Soccer Training Equipment – Portable Sports Coach

PowerNet Soccer Goal PowerNet Portable Soccer Goal Review CC: Having worked as a soccer coach for nearly 10 years now, I write all the reviews on this site. However, when Joseph came along and offered to write a review of the PowerNet Soccer Goal from a parent and soccer coach perspective – I thought, why not! Where ever you see ‘CC’ – I have added my own words into the mix incase Joseph missed anything. I’ll let Joseph take it from here.. The PowerNet Soccer Goal Review I used to play a lot of soccer. When I say a lot, I mean soccer was my main source of outdoor entertainment for years. If I wasn’t playing on a team, I was practicing daily. Whether I had people to play with or not, I could always be found kicking a soccer ball around. What I loved so much about soccer then and now is that it is just so basic. When I was playing at home I would either use the door of my garage or the space between the clothesline in the back yard as a goal. Problems arose when a car was parked in front of the garage or when I would repeatedly kick the ball over the fence into the neighbors yard. I was forever honing the accuracy of my shots towards the extremes of my imaginary goal. Years have passed since these days and I am grown now. I still play soccer, but now I play in my yard with my children. As a parent and a soccer coach looking at a product like the PowerNet goal, I consider a couple things before I put my money down. I have considerable experience with these types of goals and I feel I know what to look for. The necessary qualities of a goal are durability, affordability, and portability. I know from experience that if you skip out on one of these qualities when purchasing a soccer goal, you are investing in a product that will inevitably fail you. One of the things I always hated when I was playing seriously was when nets would break or tip over at every inopportune moment. Nothing is more frustrating than having to stop in the middle of play to reset the net or attempt to fix it. Description The PowerNet Soccer Goal is extremely lightweight and travels anywhere you need it to go. PowerNet designed this goal using the bow-style design*. While the goal appears large to look at, it doesn’t come in a large package making it hard to move. When you are ready to play, the net sets up in 5 minutes or less. PowerNet includes instructions for set up with the goal and also provides video instructions on Youtube. CC: Like most of the best portable soccer goals now, all PowerNet soccer goals come with a carry bag that the whole goal can collapse and fold into. This makes carrying even the biggest of goals pretty easy. *The bow-style was originally seen with the Bownet soccer goals Also, here’s a few videos from Youtube on the PowerNet setup: PowerNet Soccer Goal is; Highly affordable option compared to same size nets from competitors Goal can be used both indoors and out Set up requires no tools and can be completed by one person Goal collapses down to fit into included carrying bag Bow-Style frame design provides added structural support Affordability The PowerNet Soccer goal is an extremely affordable option when compared with the competition. This goal is nearly half the price of the same sized Bownet goal. (You can see current price here on Amazon) If you are considering purchasing a portable goal for your team, recognize that you could purchase two PowerNet goals of this size for nearly the same price of only one of their competitors. CC: The difference in price between the two soccer goals (PowerNet Vs Bownet) is probably the biggest difference there is. And as Joseph correctly points out – you can almost buy two PowerNet soccer goals for your team for the price of one Bownet. Durability I know from my own experience that portable goals have some severe limitations in regards to their longevity. There are too many occasions where the base breaks or a support pole snaps and what you are left with is a useless piece of equipment. CC: Couldn’t agree more! The PowerNet Soccer goal is designed with durability in mind. This goal is built using a metal base as opposed to plastic making it extremely hard starting from the ground up. This design provides the goal with solid footing that can help prevent it from tipping over when being used. The uprights of this goal are made using fiberglass poles, which can bend with the extremes of play and provide flexible, yet firm supports to keep the net in the correct position. CC: Which is great for older players too! If for some reason you find that you are having trouble with the design of the goal, PowerNet has a very dedicated customer service department that will be wiling to work to resolve your issue. Multiple people on Amazon reported that PowerNet was extremely helpful when the product had an issue and would either replace the goal outright or provide needed parts as promptly as they could. CC: The fiberglass poles are especially great for older players as they’ll tend to smash the ball a little harder! Portability As the parent of a current player, a coach, as well as a former player myself, I have a definitive understanding of the need for a goal to be portable. You need to be able to move a net at a moments notice and have it ready to set up and play right away. I also know that it is important to be able to move a goal from one place to another in the yard when it is in the way. The PowerNet goal is one that addresses these concerns clearly. It’s super lightweight and easy to move from place to place. Even with the metal base, it is still simple to pick up and move from one area of the yard to the next. It can also be used indoors or out, depending on your needs. CC: When using it indoors, I’d recommend grabbing a set of sandbags to keep the goal routed to the floor! Cons The included instructions for the PowerNet goal are lacking some crucial information on how to assemble the goal to its full size. There’s a snap button system that is located on the frame which is not clearly defined in the instructions. If you go to a Youtube video highlighting the setup of the goal, it simply mentions pulling each side until you hear it snap in the middle. One of the recommendations associated with this issue is that it would be nice to have access holes located in the fabric of the frame in order to see these buttons. Compared to Bownet The PowerNet Soccer Goal has a lot in common with its Bownet counterparts. One of the key features that make the PowerNet goal unique is that it sells for nearly half the cost. The weight and dimensions of the two goals are very similar, though the PowerNet has a lighter shipping weight according to Amazon. An asthetic feature that differs between the two models is that the PowerNet is predominately red and black while the Bownet is orange and white. CC: Remember that shipping weight is usually heavier than actual product. Conclusion So in the end after looking at this net what can I conclude? The PowerNet goal is a versatile option for players of all ages. Everyone from young kids to adults can benefit from using the PowerNet goal. After looking into this goal, a fact I continued to come upon was that PowerNet has great a great customer service policy. Portable goals can suffer damage from travel and hard use. No company is immune to their products breaking under these conditions. Multiple users on Amazon noted that when they found their goal to be lacking or damaged, they contacted PowerNet and had replacement parts shipped to them immediately. A company that stands by their products in this way is likely to earn my business. From all that I have been able to learn, this net appears to be durable and versatile enough for use as a backyard goal or for practice. The price of this goal is also very reasonable. From everything I was able to learn about PowerNet’s portable goal, there appears to be no sacrifice in regards to quality at this price. Amazon reviews repeatedly noted that this goal continuously performs well for players of all ages. The PowerNet has all the trappings to be a solid investment for any coach who wants a decent sized net for their players to practice on. Specification/Included Net Frame made of metal base and fiberglass upright poles Bungee Ground stakes Carrying bag