I know Mikasa has been used at high level global events, including the Olympics. With that being said, I have never heard more complaints about the balls one r weekend like I did this week. This was across many teams and watching balls constantly slipping at what appeared to be a much higher rate. Maybe Woollet got new balls with more grip, but the pools we were at they were having an impact on more plays than you would want. Everyone plays with the same balls so I am not saying it cost anyone a game, but without a doubt many plays were impacted. I know they are known for good volleyballs, but what is their reputation in water polo?
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Definitely saw it impact a lot of plays in 16U. The boys said the frog skin was supposed to get more tacky when wet but it actually was more slippery. I saw several 5M attempts slip out of the players hand but it also could have been it was just different for the kids that hadn’t used them before.
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Overall they sucked. If you got a ball that was over inflated it made them more slick. I also noticed they were really bad when sunscreen was on them.
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New Mikasa balls are lighter and unpredictable on skip shots and making entry passes to 2m. New international balls are Kap 7 - an improvement IMHO
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The Mikasa balls are fine. They have a different feel which will throw kids off if they aren’t used to them. I find new Kap7 balls to be grippier than new Mikasa balls, but that may have something to do with my skin or hand size as my wife has the opposite view.
The #5 Mikasa balls are a tiny bit smaller than #5 Kap7 balls. This difference in size is slight enough that most won’t notice. Below is the U20 Kap7 next to the JO Mikasa with a yardstick atop both balls.
Nearly everyone I’ve asked noted how the balls skipped different. They are different enough that I’ve now got both whereas before I only had Kap7, and maybe that is exactly why S&R went so hard at being the JO sponsor this year.
I am interested in seeing how the two compare after a season of sun, chlorine, kids bouncing them on concrete pool decks, etc. I know the Kap7s are much less grippy at the end of the year. We’ll see how the Mikasa balls hold up.
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Thanks Marco,
The majority of the sentiment I got was very negative and was hearing it in the stands from players on other teams. I would add a poll here but know most people on here were not in the pool this weekend. It would be interesting if USAWP surveyed the players, but I know that won’t happen as there is a sponsorship involved. I am curious though, and obviously I am going of what I was hearing since I was in the stands and not in the pool.
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It’s too bad we don’t know who the contact is for Mikasa, as im sure they would want to hear customer feedback to make their product better.
It makes sense USAWP might not do it for sponsorship purposes, but I feel like the actual company itself would if they want to get more longevity when it comes to sales on their product
They feel different when you throw them. Normally at the end of the quarter, im able to make a dry pass to the official. This year at JOs my passes seem to always come up short consistently landing in the water 
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After the first game, players were commenting that the ball was definitely “slippery”, but once you DID have a grip, it was fine. So, on 5m for instance, it was good because you’re taking your time establishing your grip. However, say passes into set, were tricky and unpredictable for both passer and center.
Maybe, that affected my view for the rest of the tournament, but it sure seemed like this was a problem across the board for 14u and above. I didn’t catch any 10 or 12u games.
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maybe not - Phoebus cartel - Wikipedia
The cartel lowered operational costs and worked to standardize the life expectancy of light bulbs at 1,000 hours (down from 2,500 hours), while raising prices without fear of competition. The reduction in lifespan has been cited as an example of planned obsolescence
If the #1 consumer of Mikasa balls is government organizations (public schools) then in theory the balls are a yearly consumable item and only have to last for a season.
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Phone
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Toll-Free: 1-866-645-2721.
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Mikasa Sports USA (Corona, CA): [(800) 854-6927](tel:(800) 854-6927).
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**Customer Service Department Hours:**Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm ET (excluding holidays).
https://www.instagram.com/mikasasportsusa?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
I wonder if all the teams knew about this ball being at the tournament. Was it announced? It would have been good to practice with them in advance.
I know we were caught off guard with that ball being used. But really the biggest complaint our kiddos had, through all the age groups, was that the balls were severely over inflated. I tried gripping a size 4 and could barely put a dent into it.
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Good question. I don’t know the answer, but I know the sponsorship with announced in December or January. I wonder if we chose this sponsorship due to the USA Volleyball ties. That seems to be more Mikasa specialty I think. I am sure there are many clubs that will not want to change all their balls to Mikasa for financial reasons, and feedback from the players, unless every tournament going forward is changing. I also find it interesting that some are pointing out the feel, weight, and size are different. There should be a standard. It would be unusual to show up to the world serious and suddenly the ball has different material, weight, feel. Or NBA playoffs balls being different size or feel, regardless of which ball you prefer.
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You don’t have to change balls. Just find your really old bald ones and use those.
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I recall this was the same complaint at National League.
in 18s our boys felt the balls were slippery, watching them play and shoot that normally would look great it was off or they would drop the ball. They all thought it was covered in sunscreen, but after reading this I guess it was the type of ball. Wild
I have a lot of thoughts about the balls that are being used for JO’s but I’ll try and keep it concise.
- We were not aware that these were the balls that would be used for JO’s. If the messaging was relayed to us, which it probably was, I don’t feel like it was reinforced very well.
- Because we didn’t know, Saturday morning during our first game was the first time most of our kids had ever touched one of the new Mikasa balls. literally in the game was the first time they had passed or shot with them. They are radically different than an original Mikasa or Kap 7 ball.
- The quality, feel, inflation, grip of every ball was different. Some were very underinflated, some were balloons. They were very inconsistent from ball to ball.
- I believe the balls had a direct impact on outcomes of games. I saw many dropped balls in great scoring positions by players who don’t normally drop balls. With my team (16u boys) and the teams we were playing and that I was watching, I’d say a good 20% of scoring chances were lost in every game due to players not being able to grip the ball, pick the ball up, hold on to the ball, skip the ball on target, or make a good pass to a teammate.
- My main disappointment with the balls is that this is the only 4 days of the year that our kids use these balls. JO’s is by far the biggest most important tournament of the year, and to completely change the equipment makes no sense to me. Every other game we played over the last year (and beyond) has been with a yellow ball with similar grip (kap 7, delfina, old mikasa’s etc). The qualifying tournament to go to this tournament was played with Kap 7’s. Futures, high school polo, local tournaments etc are all played with a certain type of ball. And then on the biggest stage of the year to introduce these subpar balls made absolutely no sense to me or my players.
- I truly hope that USA water polo will ask and listen to feedback regarding this. I truly think the overall product was very negatively affected by this decision and I really hope they are willing to hear comments about it. If anyone believes that the balls made the tournament play better I would love to hear that as well. Maybe I am in the minority but I didn’t talk to one coach all weekend that thought it was the right decision. We would have loved to use a nice new old style Mikasa. If they are the sponsor let’s use their best balls.
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Right. Imagine if USA Volleyball signed Kap7 to make their volleyballs. I would assume volleyball athletes would not be stoked
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Great post and agree completely. I’m not sure why we would switch to a company whose primary sport is volleyball and based on player feedback is making an inferior water polo product. I have never heard so much commentary about balls at a tournament. I would hope the contract decision included people with a water polo background from a player perspective.