RISE OF THE SMART FOOTBALL
BRAINY ADIDAS PIGSKIN TO SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS
Adidas trains us all better with its sensored-up smart ball
“You can’t practice penalties,” said every coach ever. Wrong, sorry. Four and a half years in the making, the Adidas MiCoach SmartBall is packed to the brim with tech to help focus your finishing. The sensor, suspended dead-centre inside the ball, detects exactly where your boot strikes, measuring revolutions per minute and speed. This data is beamed via Bluetooth to the obligatory iOS app, where you can watch the wayward trajectory of your shot and try to master a variety of styles such as Ronaldo’s “knuckleball”. The 2,000-kick battery run out? A one-hour boost on its wireless charging plate returns it to peak fitness. $TBC, adidas.com.au
Feet first: pete dreyer takes his shot with the smartball
the micoach ball is remarkably accurate and seeing yourself improving shot after shot on the app is addictive. butwhile the tech is very Impressive, it has its limits.
chiefly, The ball has to fly through the air for roughly ten metres before the sensor grabs enough data for analysis, so its usefulness depends on how much practice space you have.
I’d also like to see Adidas involve their sponsored pros more, in the way some tennis apps do, comparing stats with the likes of Bale and Messi would add star quality to a very clever idea.