The ball is the most important tool in football and has changed more over the last hundred years than many think. Anyone holding a modern match ball today can hardly imagine what earlier generations played with. A brief foray through history.
The beginnings: Leather and lacing
The first footballs consisted of an animal bladder encased in leather. Later, a rubber interior became the standard, while the leather casing remained. These balls had one major weakness: they soaked up water in the rain, becoming significantly heavier. A header with a wet leather ball was anything but pleasant. Added to this was the lacing, which could be uncomfortable when heading.
1970: The ball for television
A milestone was the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. The official "Telstar" ball consisted of black pentagons and white hexagons. The design was no coincidence: it made the ball easier to see on the black-and-white televisions of the time. This pattern still defines the image that many people have of a football to this day.
Synthetic instead of leather
From the 1980s onwards, synthetic materials gradually replaced leather. The balls no longer absorbed water, remained light, and flew more predictably. For players, this meant harder shots and more precision.
Fewer seams, new flight paths
In the 2000s, manufacturers began to reduce the number of panels and bond the parts together instead of stitching them. The 2006 World Cup ball had only 14 parts, and the infamous "Jabulani" from 2010 had just 8. Goalkeepers complained at the time that the ball fluttered unpredictably. The reason is aerodynamics: a very smooth surface behaves differently at certain speeds than a ball with many seams. Since then, manufacturers have paid closer attention to a specifically structured surface.
Today: Technology inside
Modern tournament balls sometimes even contain sensors that register every touch. This data helps the video assistant referee with offside decisions, for example. The ball for the upcoming Euro 2024 in Germany also relies on this connected technology.
What does this mean for your shooting technique?
Modern balls are lighter and react more directly to your foot. This is both an advantage and a challenge: a cleanly struck volley flies quickly and precisely, whereas a poorly struck one will also miss the mark by a much wider margin. A stable movement sequence is therefore all the more important. When volleying, pay special attention to striking the ball in the center with a straight, firm ankle.
The right ball for training
Not every ball is suitable for every age. Adults and youth players use size 5, younger juniors mostly size 4, and the smallest players size 3. A ball that is too big or too heavy quickly ruins children's enjoyment of developing their technique.
Air pressure is just as important. The rules of the game prescribe a pressure between 0.6 and 1.1 atmospheres; the exact recommendation is usually on the ball. A ball inflated too hard bounces uncontrollably off the foot, while one that is too soft hardly flies at all. Therefore, check the pressure regularly, especially in winter when the cold causes the pressure to drop. A small pressure gauge costs very little and is worth it for anyone seriously working on their shooting technique.
Training with constant conditions
So that you can concentrate fully on your technique, the ball should come to you the same way every time. That is exactly why we developed the VOLLEYCHAMP®: the ball remains stable at the chosen height, allowing you to practice the point of contact and movement again and again under identical conditions.
