Everything we do in life, we strive to be the best. Adidas has created a “smart” soccer ball in order to help make young, dedicated soccer players better than ever. The miCoach is like always having a great coach at the tip of your fingers (and your feet) any where and any time. Players from as young as 7 to as old as 18 are purchasing this new technology to better their shooting ability and foot skills. The miCoach also gives players to the ability to share their data that the ball collects with other friends, adding a feature of competitiveness and bragging rights!
The Components
Physical Components
This innovative smart ball is made up of heat-welded, die-cut thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and TPU bladder giving the ball elasticity, transparency, and resistance to oil, grease and abrasion. Even with the added technology in the ball, Adidas managed to keep the ball at regulation weight. The miCoach is only available in a size five (which is the usual regulation size for most leagues). It also comes with a charger base and AC power plug in order to charge the ball after approximately every 2,000 kicks (or one week).
Smart Components
The ball itself only holds one technical smart component. The ball has a sensor suspended and protected inside its center that detects the force placed on the ball allowing the sensor to then project the speed, spin, strike and flight path data of the kick. The data is then transferred to the app on your phone that goes along with the ball.
Connectivity Component
The smart component leads directly into the connectivity components of the miCoach soccer ball. Once the ball collects the data, the consumer has that information in the palm of their hand. The app then allows consumers to watch tutorials to help them master new techniques, challenge themselves to apply power with control, attempt to replicate the kicks of professional football players, and save their best kicks each day. The app is also interactive. Consumers can share their data with friends via the app or social media. This is a way for them to show off or challenge a friend.
Reshaping an industry or creating a new one?
The Adidas miCoach is the first ball of its kind. The technology behind soccer balls has developed much over the years, but the miCoach is an entirely new kind of technology in the world of soccer. Prior to the launch of the miCoach, technology behind soccer balls focused on physical components like the balls weight and the material it’s made of. The technology in the miCoach is focused on not creating the best ball possible, but the best player possible. This ball compared to other “high end” soccer balls, has a completely different target market. Normally, skilled players and coaches of talented teams are the target market for the best soccer balls on the market. The miCoach is for young and upcoming soccer players to become part of the target market for high end soccer balls.
Currently, the miCoach has no direct competitors. With the technology now out and available to other companies though, it will not be long before companies like Nike and Select will be producing similar products. Adidas is already the leading soccer ball seller and now being the first to enter this new market, they will have a strong hold on the market, but will need to keep up with the innovation and technology. An issue that often comes along with being the first smart product of its kind is running into glitches in the technology. This then provides other companies with the ability to recognize the issues and better the product before the original company. This will be a semi-easy market for competitors to enter since the product can be produced and sold at such a low price and since there is only one company in the market currently. Especially for large companies like Nike and Select, they can afford the entry fee and also can afford to take the blow if the product does not do well. It is a risk I imagine they will be taking in the near future, with opportunity for much growth and success.
The Value in miCoach
I find this product to have much value in its innovativeness, what it has to offer the consumer and in financial results. As I previously mentioned, it truly is the first of its kind. This does cause some hesitation in potential consumers, but it also drives excitement and opportunity for many players. Young soccer players who don’t have the ability to train with a coach every day or even multiple times a week, now have the ability to receive training from some of the most knowledgeable professionals and people in the industry at their convenience. For a teen to a twenty-something age demographic, this ball provides them the opportunity to get that extra step up in their career by perfecting a free kick or finding a more powerful shot. At a reasonable cost of only $200 (reasonable in terms of purchasing s good soccer ball), players can have a personal training session daily! I see this leading to positive financial results for Adidas. The ball is reasonably priced, allowing for enough consumers to have the ability to purchase it, but since it is still so new, it will take time before it really becomes a money maker for Adidas.
As a soccer player myself, I would have loved to have this ball around when I was playing at the high school level, constantly trying to perfect direct and indirect free kicks. This ball has the ability to enhance a players skills whether you’re playing at a small high school or getting recruited to a D1 college. I have not personally had the opportunity to use the ball, nor had I even heard of its existence before discovering it for this case, but reviews on Apple and Adidas’s website have given positive feedback. Consumers have said things like “this product is very well made”, “it really works”, “no complaints” and “what’s not to love?”.
As much as I would have loved to believe that Adidas got it all right on their first try, the reviews also reveal that there are some defects to the ball that need to be improved. Consumers are also worried about deflating the ball due to the technology in the middle. These issues are opportunities for competitors to join the race for smart soccer balls! But they better join quick before Adidas fixes its errors and gains total control of the market.
For more information on the miCoach, what it means for the world of soccer and where the creators see its future, check out the video below!
Sources:
Apple
http://www.apple.com/shop/product/HFQQ2ZM/B/adidas-micoach-smart-ball
Adidas
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