Things to consider when buying a football...

1. Beginners should consider a size 5 ball (the biggest standard sizing) as these may be easier to control. Experienced players may wish to consider a size 3 or 4 or even a mini-ball as these, being more challenging to control, can stimulate skill development. Futsal (a popular indoor version of socccer) balls are heavy and do not bounce very well - these are best purchased only if you wish to focus on the indoor game.
   
2. Although it's a personal preference, and quite subtle, if the skin of the ball is 'grippy' rather than 'shiny', it can be a little bit easier to control. This may not be immediately obvious, but if you juggle (or kick to hand) the ball a few times, you may notice the difference.
   
3. The colour or design of the ball probably makes no difference to it's flight characteristics or how it feels, but at the same time, to 'enhance the karma in your personal universe', pick a colour or design that you like. Though colour seems irrelevant, many experienced players voice the opinion that they don't feel comfortable playing matches with anything other than a white ball.
   
4. Official FIFA regulations say that a ball should be pumped to between 9 and 11 pounds of pressure per square inch. This can feel heavy to play with (especially if you've got small feet), and can sometimes hurt your toe if you miskick, so for training purposes, consider letting some air out. This may have the added benefit that the softer ball 'sits' better on the foot/boot when juggling or dribbling. Heading overpumped balls is not only uncomfortable, it's downright dangerous.
   
5. For practice purposes, a training ball, not a match ball, may be advised. Training balls are significantly cheaper and may be easier to use.
6. Consider the conditions you'll be using the ball in. If you intend doing plenty of wall work (i.e. practising striking the ball against a concrete wall using a wide variety of techniques) then the ball is going to suffer much wear and tear. Some balls suffer this better than others. There is no rule of thumb here but good advice may be to experiment with less expensive balls.
7. Buy a pump as well. A highly recommended model that is currently sold in high street shops allows you to store the valve in the head of the pump when you're not using it. This can be handy if you are in the habit of forgetting where you last left your valve (regrettably this can happen an awful lot).
8. World Cup Replica balls are typically great looking and very attractively packaged, but they may not possess any of the desirable properties of their high-tech counterparts.
   

Please feel free to put forward any additional suggestions you would like as a blog comment, or email info@soccerfit.com.au

Regards,

Liam O'Duibhir, Director, SoccerFit

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