Since sharing the frustrations of pro players and pro clubs about grip socks in the previous founder update, I’ve been collating my research around the singular most important part of elite performance - that is simply a secret to most of us.
In short, proprioception and neuromuscular control. Or, put another way, the performance connection between our brain and our feet. And how are gear should be enhancing this output. Nike’s recent ‘Mind’ Slide looks like a gimmick, but it is them taking a tentative step into a brand new market - and one at Apex we’ve been working quietly on behind the scenes.
In reality we use our feet for almost every elite physical output. However, I’d bet good money that the majority of you - but more importantly the majority of elite athletes haven’t ever truly given the role their feet play proper thought.
Obviously if our socks are too loose or too tight, too thick or too thin, rub or feel uncomfortable in any way, they distract us from the flow state necessary to achieve optimal performance on the pitch. We don’t want to think about our socks - or any of our kit for that matter - when we’re trying to focus on the game and make the right decisions under intense pressure.
Pro clubs know this. They told me themselves. They’ve engineered every aspect of training, nutrition, recovery, boot design and more to maximise peak mental (and physical) performance. But, not their socks.
They’ve not even tried. And this needs to change.
To shorten the science-y part:
The soles of our feet contain thousands of mechanoreceptors that detect pressure, vibration, texture, and movement. Signals from these receptors travel through nerves to the spinal cord and up to the somatosensory cortex in the brain, giving the brain constant nano-second information about our balance, position, and spacial awareness.
You might not fully appreciate the importance of the sensory feedback we get from our feet. But, small changes in this sensory feedback can influence how stable, alert, and grounded you are on a pitch. This is why elite players have custom boots perfectly moulded to their feet and preferences. Now you can’t do that. But socks can get you a long way towards that level of fit. Which is why your socks matter.
Poor materials, sock structure, internal grip pads, oversized external grip pads and many other variations that ignore foot biomechanics, make it hard for our brain to understand its position in space. This means worse control, less focus, and increased probability of mistakes.
I know we’re getting into the final 2-5% of performance here. But this is where it matters. Everyone’s talented, disciplined, hydrated, and determined. But the margins are getting thinner. You need every edge to fulfil that potential. And trust me I never truly fulfilled mine as an academy player and I wish I could go back and do it all again. I can’t. But maybe you get your shot.
The bottom line is that footballers don’t just want or need grip socks. They want a performance sock as ‘elite’ as their boots.
And this is what we set out to build: a performance sock for elite footballers.
In the words of Adidas circa 1994 when launching the Adidas Predator range: 100% Legal. 0% Fair. We’re taking the same line.
In the next update I’m going to share exactly how we’re doing this.
Coming Soon
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ELITE-1 FOUNDER UPDATES
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#3 What Pros Hate About Their Football Socks
#4 This Secret is the Future of Grip Socks
