My kids treat almost anything with a scoreboard as a personal challenge, which made them the ideal testers for Strikesphere, a sports tech line from Golden Bear Toys that adds sensors, light-up targets and automated launch modes to familiar training gear.

We tested three of the company's products at home: the Soccer Launcher, the Speed Ball and the B-Ball Bounce. While my kids are very athletic, they are also very hard on toys (see the review of my youngest throwing the AT&T AmiGO tablet), and, they speak their mind when it comes to what they like and don't like.

My 5-year-old is drawn to anything that counts down, lights up or gives him a reason to run around the living room, while my 12-year-old plays soccer and loses interest quickly in gear that can't keep up with him. That split ended up being the most useful lens for judging all three, because the products that worked best were the ones that could hold a kindergartner's attention and still give a competitive player a reason to keep coming back. Some of them won over both kids right away, and one needed a little creativity on our part before it clicked for my older son.

One important thing to note is this toy is sold from the U.K. and not yet available on Amazon, so you'll have to adjust the currency to USD if you are purchasing in the states.

The StrikeSphere Speed Ball was an instant hit with my 12-year-old, largely because it turns every kick into a challenge.

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