Playermaker Soccer Tracker for Kids: A Review by a Soccer Mom and a Thirteen-Year-Old Player (First published in 2021)
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Soccer mom’s review
Playermaker is a motion sensor that is strapped to the player’s soccer cleats, where it records and analyzes their movements and sends the data to the app installed on their phone. The insights it displays—distance covered, speed of kicks, number of possessions, and more—are saved and analyzed.
My thirteen-year-old aspiring soccer player had been asking for the Playermaker kit and app for a long time. It’s an expensive toy, and I was reluctant to buy it. Why would a thirteen-year-old boy need such an expensive device, used previously only by professionals?
But my boy is persistent and he kept asking for it. He said there were a few other kids on the team who had it, and that it was really important for him to know his stats so he could improve them. He said it would help him get ahead in the game.
I resisted for a few months, but finally, I agreed to buy the Playermaker. After all: what cannot be measured cannot be improved, right?
We ordered the Playermaker online from the official site. It arrived quickly, and since then, my son has worn it to every practice and every game. He says it teaches him a lot and gives him valuable data.
Other than his personal stats, there’s a “Leaderboard” where one can see the stats of other players who are using the app all around the world. I can tell this feature stresses him out a bit. Can’t tell you much more than that about the stat screens because I’m not allowed to touch his phone!
The device comes in 2 sizes – the smaller size fits 8 year old and up.Here's the size chart.
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Soccer mom’s score: 8 (Only because of the price)
Thirteen-year-old player’s review
It’s really easy to use the Playermaker. I wear it at training and at games. Once you take the sensors out of their case and insert them in the straps on your soccer cleats, it starts to record automatically. When you’re done playing, you take them off and put them back in the case, and the session ends automatically.
When I get back home, I open the app on my iPhone. After it finishes “scanning” to get the data from the sensor, it asks me if it was a game or a training and a few more questions.
When it’s a game and I haven’t played the whole time (for example, if we had a break), it somehow knows about the pauses.
Wearing the sensor is really comfortable. It does not interfere with the game, I don’t feel it at all on my feet—I sometimes forget that I have the straps on at all.
It gives me statistics about my game so I can be aware of them and improve them. For me, the most important thing is to know how much I run in games, how much time I had the ball, how many touches, and which leg I used.
I think it was an important purchase that will definitely improve my game.
Soccer player’s score: 10
2022 UPDATE
In 2022, Playermaker released a new product, in partnership with Manchester City FC.
The new product is called CITYPLAY, and it’s an enhanced version of the Playermaker tracker. It is smaller in size and comes with a new app, which gives more data and reports than the previous model.
More details in the Playermaker site >>
2026 Update: Was Playermaker Worth It?
Without getting into details, my son is taking a break from soccer right now, though he’s keeping in shape and plans to return. So there are no new tracker stats to share for now.
I think the app helped him stay focused and motivated during a few crucial years. He could see his numbers improving, and that encouraged him to keep working. The psychological effect matters also, a lot. When you’re putting in so much effort, seeing even small signs of progress gives you a reason to keep going.
I remember the Saturdays when he would come home after a game where he hadn’t gotten any/enough playing time, miserable, and shut himself in his room. A few hours later, he would emerge, put on his sneakers, and go for a run.
Soccer teaches all of us, players and parents, much more than the game itself. Some days hurt. Some days you feel down. But you learn to face what happened, take it in, and find it in yourself to try again.
More:
CITYPLAY Soccer Tracker Review 2026: Is It Worth It for Kids? >>
CITYPLAY vs Playermaker (2026): Which Soccer Tracker Is Better for Kids? >>
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Disclosure: As someone who believes in transparency and honesty in all dealings, I would like to disclose that I signed an influencer agreement with the Playermaker brand. Nevertheless, I want to make it clear that my son has been using Playermaker products for several years, and my views on the product stem from personal experience. I will always express my genuine and honest opinions regarding the product.