From rebounders to soccer tennis nets and reaction balls, the opportunities are endless for kids to get in the proper training hours.

But with more and more products on the market, it’s tough to figure out what’s really going to improve your budding athlete’s game vs. what’s just a gimmick.

But according to Soccer Express’ VP of Sales Dan Bordignon, all the training gadgets and equipment sold at the store definitely serve a purpose.

“Most of the equipment all works to improve first touch and helps simulate first touch,” he said, adding that all products undergo annual reviews to ensure it’s beneficial to player development.

Some of the most popular items are the basics, like the Soccer Pal, about $15, which is a simple tool that places the ball in a net attached to a tether so players can practise kicking back and forth on their own. Other popular items are the standard tools for agility training like ladders, training hurdles and parachutes.

But when it comes to the larger-scale training items, soccer tennis nets are a top-seller, costing about $150.

TSS Academy’s Brendan Quarry swears by this tool so much he built a small turf field specifically for his soccer tennis net in his own backyard.

“It’s kind of like volleyball that you just play with your feet, so you strike the ball and it’s allowed to bounce,” he said. “It’s helped (my son’s) touch immeasurably.”

“What’s great about soccer tennis is that you’re practising and yet it doesn’t feel like practice ... that’s always the challenge, I think, in soccer is when you’re doing stuff on your own it’s a little bit difficult to make it enjoyable.”

Quarry also recommends Kwik Goal’s Coerver Goals, but more so for the club environment as opposed to individual training, as the product can cost up to $1,000.

The Coerver Goal is a full-size goal, but flat, “so when you strike you don’t have to go in and retrieve the ball,” he said.

Another top selling gadget at Soccer Express is the Kwik Back Rebounder, which retails for about $350.

“It’s very much like ... taking a ball and knocking it against the wall,” said Bordignon. “It just helps simulate first touch for a kid in a backyard if he has no one to play with.

“When you’re training on your own you just want equipment that will help support first touch and simulate the presence of another player — something to come back at you.”

And with the rebounder — which comes in small, medium and large sizes — it provides a more accurate bounce than a wall would, he said.

However, TSS Academy trainer Daryl Ware-Lane views most training gadgets as unnecessary, only agreeing with some like soccer tennis nets (good for juggling) and reaction balls (great for hand-eye coordination with keepers).

“Soccer, for me, was never something where you have to buy a lot of equipment — you need a ball and yourself,” said Ware-Lane. “If you’ve got a brick wall at home, then you have a rebounder.”

Head coach of the UBC men’s soccer program, Mike Mosher, agrees.

“Just simply knocking a ball against a wall can be such a great tool for creating the necessary repetitions,” he said. “Learning to kick with different parts of both feet, one touch or two touch, receiving the ball off the wall with different body parts and at different heights and angles. This can all be done with only a ball and a wall, no others persons necessary.”

But in the rebounder’s defence, Bordignon said it avoids the “risks” associated with kicking a ball against a wall — like smashing a window.

lcahute@theprovince.com

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