5 Gadgets to Improve Your Soccer Practice and Enhance Your Skills
There’s a reason soccer—or football, depending on your preference—is the most popular sport on the planet. You can feel a sense of accomplishment at becoming a proficient playmaker or striker and enjoy belonging to a huge global community. And it’s without a doubt a great way for you to stay in shape.
But are you tired of being just an average soccer player? Maybe you need to work on your non-dominant foot, improve your dribbling speed, or simply build confidence. You’re in luck, because there are a bunch of exciting gadgets available that you can use to boost your practices and take your soccer game to the next level.
Smart Soccer Balls
A smart ball is a high-tech device that may look like a normal soccer ball on the outside, but on the inside is equipped with sensors that track your every move. Smart soccer balls use this data to help you become the best player you’re able to be. But don’t worry, they won’t share any of your embarrassing moments—they’re designed to help you improve on the field.
Data collected by a smart soccer ball is sent to a connected smartphone or tablet, where it’s possible to access a variety of training drills and exercises. For example, theDribbleUp Smart Soccer Ballallows you to join practice sessions via the companion app (which you can connect to your TV via Apple TV or Chromecast). With these sessions, you can practice your dribbling speed, improve your weaker foot, and build confidence.
Overall, smart soccer balls are unique and innovative training tools that can help players of all levels improve their skills and reach their full potential. So, if you want to improve your skills and become a better soccer player, give a smart soccer ball a kick!
Smart Soccer Shoes
There aremany ways technology benefits sports. For example, tech companies are constantly finding new innovative ways to make “dumb” products “smart.” They frequently achieve this by creating add-on devices containing a bunch of sensors and then building a companion app that lets you analyze a wide range of performance-related data.
Soccer shoes—or boots—are one such product that you may now use to track your performance on the pitch. TheAdidas GMR Packof insoles allows you to transform any shoe into a smart shoe.
How? This high-tech device fits snugly inside your soccer shoes (or any other type of shoe), and it’s packed with sensors that measure all kinds of cool stuff. Metrics include shot power, distance traveled, running speed, and the number of kicks.
The best part is that it’s all connected to your smartphone, so you can see how you stack up against the competition and even complete soccer skills challenges in the EA Sports FIFA app. Are you ready to join the elite ranks? Just slip the GMR insoles into your boots and let the games begin!
Reaction Systems for Soccer Speed
Reaction systems are training tools designed to help athletes improve their reaction time and speed. They are used in many sports, from MMA to basketball and soccer. Reaction systems are often equipped with sensors that detect movement as well as signals for when you should react.
TheBlazePod Athlete Bundleincludes several portable pods that can you may place on flat surfaces or mount on stands. Each pod is equipped with a sensor that can flash a variety of colors to indicate when you should react. They can be programmed in many ways to perform a variety of different training drills and exercises.
Reaction systems don’t guarantee that you’ll turn into a blur of motion and speed. However, by performing reaction reps, you’ll be training your brain to have better reaction time and improved spatial awareness leading to faster, more accurate movements on the field.
Sports Performance Trackers
Whilefitness trackers might not work for every person, there are several devices on the market that use GPS and accelerometers to measure a crazy amount of data during your soccer practices. They are so effective that many professional teams use them. And there’s nothing stopping you from using performance trackers and turning yourself into a data-crunching beast.
The FIFA-approvedCatapult Vectorwearable device not only tracks metrics such as speed and distance, but it can also help players identify where they need to improve and offer guidance on how to make those improvements. This vest can monitor how hard you’re working by quantifying the physical load of your multi-directional movements on the field. It can also make recommendations for when to keep pushing and when to back off to reduce the risk of preventable injuries.
Similarly, theSTATSport Apexperformance tracking device leverages GPS, an accelerometer, and Bluetooth to provide what it claims to be the most accurate real-time performance monitoring. The device is capable of tracking over 260 metrics, including meters per minute, number of sprints, fatigue index, and heart rate exertion.
Boost Soccer Skills With Cameras
You can learn a lot about how you move by watching videos of yourself. And while recordings of you might not end up onFIFA+orApple’s MLS Season Pass, cameras can be extremely useful training devices.
TheVEO Cam 2sports camera claims to be the world’s first portable AI camera that can automatically live stream your matches. It features 4G LTE connectivity, an NVIDIA chip, and a hydrophobic wide-angle lens to stream your matches as they happen. What makes this a great training device is that you can immediately re-watch your game on the Veo Live app and analyze your performance, including those critical moments.
Similarly, thePlaySight Prosoccer camera system is also capable of capturing high-resolution gameplay. And multiple cameras can be used to deliver pro-level broadcasting without the need for an operator. One of the best features for soccer training is that the PlaySight app allows you to access instant replays from multiple angles so that you can analyze and improve your game in real time.
Up Your Soccer Game Using Technology
There are many ways technology can help you become a better soccer player, from providing real-time feedback on your performance using wearables or video capture devices. At the same time, technologies such as smart soccer balls and reaction systems can provide guidance and feedback on specific techniques, building your physical and mental capacity to become a stronger player.
By using these gadgets, you can better understand your strengths and weaknesses and develop strategies to improve your overall game.
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