Sports brand Adidas have recently released a range of fitness accessories called ‘miCoach’ which monitor heart rate, distance and speed when running. Unlike usual heart rate monitors, the data is not just displayed on a watch; instead they pair with software downloadable for free for all smartphones.

The miCoach series is separated from the popular Nike+ pedometer by the fact they do not only pair exclusively with Apple technology. Although the software for the iPhone is likely to be the most popular, the devices will also pair with an array of mp3 players and smartphones.

Instead of charging a high price for the software, it is free to download from app stores and the website; this will most likely prove popular as it incorporates GPS enabled smartphones to allow fitness training without the devices.

The software can be used on its own but the addition of heart rate and pedometer are much more effective in performance analysis, which Adidas hope will be an incentive to buy the full price gear.

The app analyses data from the GPS receiver, heart rate monitor and footfall counter to determine how effective your training is, it will provide on-the-go feedback that can instruct you to pick up the pace, slow down and will direct you through a predetermined, personalised training schedule.

Adidas have released the products in a bid to compete with rivals Nike over their Nike+ products. The Nike+ is much cheaper but has limited functions and only provides a basic analysis. The miCoach provides one of the most in depth analyses of any personal training device, data can be uploaded to an online database to track your progress and provide useful feedback.

If your training is going well and you are feeling boastful, there is an ability to upload data to a variety of social media platforms. The results can be streamed wirelessly so your friends can track where you are and how fast you have been running. Adidas hopes a friend’s judgement will encourage users to train harder.

Due to their sponsorship of some very large footballing names, some stores are offering discounted miCoach equipment with the purchase of a pair of Adidas Predators and Manchester United Football Shirts.

David Beckham, the legend who has been representing England’s National Soccer Team for more than 10 years is being called upon by Coach Fabio Capello. Unfortunately, Beckham isn’t getting called to lead the team, but Capello wants to give him a chance to say goodbye.

Beckham recently became the leader for the most international soccer games played by any player in England’s history. He’s represented the soccer team in 115 games. This number would have been higher if he wasn’t hurt before the 2010 World Cup, which was upsetting for all supporters.

At this time England’s preparing for their next major event; the 2012 European Championship. Now that David is 35 years old, England won’t need him. They’re looking for young blood as they can’t keep living in the past. However, all of England must agree with Capello’s decision to give David the opportunity to say farewell and play one more international match.

Capello wants to see Beckham say his farewell in a final match at Wembley Stadium. If there’s anywhere it should be England’s home field is the perfect setting. The public knows of Capello’s plan, but they also have certainly been informed that Capello won’t take Beckham for any competitive matches moving forward.

We all know that David’s career is coming to an end. He’s 35 and as much as England doesn’t want to let him go, it’s time they move on. Capello made it clear that these older guys aren’t the answer. England hasn’t done anything spectacular with them anyway, so it’s time for them to find a new answer.

In an interview with Fabio Capello, he stated that he didn’t get a chance to discuss this situation with Beckham. I’d have to imagine it’s come up in the past, so it’s no shock to Beckham.

The first one to react to Capello’s statements was Beckham’s agent. He basically confirmed that David Beckham has no plans to retire at the moment.

His agent also made it very clear that David is available to play for England any time he’s fit. I can see David making one last surprise and pulling through to make the 2012 squad. It would be a great end to his career!

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Every child should grow up physically active. Not only does such activity promote good health, but it leaves our kids happier for it.

Normally every child will have access to physical activities such as sports at school but it is vital for their development in order for them to grow healthily and live happily.

As children grow, it is essential for them to have a means of letting out some of their energy, and we all know how much energy a child can contain. They will inevitably choose a favourite sport for themselves but there is no harm in helping them out when they are young and a great one to encourage them into is soccer.

This has proven to be a great activity that’s loved by kids everywhere, and there are other benefits that come with choosing soccer too. Let’s go into a few of them here.

To begin with, soccer can help to build a good sense of balance in your child when you consider that the game is all about leg action, but it can also promote hand eye coordination and train them to know how to react fast in a given situation.

