Mikasa Mikasa Soccer Ball

Coaching GU11 select I elected to get a training ball so that everyone was using the exact same ball type – and allowing me to evaluate players. I have been using 10 of these now for 2 months without issue.

Surprisingly these come completely inflated to regulation. Not only that, I have checked them several times and ALL of the ten I received are spot on even after 10s of hours of training. Covers are nice in that they have just enough padding to convince 10 year old girls that heading is a good thing! I have checked for any form of marring, cutting, stitching issues and these are like brand new.

Some other coaches that had an equivalent Adidas balls picked up one my mine and commented upon both the touch(feel) and the nice padding.

Great ball — I typically have purchased a ball based on price which means we get the $10 ball in the bin from the store at the beginning of soccer season because I figure we’ll lose it at some point. Lately, they’ve been coming apart just 4-6 weeks in. I decided to “splurge” on this $14 ball with the great reviews and I am so glad I did. My 9-year old son AND his teammates AND the refs all seem to love this ball. The team always brings this to the center of the field as one of two for the refs to choose from as game ball and it has been chosen EVERY time, most of the time as the ball to start with even (not thrown down the side to sit by the goal net. We’re 6 weeks in (it has been through rain, mud and extreme heat) and it still looks new. Even my husband, the soccer guru, asked me how expensive this ball was as it has been holding up so well.

Skip the other big name brands. I have used Nike, adidas, voit, champion, and many other brands of soccer practice balls and they all last one season at best. This is one of the best feel and durability balls you can get. The stitching is strong durable and long lasting. The bladders continue to hold air after years of use. I bought 5 of these for my youth club and nothing outlasts them.

I am actually coming back to add to my review because I am in the market for a few more of these same Mikasa balls. I am happy to say that the balls have yet to fail after a couple years of year round use in club soccer. These balls last. They keep their shape, can survive being left in the backyard, don’t get saturated during wet conditions, and keep holding air. The outer shell has a soft feel and is perfect for practicing and nobody complains when these are brought out in a game either.

I have purchased 3 of these in the past year or so in size 4 and 5. The overall quality of the ball is inconsistent, but I gave it 4 stars because they were all at least decent and 2 have put up with a lot of abuse and are still holding air and performing on the pitch. Even the one I had to retire was good for a few months of tough play, so it’s hard to complain.

Good feel on the foot (this is the preferred ball at my local pick-up game), mostly holds air well and doesn’t look anywhere near as cheap as it is. I made the mistake of buying a hand-stitched ball for about 5 times the price of this thing and won’t ever go back. There may be appropriate times/places that would call for something more expensive, but if you just need a ball to kick around that you’ll enjoy this is probably as good as it gets. My apologies if you wind up with one that isn’t up to par, but I felt that 2 out of 3 was pretty good considering the price was less than $20.

I have coached youth club soccer – Rec, Competitive and School Leagues for the past several years, and anyone who does that knows that you can go through balls very quickly. If you buy cheap balls, they fall apart quickly, and end up being not so cheap… often a pain in the butt, too having to pump them back up frequently. Most of the balls in this price range have poor feel and are too hard when properly inflated for many kids to enthusiastically play balls with their head and other body parts.

On the flip side, more expensive balls often “go missing”, and run up your equipment costs quickly.

These Mikasa balls are by far the best all around value I have found. They are high quality, hold air well, have a soft cover the kids will play (headers, chest, etc), along with a good feel. And when they get lost or stolen, or finally wear out, they are pretty inexpensive to replace. They are the only practice balls I buy any more.

The one negative I would cite is that probably one in five balls I receive doesn’t hold air and I send them back. Not a big deal to me because Amazon covers the shipping, and I get the replacement ball very quickly.

Exactly as described.

Good cushy ball for all ages