I took my eight-year-old daughter to her first tryout last week. It’s for a travel soccer team, near where I live. Up until this point, she’s been playing in an AYSO league, doing well. As the ever critical parent, though, I recognize that she still has areas of her game that can be improved — namely her shooting strength (or lack thereof), and ball control.
Coincidentally, a few days before her first tryout, I received a package in the mail from a company called PowerCleatz. It was a review pair of rubber accessories that you slip on over your soccer cleats. As soon as they arrived, my daughter and I went into the back yard to try them on, and give them a test drive.
After slipping on the black rubber PowerCleatz over each cleat, they snapped tight to the middle of the cleat. My daughter and I then started passing the ball back-and-forth between each other until we were warmed up, and then she started kicking shots at me. Or, more accurately, she started blasting the ball at me.
It seemed that she immediately had more power in her shot. The PowerCleatz certainly didn’t affect her level of play negatively, but the true test was to come a few days later at her tryout.
Prior to the tryout, I looked at the PowerCleatz in more detail and did some research to learn more about the product. The last thing I wanted to do was to wreck my child’s chance at getting picked at the tryout, so I needed to make sure that PowerCleatz would help her game.
The noticeable improvement in the power of her shot, I learned, was due to the proprietary rubber compound that PowerCleatz are made of. The marketing literature promised that PowerCleatz would help “kick the ball harder, further, and with less energy.” And the claim certainly seemed to be true, from what I saw in my back yard. In fact, PowerCleatz reminded me of those small rubber bouncy balls — power balls — that bounce really high just from a small drop. The material seems similar to PowerCleatz, but PowerCleatz gives you more control and precision, and gives you that extra boost without losing accuracy.
I learned that other PowerCleatz advantages include better control of the ball, being able to put “spin on” or take “spin off” the ball. Plus, the next biggest advantage — particularly for my young daughter and I — was that PowerCleatz allows you to tuck the shoelaces under the rubber PowerCleatz, so the laces are tied and concealed out of the way. That, for small children especially, is a huge plus, especially considering how many times in a season she has to stop to tie her laces mid-game.
The true test, though, came at the tryout, which was held over two evenings. My daughter slipped the PowerCleatz on, ran off to the field with the other 15 players competing for 8-9 slots and followed the coach’s instructions.
During a water break later on, I discovered another significant advantage of PowerCleatz: They were giving my daughter a huge confidence boost. She could tell that they were helping her game, but psychologically she was given a boost because she knew she was wearing something that improved her game.
During her tryout, she ran her heart out, played all positions, participated in several scrimmage games and didn’t complain once about wearing PowerCleatz. Plus, she didn’t ask me to re-tie her shoelaces once because they were concealed under her PowerCleatz.
After the two tryouts ended, we had the antagonizing wait of 24 hours to find out whether she made the cut, or not. When the coach called my wife, our anticipation was building. But when I saw my wife beam a big, wonderful smile, I knew what the answer was. She made it. Thanks PowerCleatz.
I should add that PowerCleatz are for any ages. One size fits all, so no matter how young or old you are, the black PowerCleatz will fit your cleats. They’re perfect for all levels — everyone from beginners to pro-athletes. And they’re approved by FIFA.
To learn more about PowerCleatz, and how they can help your game, visit the PowerCleatz.com website, and watch this helpful video.
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17 Comments
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Frill Artist
July 17, 2012 at 7:29 pm
I don’t understand why those two people above are whining. If Gaffer didn’t post this, I probably wouldn’t have heard about it.
BigSoccerKilla
July 12, 2012 at 12:51 am
What else are they going to come up with? Next we’re going to see the “Powerjerseyz”, complete with padding for impacts, LED fabric that turns bright red when a player has the ball and solar lettering/logo to power it!! Ok – if they made that, I would buy it. And with that said, it looks like I’m picking up a pair of these babies.
Mufc77
July 11, 2012 at 10:58 am
Someone should order Andy Carroll a couple of pairs of these things.
Well done to your kid gaffer.
Cody
July 11, 2012 at 9:53 am
Gaffer, just curious if you have looked into the legalities of these.
I’m sure an AYSO ref wouldn’t question them during a pre-game equipment check, but what about the refs in a competitive travel league?
Or is this something you wouldn’t consider using during a game?
You mentioned hiding the laces, which reminds me, I’ve used adi copa mundials & world cups all my life and could never figure out why they come with laces that are about three times longer than they need to be. In high school, we would just wrap them under the shoe once or twice, but now in my adult league, I find myself re-lacing them with shorter laces. There has to be a reason for the mile long laces…anyone?
The Gaffer
July 11, 2012 at 10:19 am
Cody, according to PowerCleatz, FIFA has approved the PowerCleatz and is allowed.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Tony Butterworth
July 10, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Cheat !!!
The Matador
July 10, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Sounds interesting. For $20 I’m trying it. It looks like the SweetSpot on steroids.
Clampdown
July 10, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Is that her club’s new third jersey? I don’t like it. Rubbish. etc, etc.
Nonsense
July 10, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Get over it!
Clampdown
July 10, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Relax. It was a joke (and not specific to any club).
The Gaffer
July 10, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Don’t give clubs any ideas! Otherwise we could be seeing pikachu designs on shirts. 😉
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Dan d Man
July 10, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Just bought a pair online looking forward to testing them out. Kinda of interested to see if they can protect my foot the extra power will be a bonus. Will update when I give them a good old test.
Nooblior
July 10, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Sponsored posts on EPL Talk? Bah
Nonsense
July 10, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Congratulations to your daughter.
For those above me if by running this site you receive the occasional item to ‘test out’ what does it matter as long as the review is fair and honest.
I’m sure the two above me haven’t played competitive or even semi-competitive soccer in years, if ever. Items that are reviewed that require you to play probably don’t interest them!
The Gaffer
July 10, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for the support. My daughter tested them out, and they really made a difference to her. The review was written as honestly as possible.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Alex
July 10, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Wow. Really?
Nonsense
July 10, 2012 at 3:32 pm
“Wow. Really?” The most over-used phrase on blogs.
YES, REALLY!