Running around on that field playing soccer will obviously help to strengthen your child’s leg muscles. You will notice their muscles becoming stronger more quickly with soccer than with any other sport.

Playing soccer is all about the team and as your child learns to play well they will also be learning useful social skills that will be in constant use throughout their lives. Learning to work in a team and build on team spirit will contribute massively to building their character.

Having said that, I would definitely recommend choosing soccer as a sport for your young ones if you’re in the process of deciding. There’s a very good chance that you’ll be glad you did.

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While the first few games of the World Cup bordered on the uneventful side, the games since then have been anything but boring. There has been a lot more goal scoring, beautiful teamwork and even controversial calls by the officials.

The following are some things we have learned from the most recent games. It only seems destined to get more interesting from here.

Certain European teams are better than we expected, while others were disappointing. We will talk about Italy and France more in a minute, but England really did not show up this World Cup. The Netherlands , Portugal, Spain and Germany, however are alive and well at the time of this article.

The countries of Africa have more heart than the rest of the pack. Even though Cameroon and Ivory Coast have been eliminated, both teams played like their lives were on the line. The Ivory Coast truly deserves to be one of the 16 teams remaining, however with Portugal and Brazil in their group, it couldn’t have been tougher to advance.

New Zealand has a bright future. The Kiwis made this tournament on what many call a fluke, but they did not disappoint. New Zealand ended up tying three games in a row, yet still got eliminated.

South America has the most fun teams to watch. Between Kaka and his Brazilians and Lionel Messi and the Argentinians, there is no shortage of talent coming from the South American teams. These two teams have been most enjoyable to watch, scoring goals at will and having a swagger on the field.

You don’t always need a superstar. While Kaka and his Brazilians, and Mesi and his fellow Argentinians march on, there are several teams that remain that do not have a superstar on their team (at least not to the average spectator). As far as I’m concerned the biggest names in this tournament are Kaka, Mesi, Christiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, and Wayne Rooney. Only two of the aforementioned players’ teams still remain in this World Cup, while teams like Paraguay and Uruguay without marquee players march on.

There have been some major upsets. Both Italy and France were sent home in the first round. Seeing as these were the last two World Cup champions, this comes as a shock to many. With England eliminated, it just has not been a good tournament for European teams.

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Soccer is famous throughout the world as a game of skill and excitement. It is full of twists and turns and is not a very easy game to predict.

There are many people throughout the world that try to make a name for them-selves in this game. Unfortunately not all of them make the grade when it comes to becoming a world renowned player.

Here are a select few individuals that manage to carve out a career and become famous at the same time:

Where else could we start apart form that great Brazilian soccer player Pele. Edison Arantes Do Nascimento Pele actually made his world cup debut at the tender age of just 15 and still managed to score a couple of goals. Pele was also awarded the honor of the athlete of the Century by the International Olympic committee.

Pele had a wonderful 25 year playing career that produced around 1000 goals to his name. He was also selected as being one of the top 100 most influential sportspeople of the twentieth Century according to Time magazine.

Argentina’s answer to Pele was Diego Maradona. This man had awesome footwork and was a real live wire on the soccer pitch.

Maradona also played for over a quarter of a century, 26 years to be exact and in this time he was well known for his attributes on the field of play. As it turned out he was also known for his indiscretions off the pitch as well.

Hristo Stoichkov was the Bulgarian equivalent of these two players. He went from playing his soccer at CSKA Sofia to the dizzy heights of playing for the top team in Europe, FC Barcelona. As well as winning the title with Barcelona Stoichkov went on world wide recognition as one of the world’s top players. Stoichkov decided to retire completely from soccer in 2003.

England also produced some great soccer players but not a lot of them became as famous as David Beckham. This man is recognized wherever he goes. David started his playing career at aged 16 but it was not long before he hit the top at Manchester United. David featured in 3 FIFA World cup finals for England and was the team captain for them in 2006.

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