors and carpets from the
outdoor environment which can be tracked in by dirty cleats. The product will be
demanded by athletes because of its convenience compared to completely changing
shoes. In the end, our product will help athletes to preserve their cleats as well as their
athletic shoes that may be normally worn on the playing field.

IV. Analysis of Prior Solution Attempts

One prior attempt to the problem is CleatSkins. It was created by Richard Kay
and his wife, Marianne Kay. Its a product that allows the wearer to walk on hard
surfaces without the chance of slipping. Also, CleatSkins help to avoid the chance of
ruining the bottom of cleats studs. This is done by reducing the amount of contact
between the bottom of the cleats and the ground. An advantage to CleatSkins is the
rubber sole, which grips to almost any surface and allows the cleat to still feel
comfortable. CleatSkins essentially become a seamless part of the shoe in respect to
color, design, and function. There are multiple reviews of the product that state the
inaccurate sizing chart though. These customers reported inadequate fitting of
supposed CleatSkins sizes compared to their cleat sizes.
Another product that athletes wear to walk in after playing in cleats is a slide, or
athletic flip flops. This popular footwear is an open-toed shoe with no back on it. They
are generally worn for casual walking, or they are worn in wet environments. Some
examples of places where slides are common include swimming pool areas, beaches,
and recreational sports fields. An advantage to slides is that they are convenient for
changing out of shoes or cleats after a practice or game. They are also lightweight and
provide breathability for an athletes feet. Slides, however, are not suitable for use in
active situations. They can become a safety hazard due to their slick bottom, which
does not provide a lot of traction on smooth or wet surfaces. Slides also do not provide
ideal support for feet. According to Janet E. Simon of the American Podiatric Medical
Association, "...people are using them (flip flops) on hard, concrete surfaces all the time,
and that does not support the foot structure" (Johnson, 2009.)

The last of the popular choices for footwear after workouts or other sporting
events is athletic shoes, or sneakers. Athletic cover the whole foot and are used for a
variety of active activities. Some activities include prolonged periods of standing,
walking, and running. A positive characteristic of sneakers is that their general purpose
is to provide ideal support for the foot. Athletic shoes are a safer option than most other
footwear, because athletic shoes have a rubber sole that allows them to grip to surfaces
well, however there is a disadvantage for athletes who plan to change out of cleats and
into athletic shoes. The athletic shoes are inconvenient when changing footwear. Many
athletes are too tired to untie their cleats and then tie their shoes, so their cleats end up
being worn outside of the cleats intended surface.
The final design should meet a minimum requirement for each of the following
specifications: comfortable, affordable/inexpensive, material, flexible, long lasting,
different sizes for different cleat sizes, and lightweight. In order for the design to be
comfortable, it must allow the user to wear the product without noticeable discomfort
while serving the main purpose of preventing slippage and deterioration of the the cleats
sole. Perhaps the most difficult of the specification, affordability will be a driving factor in
the possibilities of manufacturing the product. Therefore, the design must make the cost
of production as low as possible so that the consumer will approve of its inexpensive
price. Similar existing products cost around $30, so the final product should not exceed
the $30 threshold. The materials with which the products sole will be made with must
allow safe movements on hard surfaces. A material like rubber would be ideal for the
products sole. The upper apparatus of the product should be a durable cloth or fabric
so that it successfully connects the rubber sole to the bottom of the cleat. Flexibility will

also be used to determine the designs ability to perform its function. It must be able to
stretch so that it can wrap over the sides and top of the cleat, but also contract back to
its original position. The design should be able to bend as well, since cleats bend every
time you take a step. The combination of each part in the design should make up a
relatively long lasting product. The design must be able to outlast the consumers cleats.
Otherwise, there is no point in buying the product, for one of its main purposes is to
preserve the cleats. The final design must allow the product to be made in different
sizes so that it will coordinate with the different cleat sizes worn by the consumers. This
will meet the expectations of the consumers. Finally, the design should be generally
lightweight. The product should not weigh more than 8 ounces considering that the
average soccer cleat weighs 9.07 ounces (Bryne, 2011). If the product were to weigh a
significant amount more than the cleat, then the product would feel generally
uncomfortable when in use. Therefore, the design should yield a product that is
lightweight for efficient use.

V. Presentation and Justification of Solution Design Requirements

The following design requirements are listed in priority of importance, starting with most
important. The final design must meet all of the following requirements.
I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

Comfortable
The design allows the user to comfortably wear the product while serving the
main purpose of preventing slippage and deterioration of the the cleats sole..
Affordable/Inexpensive
The design must make the cost of production as low as possible so that the
consumer will approve of its inexpensive price. Similar existing products cost
around $30, so our product should not exceed the $30 threshold.
Material
The designs sole must allow safe movements on hard surfaces. A material like
rubber would be ideal for the final design.
Flexible
The design must be able to stretch to wrap around the cleat, but also contract
back to its original position. The design should be able to bend as well, since
your cleats bend every time you take a step.
Long lasting
The design must be able to outlast the consumers cleats. Otherwise, there is no
point in buying the product.
Different sizes for different cleat sizes
The design must allow the product to be made in different sizes so that it will
coordinate with the different cleat sizes worn by the consumers.
Lightweight
The design should not weigh more than 8 ounces considering that the average
soccer cleat weighs 9.07 ounces (Bryne, 2011). If the product were to weigh a
significant amount different than the cleat, then the product would feel
uncomfortable when in use. Therefore, the design should yield a lightweight
product which maintains comfort.

VI. Design Concept Generation, Analysis, and Selection

VII. Design Matrix

The design matrix is weighted to account for the importance of each specification
pertaining to our projects function. Each specification has its own weight which is
multiplied by its rating to get its weighted score. Once all of the weighted scores for
each design are added together, there is a total weighted score for each design. The
highest weighted score will be used as the basis of our final design.

References
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Weight? - Soccer Cleats 101. Retrieved September 20, 2016, from
http://www.soccercleats101.com/2011/12/30/what-is-the-current-average-soccercleat-weight/
Clark, J. (2012, August 29). That sucking sound is just your kid playing soccer.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnclarke/2012/08/29/that-suckingsound-is-just-your-kid-playing-soccer/#347cd5d19a91
Johnson, T. (2009). Steps to a healthier Minnesota. PsycEXTRA Dataset.
doi:10.1037/e413592008-001
Keegan, P., & Santichen, K. (2015, September 28). How soccer bills devoured this
family's budget. Retrieved from http://time.com/money/4037391/soccer-billscollege-family-budget/
Keith, K. (2009). U.S. Patent No. US20090288314A1. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office.
Koba, M. (2014, January 14). Spending big on kids' sports? You're not alone.
Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/13/youthsports-is-a-7-billion-industryand-growing.html
Money, B. (2012). The challenge. Retrieved September 7, 2016, from
http://kidsplayusafoundation.org/the-challenge
Sullivan, P. (2015, January 16). The rising costs of youth sports, in money and emotion.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/your-money/rising-costs-ofyouth-sports.html?_r=0

UofFlorida. (2016). The economy of youth sports. Retrieved September 7, 2016, from
http://ufonline.ufl.edu/infographics/youth-sports/
VisualNews. (2013, June 21). High cost of youth sports. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/visualnewscom/high-cost-of-youthsports_b_3469012.html