Soccer Locker Review: Global Goal
From the fields at Liverpool FC, Fulham FC and Everton FC – Global Goal now is in the USA. From training field players to goalkeepers and even teams, Global Goal is a flexible and inspiring training tool for player development. Elite players are easily motivated and challenged by Global Goal as it helps improve technical skills through repetition and creativity — two things that rarely go together. A training tool for youth and professional soccer players, Global Goal is unique, and definitely different looking.
Global Goal, is one of the most versatile soccer training tools on the market. Global Goal has endless possibilities and you will get the full benefit from your goal from the very first day.
It is easy to create variety; whether you are training alone or as a team. The goal can be set up in the starting position or at 45° or 90°. You can play on several sides at once, so it is possible to train both technique and motor skills. Global Goal provides you with endless possibilities to make your training even more fun and exciting.
SoccerToday spoke with Lester Spear with Global Goal:
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the story behind Global Goal – who invented it and what inspired them?
Lester Spear: It is a great story. Global Goal was invented in Denmark by Jesper Langhorn, a pipe fitter and soccer player turned soccer coach.
Jesper was managing a large group of players and was looking for another set of hands on the training pitch.
Jesper also saw the need to providing training opportunities outside of organized practice sessions to players who wanted to take their game to the next level.
Global Goal is the result of Jespers experience as a pipe fitter and extensive experience as a player in Denmark and his passion for coaching.
As his players began to benefit from Global Goal more people wanted to use this training device in their backyard. Jesper then connected with Peter Ostergaard – both played at FC Copenhagen. They joined forces and partnered with FC Copenhagan and the club used Global Goal with their youth player development program and all the way up through their first team trainings.
Diane Scavuzzo: So this really started the ball rolling?
Lester Spear: Yes, after this, they partnered with Carlesburg Group a Danish Brewing Co. who was marketing a sports drink Carlesburg Sport. They made Global Goals with the Carlesburg logo and Carlesburg gave the goals away to clubs as a marketing opportunity. Carlesburg now had this new training device in clubs and backyards all over Denmark that everyone wanted to look at. It was great for both companies and Global Goal took off.
The Danish FA also bought 180 Professional models and gave them out to clubs all over Denmark.
Denmark is a soccer nation and Global Goal took off like crazy and is still going strong today. There are now 4 versions of Global Goal and Jesper is working on more innovative ideas to bring to the soccer industry.
Diane Scavuzzo: Where can you get Global Goal?
Lester Spear: Global Goal is available in Germany, England, Denmark, Isriel, US and Canada and new markets are opening up constantly.
Diane Scavuzzo: How did you become involved in what is your role today?
Lester Spear: I met Peter Ostegaard a few years ago when he was coaching my son’s soccer team. Peter was a Professional Player in Denmark and has a UEFA-B licences and Danish FA A-E plus a NSCAA Premier diploma.
I invited him to work and he brought this crazy contraption.
The kids all loved working with this crazy contraption called Global Goal and Peter integrated it into the sessions. He left the Global Goal With our club and for the next few weeks. We used it with many of our teams and I was very impressed with how engaged the players were and how much it was helping them with their first touch and their confidence on the ball.
The greatest part of all for me was that my kids immediately began using Global Goal everyday. We live in a small town in Maine and there is very little soccer. Kids these days don’t just go out and have pick up games and work on their skills. That all changed when Global Goal Came to my backyard. They made up games and competitions and had fun working on soccer related skills.
Very quickly other Midcoast Players and Families wanted Global Goal at their home so I contacted Peter only to find out there was really no distribution in the US and that Peter owned the Patent Rights in the US and Canada. I immediately drew up a business plan and presented it to Peter and he agreed to sell me the rights and we became business partners.
At this point now I am one of four Partners (Peter Ostegaard, Shashi Vaswani, Dart McCarty) and I am primarily responsible for sales.
Diane Scavuzzo: Global Goal is unique in a world of basic rebounders – what are the advantages and why is the shape so different? How many surfaces does it have?
Lester Spear: It is a very unique looking product. We do not like to call it a rebounder because it limits the mind to a preconceived idea of all the other products out there.
Global Goal is a training device that can be used for multiple sports and is as dynamic as the game itself.
The unique shape of Global Goal makes it easy to move around the field for different drills and games and most importantly provides many surfaces for the ball to interact with and give game like feedback to the training player. Feet, Head , Chest, Juggling, Give and Go, shooting accuracy, fitness, reaction drills and much much more all being executed at game speed or faster is what Global Goal is all about.
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the biggest challenge you face in getting this product out on the field to help develop the stars of tomorrow today on the soccer field?
Lester Spear: Global Goal is so different and unique, often people do not understand how it works. Global Goal is a fantastic training tool and nothing compares to it.
The premier model costs $399. This is a professional training device that can help players work on their game for years. How much are people paying for cleats and bags? Everyone knows that you need to practice to become good and Global Goal is a training tool that players never get tired of.
In Denmark and probably all over Europe, 80% of a players play soccer on the street or in the playground. Kids play more without the supervision of coaches. Players touch the ball everyday and hone their technique constantly. In America, youth soccer is so organized and players rarely practice on their own.
Global Goal has been easily appreciated and adopted overseas but it is taking longer in the USA. Some of our first customers have been coaches and players who have used Global Goal in other countries. Now, the word is spreading and it is starting to go viral in parts of America.
Diane Scavuzzo: How does Global Goal help enhance performance? Who should practice with it? Is it as useful for goalies as it is for strikers?
Lester Spear: Global Goal is a great way to get more touches on the ball at game speed. All levels of player can benefit from working with it. Field players and goalkeepers alike can improve their game by working with Global Goal. One of the coolest parts is the superior rebound ability. I have had Professional Players working with Global Goal and the harder they play a ball in, the faster it comes back to them and it is consistent and true in its delivery.
In soccer, it is so important to work on fundamental techniques at all levels of play and Global Goal can help tremendously with this. Global Goal is also great for fitness and it is also just fun to wok with alone or with others. Global Goal engages players and enables creativity and competition.
Diane Scavuzzo: What well-known soccer players, clubs or leagues have reviewed Global Goal?
Lester Spear: Everyone who has had a chance to see Global Goal and work with it, comes away surprised and impressed. This past January, we went to our First NSCAA conference and our booth was a constant training ground. Coaches and players from around the world were all impressed with Global Goal as a training device.
At this point, Global Goal is being used at youth soccer clubs, colleges and high schools across America. Most notably, IMG Academy is using Global Goal in their camps and trainings. Kevin Hartman, Technical Director at IMG, played 17 years in the MLS as a Top goalkeeper with numerous records for shutouts and saves brought Global Goal to IMG.
Dax and Dustin McCarty, both MLS players have great experiences working with Global Goal. We are currently talking with Sporting Kansas City as well.
Diane Scavuzzo: If someone is interested, does Global Goal arrange for an on-site demonstration?
Lester Spear: We are always looking to work with players and coaches who want to improve their game. We do a lot of demos for coaches and usually use some of their players in the session. This way the coaches can really get a feel for how Global Goal can help their athletes immediately.
