Is a Smart Soccer Ball Worth It?
There is no greater joy than seeing our kids develop into their full potential. We invest so much in our kid’s success on and off the soccer field. But without an unlimited budget, you want to ensure the money you spend counts. Trying to sift through the endless training options can be super frustrating. The important thing is finding one that leads to more fun and more goals.
So is the Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball worth it? Let’s break it down into three categories: cost, effectiveness, and ease of use.
So what does it cost?
First, let’s tackle the cost. Perhaps it’s better to think of value. What’s the return on investment? Comparing Dribbleup to similar training expenses can help put things into perspective.
The Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball includes training to improve touch, confidence, and dribbling. Similar to what you would expect from a private soccer trainer or a soccer camp.
Private Trainer
A private trainer can cost between $60-80 an hour. And trainers with a track record and trustworthy credentials can go as high as $200 for a single session. That’s like an entire year of Dribbleup virtual training!
At once a week for an entire 16-week season, that can come out to almost $1,300. And that’s on the low end for only one hour a week! Seriously? Every soccer parent knows developing precision dribbling skills that translate to the field takes more than one hour of training a week.
This also assumes you can find a good trainer who knows what they are doing on the first try. Just because someone played a few seasons in high school doesn’t make them a great fit for your athlete. Parents want to make sure they're getting the best instruction possible at a reasonable price.
With the Smart Soccer Ball and Dribbleup app, your kids can access live training sessions every day of the week led by coaches with 1,000s of hours of experience. Plus, a vast library of on-demand content comes with your membership. Your family can get a level of coaching these trainers use with in-person clients, but for a fraction of the cost and 24/7 available access!
Training Camps
Another popular training option is a camp. These camps can run from $200 to several thousand dollars, especially for camps affiliated with big professional clubs.
Because camps are group training, the cost per hour is significantly less, but you lose the personalized nature of individual training. There are sometimes 100s of kids trying to get one coach's attention. This leads to lots of standing in lines and unsupervised reps. The drills and workouts are solid, but there isn’t much time for personalized feedback.
The Dribbleup app utilizes augmented reality so your kids know if they are doing the drill correctly immediately. This avoids getting in a ton of reps incorrectly, which can sometimes happen at a camp when coaches are constantly doing crowd control.
Incorrect reps develop bad habits and bad form. Both of which can take longer to unlearn than they did to learn. Little shortcuts lead to bad footwork and slower reactions when it counts in games. Plus, personal training and camps require a significant time commitment on top of regular team practices and games.
Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball
A Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball is currently on sale for $49.99 (down from $99.99 until 5/31/23), plus the applicable monthly membership charge. The soccer ball is ready to go with the touch of a button, right from your own living room, backyard, or garage. That means you can use it rain or shine, and you never have to spend time arranging for pick up and drop off.
Dribbleup training is ready whenever your kids are, so it can fit into your already busy schedule. Plus, it's perfect for when you need them to burn off some extra energy at home!
But does it actually work? And who uses it?
Most high-level soccer teams strongly encourage practice outside of scheduled training so kids can level up their footwork, dribbling, and touch. With the Dribbleup app, beginners and skilled players alike can work on gamified training drills that keep things interesting with real-time virtual feedback.
And the results from these players and parents speak for themselves.
Kids love how it gives them another opportunity to get better at soccer
Plus, the competition to show up on the leaderboard produces confidence and investment that leads to results on the field.
Check out 5,000+ reviews on the Smart Soccer Ball page.
“You can’t just go to your team practices and expect to be the best one when you're not doing anything extra. Not everyone is constantly getting touches every day." - Jordan.
And parents see the value too
Dribbleup helps busy parents who can’t always invest additional time into their kid's improvement.
"I would definitely recommend Dribbleup to any player and any parent who needs their child to get more touches on the ball and who maybe don't have the time or the opportunity to take them out to the park. Or full-time parents that are working and really want to see improvement in their child's skills! I feel that Dribbleup is the best way for children to improve their skills at any time...anywhere."
And they are impressed with how quickly they noticed results after consistent use.
“After a short period of time, I would say within 2 weeks; we saw quite a bit of new experience, quite a bit of new touches, and quite a bit of confidence in just the short two weeks.”
“We've seen great improvement in her dribbling skills, she keeps the ball at her feet and is very comfortable with it at her feet. She's trying new moves and she's greatly improving. Her confidence is up and she's not afraid to show off the moves she's learning in Dribbleup class!"
Plus, trainers are recommending Dribbleup to families to help improve their footwork.
"They found confidence and comfort in a short period of time. With the Dribbleup it’s just you and the ball for 30-40 minutes, so that’s a lot of touches that just can’t be mimicked in another session. It’s given them the confidence to go out there and say I’m gonna do that scissor or I’m gonna do that stepover.”
Ok, but is it hard to use?
You may be worried about the Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball requiring a complicated setup.
But you don’t need to worry. The Dribbleup app is simple to download from the Google Playstore or Apple app store. Once installed, the app will guide you through the rest. Kids who grew up using tech can probably do it themselves. Half the time, my kid is teaching me how to use new features on my phone anyway.
Once the app is running on a phone or tablet, it’s simple to connect to a smart TV with Chromecast, Airplay, or an HDMI adapter, but that is totally optional. Your kids can get in a GREAT practice session with just a phone or tablet.
Is a Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball worth it?
If you ask one of the 5,062 verified reviews for the Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball (as of 4/04/2023), the answer is likely to be a resounding "YES!" In fact, 90% of people have rated our Smart Soccer Ball four stars or higher.
Kids see their skills level up with this at-home tool that is cost-effective and easy to use. We’ve seen disengaged kids who hope the ball never ends up at their feet become leaders on their teams. Now they are scoring goals, making assists, and having the most fun they’ve ever had. The difference is incredible. The only problem you might have is getting them to stop using it!
Improve your footwork with the Smart Soccer Ball
With the Dribbleup Smart Soccer Ball and accompanying Dribbleup app, your kids will have plenty of drills and challenges to boost their dribbling skills and maximize their touches on the ball in as little as 15 minutes each day.
Plus, this soccer ball has 5,000+ reviews and a 4.6/5 star rating (as of 4/4/23), so your child will love practicing at home with this training tool. Don't wait, grab the Smart Soccer Ball and join the Dribbleup family today!
Membership separate (auto-renews monthly at the applicable fee) and gives you full access to all training content on the app for up to 6 members of your household. Access to limited app content only without the Membership.