Soccer Shorts for Kids, Women and Men: Sizing, Lengths, Liners and Padded Goalkeeper Shorts Explained
Shorts look like the simplest buy in the bag, and they are the item most often returned: too long on a small child, too tight across the thigh for a teenager, no pockets for the parent who wants them, pockets for the coach who bans them. Add the separate world of padded goalkeeper shorts and it is worth five minutes. Here is how shorts are sized, the lengths and liners that work for each player, and what goalkeepers actually need.
Sizing: waist first, then length
Soccer shorts are sized by waist with an elastic drawstring, so the waist size is forgiving. Length is not. Youth shorts should finish above the knee, roughly mid-thigh for under-8s and a hand's width above the knee from age ten; anything longer catches the knee when sprinting and looks borrowed. Adult inseams run from 5 in (13 cm) for a modern short cut to 9 in (23 cm) for a traditional one. Women's cuts have a shorter rise and a narrower waist; many women prefer youth large or men's small for a longer leg.
| Youth size | Waist | Typical age |
|---|---|---|
| XS | 20 to 22 in (51 to 56 cm) | 4 to 6 |
| S | 22 to 24 in (56 to 61 cm) | 7 to 8 |
| M | 24 to 26 in (61 to 66 cm) | 9 to 11 |
| L | 26 to 28 in (66 to 71 cm) | 12 to 13 |
| XL | 28 to 30 in (71 to 76 cm) | 14 and over, adult small |
Liners, pockets and fabric
- Brief liners are common in adult shorts and rare in youth; most players wear compression shorts underneath instead, which also keep slip-in shin guards and sliding burns under control.
- Pockets are banned by some leagues and most coaches dislike them; buy pocketless for matches, pocketed for school and training if you must.
- Fabric: lightweight woven or knit polyester. Avoid cotton blends and anything heavy enough to hold water.
Padded goalkeeper shorts and pants
Goalkeepers dive on turf and hard ground and need padding on the hips and sometimes the thighs. Options, in order of protection: padded compression shorts worn under normal shorts (the most common choice for youth keepers), padded goalkeeper shorts worn as the outer layer, and padded three-quarter or full-length pants for artificial turf and winter. Padding should sit over the hip bone and the outer thigh; check the fit with a kneel and a side dive.
Our picks
Links open current Amazon results in each category.
Youth soccer shorts, multipack
Elastic drawstring, pocketless, correct youth lengths.
Adult woven soccer shorts, 7 in inseam
Light, quick-drying, the length most players want.
Women’s soccer shorts
Shorter rise, narrower waist, correct leg length.
Compression shorts, youth and adult
Keeps shin guards and skin under control; the universal second layer.
Padded goalkeeper shorts
Hip and thigh padding for diving on hard ground.
Padded goalkeeper pants, three-quarter or full
No more turf burns; the winter and artificial-grass solution.
How many pairs, and care
Two pairs per weekly session, like jerseys. Wash cold, no softener, air-dry; drawstrings outlast elastic if they are not tumble-dried. Replace when the elastic goes or the seat wears thin, usually after two seasons.
Can compression shorts be worn alone?
Not in matches; the laws require shorts over them, and the visible part of the undershort must match the main colour of the shorts.
Do goalkeepers need long pants?
On artificial turf and in winter, yes: turf burns on the thigh are the most common youth goalkeeper injury. On grass in summer, padded shorts are enough.
Goalkeepers: the full position-specific kit is in our goalkeeper guides, starting with glove sizing.
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