• The issue of using metal cleats has high-school sports communities torn. Are the shoes safe, or are they simply a means to a competitive edge? Metal cleats are built for traction and speed, but they've also been blamed for broken bones and gashes at the high-school level. They're better built but also more expensive, and while they're made for pros, they still can be worn by developing players.
  
  

Better Construction

• Shoes with metal cleats generally are built better than shoes with rubber or plastic cleats. According to Hit! Run! Score!, a Dallas-area sporting-goods store, manufacturers design shoes with metal cleats for heavy, high-level and competitive use. This means they're likely made of leather, a material professionals prefer because it is breathable and comfortable. Leather shoes also are more durable than shoes made from synthetics, making them better suited to daily wear and tear.
  
  

Better Traction

• Metal cleats dig in to nearly any type of surface. This provides the wearer with better traction, and better traction allows players to channel their energy--in this case, to run faster. Better traction means better stop-and-go running, a key element of football, baseball and other sports. In 2007, the National Federation of State High School Association repealed its ban on metal cleats in softball, saying they help players run on hard, wet or poorly kept fields, and they prevent slippage on home plate.
  
  

Better Preparation

• Metal cleats are in the future of any aspiring star. Baseball and softball players who wish to play in college or at the semiprofessional or professional levels must get used to metal cleats. They're the standard at higher levels of competition. Metal cleats are stronger and may require practice or adjustment of certain techniques, namely sliding.