Starting with the “Small Ball”

“The ‘Magic Pill’ to finding your touch…”

With a clear and focused mind ready to start training and jump back into the rhythms of pre-preseason and pre-season, I decided to use the “small-ball” as the main equipment to sharpen up my touch.  Many of you might have experience, worked with or seen people training with this “small-ball.” And if you haven’t tried it yet, and you are serious about training, developing and improving your touch, you certainly need to have this be apart of your training.

So, what is this magical method? Quite frankly, there’s nothing extraodinary about it.   Simply put, you training with a ball significantly smaller than the current size ball you compete with.  It can be a different size and a different weight or even a different material that effects the bounce or speed.

How to?  and  Why we do it?

Very simply, you perform all the same technical skills as you would practice with a normal ball, except with this different ball.  This includes all technical skills from your feet all the way to your head: dribbling, passing/receiving, shooting, heading.  Areas that small-ball training is particularly effective in is passing and receiving out of the air. This includes volleys, half-volleys, and work with the thigh, chest, and head. You can use anything from a skills ball (size 1.5  or 2), tennis ball, foam hand ball, or sponge ball be creative and make it challenging.  I choose to use a rubber bounce ball that is smaller than a size 3 or a rubber size 2 ball that is weighted a bit heavier.  This way the size, weight, and the type of bounce is altered. But remember when you get efficient and good with that this small-ball, be sure to change one of these attributes, so that you can maintain a challenging training method.

When training with a ball of different size, weight and bounce, you are subjected to a different kind of stimulus and therefore a different type of training.  Your senses and perception of the ball are effectively heightened and you become more sharp.  Concentrating on a smaller object will make your touch more efficient and more accurate.

So, if your looking to sharpen your touch and increase your accuracy try a small ball. And remember be sure to tell us how your working with it.  Cheers!

“New Wave in Training” or Just a Ripple?

I’m sure you all have seen the Soccer Wave. It has gained a lot of popularity since it’s debute not too long ago.  But is it really worth all the hype?  It is said to be the “New Wave in Soccer Training” but does it really take indiviudal soccer training to the next level, or is it the same rebound equipment wrapped in a cool design?

Before you come to any conclusions about whether this is the best thing ever, or whether you think its a piece of junk, here are some things to consider. Remember i am not here to advertise products nor am i here to smear them. I am simply here to open discussion and shed light on products on the market so we can all gain some insight from each other.

First off, let’s see what it actually is. The Soccer Wave is designed so that ground balls passed into the product will return in the air.  The design features a “gradual curve” so that balls can return at different heights depending on where the intial pass enters. This is a very innovated design. Passes come from the ground and return in the air at varying heights.

What I think of the Soccer Wave after having tested it and used it.

The design and product branding for this product is truely very clever. “Socccer Wave” Yes, it looks like a wave, it’s design is practical and appealing, it has good market ability as the “new wave in soccer training,” and it targets a wide varitety of consumer looking for fun, innovative ways to train. So, very great design conept, branding and marketing ability. As for it’s performance, it didnt meet my standards for “New Wave in Soccer Training.”  Here’s WHY:

• You need to stand too close to get consist results.
• It doesn’t generate a powerful or driven rebound returns.
• Not only too much backspin on returns. But only backspin return.
• Its too big and bulky. Hard to travel with.

So, my over all review of this product. Not bad, nice concept, but poor performance. It didn’t my expectations from an individual soccer training equipment. “Big Wave” for those who like cool toys, not so much for those looking to maximizes training with an individual training product.

For a Full Video review of this product stay tuned.  SpirrsBlog.com is compiling test results from similar products to see how well each product matches up against their competitors.