Training balls are the life blood of any player.  We practice with them, kick them against the garage, play in the yard and scrimmage.  For most youth and recreational players, a training ball is all they will ever need.

Shoot out season is a favorite time at AVID Soccer.  Our testers live to bring you the news on the latest and greatest products, so training balls can be a little anti-climatic.  Fortunately, they get better every year.  For our comparison, we rated the balls on desirability, playability and durability.  We also gave each of the testers a non-specific vote

Our test parameters:

• Readily available through on-line retailers
• Current retail price below $50
• Available/tested in size 5
• Inflated to manufacturer's recommended pressure
• Survive a week with our testers

This year, we have three contestants.  Each survived our usual rigorous test regimen so they arrived well used.

• Brine Triumph 20-500 Replica - This ball is the sibling of last years Match Ball winner.  Rated for both High School (NFHS) and College (NCAA) match play, it is hard to call it a training ball.
• Puma V3.08 - Like the Brine, the Puma is a quality training ball and would qualify for match play everywhere but the top flight.  The V3.08 is qualifies for NFHS and the FIFA Inspected marks.
• Umbro England Chrome - This is a standard ball with interesting graphics and a quality touch.

Desirability is the easiest category to measure.  The Puma looks like a big golf ball and tended to be the last choice for our testers.  The Umbro one out with our fans of the EPL, but our other testers equated it to a "Kiddie Ball" being more fashion than form.  Looking almost indistinguishable from its match level sibling, the Brine finished first.

Each of these balls plays well, although the Umbro was definitely out classed in this group.  Both the Puma and Brine are match quality for the average player.  However, somebody has to be second.  In this case, it is the Brine.  Our testers felt the Triumph didn't manage wet conditions as well as the Puma.  The V3.08 was the striker's choice for balance and flight.  It is also the only ball here that carries a FIFA rating.

Durability is the least subjective comparison.  And, while we didn't test the balls to the point of catastrophic failure, we did abuse them... a lot.   The Umbro's graphics faired well, but the stitching showed obvious wear after our testing.  We don't expect it to fail soon, but the cover is already stretching.  The Puma appears to have more wear than it actually has.  The dimpled cover highlights the scuffs and stains as does the unique panel pattern.  All of the wear is aesthetic, but it is obviously wearing.  That puts the Brine out front.  The under glass graphics and quality PU cover showed little more than boot scuffs and grass stains after all our tests.

Our final votes came down to the purpose of a training ball.  We decided that meant "How well does this ball prepare you for playing the match?"  Assuming the match ball is the more expensive sibling, we dropped the Umbro out.  With no equivalent, there is no comparison.  The Puma fell next.  While both the V3.08 and V1.08 share the same panel design, the dimpling and the covers are very different.  Our testers didn't feel the touch or flight was consistent between the two.  That pushes the Brine out front.  With little difference between the 20-500 and 20-600, our testers wondered why anyone would spend 3x the price.

In the end, the comparison was relatively easy.  The Umbro was simply out classed and finishes a distant third.  The two remaining each one a category and each had at least one first place vote.  Both deserve a place on the pitch.  In the end, the Brine squeaked out the win.  It simply looked better and provided a more consistent comparison to the match ball.