How to inflate a soccer ball

Two of those six steps are the ones people skip, and both cause the same outcome a week later: a ball that will not hold air. Wetting the needle, and pushing it in straight.

Why the dry needle matters

A ball's valve is a self-sealing rubber sleeve. A needle pushed through it dry drags against the rubber instead of sliding, and the damage does not show — the ball inflates normally and then goes soft over a few days while you blame the bladder.

A single drop of water on the needle is enough. Some pumps ship with a tiny bottle of needle oil, which is the same idea. Pushing the needle in at an angle does the same damage from the other direction, by levering the sleeve sideways.

What pressure should a soccer ball be?

For a size 5, there is an official answer. The Laws of the Game set a match ball at a pressure equal to 0.6 to 1.1 atmosphere at sea level, which the Law itself states as 8.5 to 15.6 lbs per square inch. The same Law sets the circumference at 68 to 70 cm and the weight at 410 to 450 g at the start of the match.

For sizes 3 and 4, there is no figure in the Laws, because the Laws describe the ball used in eleven-a-side adult football. Small-sided youth ball sizes come from the competition's own rules — AYSO and US Youth Soccer specify which size belongs to which age group, with circumference and weight ranges, but not a pressure.

So the honest answer for a youth ball is the one printed next to the valve on the ball itself. Every manufacturer prints its own range there and they differ. We are not going to invent a number for you.

Which size your kid should be using in the first place is a separate question, and it maps onto age group exactly. How to choose a soccer ball and the size 3 vs size 4 comparison both cover it.

Inflate to the middle of the range, not the top

This is the practical advice that matters most and it runs against instinct. A ball at the top of its range feels impressive and plays badly for a child.

• Over-inflated, the ball gets hard. It hurts to head, it stings off the laces, and at these ages that genuinely puts kids off striking the ball properly.
• Under-inflated, it goes sluggish, the seams flex more than they should, and it wears faster.
• Middle of the range is the answer for every youth ball, and it is also kinder to the bladder over a season.

No gauge? Use the thumb test

A properly inflated ball barely dents under firm thumb pressure. If your thumb sinks in, it needs air. If it feels like a rock and your thumb makes no impression at all, let a little out.

It is a rough test and it is good enough for a rec game. It is not good enough if a kid is practicing striking regularly, which is when a gauge earns its keep — a pen gauge costs very little and the pump picks cover the options.

How often will you be doing this?

That depends entirely on the bladder, and it is the single most useful thing to know before buying a ball.

• Butyl bladder — holds air for weeks. Check it monthly.
• Latex bladder — holds air for days. Expect to pump before nearly every session.

In practical terms that is the difference between a ball that gets used spontaneously and one that never quite works when your kid wants it. Nearly every ball recommended on this site has a butyl bladder for exactly that reason — the size 4 picks go through it in detail.

What to do with a ball that will not hold air

1. Inflate it, then put a little soapy water around the valve and look for bubbles. Bubbles at the valve mean a torn valve — usually from a dry needle — and that is not repairable at home.
2. No bubbles at the valve means the leak is in the bladder or a seam. Also not worth repairing on a cheap ball.
3. Before writing it off, check whether it is simply a latex bladder behaving normally. A ball that goes soft over four days is not faulty, it is latex.

If it is genuinely dead, it is worth keeping as a garden ball and buying a butyl replacement rather than fighting it. A rebounder or a goal gets far more use from a ball that is always ready.

Storing a ball between seasons

Let roughly half the air out and keep it somewhere that is not freezing or baking. A ball stored fully inflated in a hot garage stretches the carcass and goes out of round; stored flat and folded, the panels crease. Half-inflated and indoors is the compromise that works.

Pull the needle out of the pump, wipe it, and put it back in the handle. The needle is the part that gets lost over a winter, and a pump without one is the reason the first session of next season starts with a flat ball.

The number you are inflating to is the part most charts get wrong. Soccer ball PSI by size sets out what the Laws of the Game actually specify, which is a size 5 and nothing else, and where the figure for a size 3 or 4 really comes from.