The goalie can dive back and forth and catch the soccer ball in his Velcro hands. The play set includes a goal, a goalie and two plush mini soccer balls. Launch date: August 2007

This indoor/outdoor electronic board challenges users to balance during Memory Match, Speed Play and Freestyle multi-level games. It is designed to enhance fitness, coordination, color and sound recognition, and reflexes.

The bike features push-and-pull handlebars, adding an exercise element to the fun. The bike accommodates up to 75 lbs. Launch date: 2007.

Created by a group of Munich industrial designers (think Eero Aarnio meets kids’ birthday party), this build-and-play mini-golf set is all neon-glow plastic and tough shots ― sort of the autobahn of the back nine. It includes 13 obstacles (from curves to bridges to loop-de-loops), one club, two balls and a scorecard. “We are working on a smaller version for early 2008” explained Hannes Weber, one of the designers and partners of defacto.GmbH. And it’s not just for indoors, he said: “We have tried it out some million times, and it works perfectly. You can play on every even surface such as grass, concrete, tarmac, wood floor, carpet or ice. My favorite is the ‘Acapulco,’ and it’s also the toughest one.”

America’s new x-shaped ball is great for all athletic abilities. The ball has phenomenal aerodynamics that make it go super far when thrown. It is easy to catch, and its softness makes it safe. Yackle Ball games are fun for everyone and can help with hand-eye coordination and motor skills, as well as encouraging creativity and active play. The Yackle Ball is 100-percent made in the U.S. and is strictly sold in specialty stores. “It’s a great way for children of all ages or whole families to have fun and be active together,” General Manager Charles Littwin of Ttalf Corp. told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2007.
— Ever seen a ball shaped like an “x”? The Yackle Ball worked its way up to a TDmonthly Innovations 2007 award based on sturdy construction, attractive design and color options as well as its potential to build coordination and shape active play in a whole new way.

The latest spin-off from Rocketbal is the FlyBall. It looks like a baseball and kids love to play catch with it. Little league coaches can launch 150 foot fly balls without using a bat. Beginners are not afraid to catch fly balls with this rubber baseball.

Rocketbal, the toy, is a fun, 2-1/8-inch slingshot-action playball that combines a firm rubber ball with lively surgical tubing. It is a good size for all ages and activities. The ball launches up to 150 feet. Great for individual and team sports. Rocketbal is used in physical education classes in schools across the US and Canada.

Perfect for a child’s room or outdoor play, Little Jumby is a fun character on which little ones can balance, bounce or sit. It is extremely durable and provides a playful way of training torso muscles. The product comes with an exercise poster.

Award-winning, active-play device that adapts for many sports and games. Catches and throws balls up to 150 ft., Mini Super Spots Disk Set comes with two sports disks 12-in in diameter and a soft, rubber filaments, ball.

Where to buy:
NORTH EAST

This is the first-ever football with a patented Pressure Retention System, and is guaranteed to stay fully inflated 10 times longer than traditional footballs. The ball features a soft tack composite leather cover, SBR foam rubber backing and a proprietary DCW lacing system for superior grip and feel. “The Spalding NEVER FLAT Football’s Nitroflate technology is exclusive to Spalding,” Lynn Luczkowski of Spalding Media Relations told TDmonthly.

With a fun retro feel and fantastic "tub" packaging, these brilliant hoppers are one of the company’s all-time best sellers. Kids can sit on the hopper and bounce up and down, or use the hoppers to race. More than 60 cm wide, this hopper can hold more than 220 lbs. Space hoppers are great for “incidental” exercise and come packaging in a clear, reusable tub with instructions and images. Launch date: September 2007.

This dartboard set includes six balanced darts that feature N-35 Neodymium rare earth magnets and the lightweight, durable Doinkit material that keeps the darts flying perfectly true. The darts will work on any magnetic dart board.
— Owner Elaine Hackney of Boing! JP’s Toy Shop in Jamaica Plain, Mass., told TDmonthly in summer 2007 that she has been selling lots of these dart boards for years. “The quality is great. The holding power of the magnets is great. The price is right,” she explained.
— Doinkit Darts have been “unbelievable” for Piccolo Mondo Toys of Portland, Ore., Owner Michelle Smith told TDmonthly at the end of 2008. JoAnn Farrugia, owner of JaZams in Pennington, N.J., reported sales of about three dozen per month of Doinkit Darts in a March 2009 survey of best sellers.
— “The [Doinkit] Darts sell really well for kids and adults,” said Lauren Obenour, manager of Portland, Oregon’s Green Frog Toys, where the product is among the best-selling sports and outdoor toys, as of spring 2009.
— Doinkit Darts are a “longtime best seller” at Totally Thomas Toy Depot in San Diego, as reported in July 2010 by President Cynthia Wyatt. “The rare earth magnets in the darts are super strong, stay put, and don’t bounce off. They’re very safe and don’t damage your walls. Nothing but fun!” she said.

Past Videos: ASTRA 2008

The world's greatest experts from NASA and beyond don't even know how it works. The X-Zylo Ultra is the "flying gyroscope" that can travel the length of two football fields. It's the ultimate game of catch. Having swept the nation by storm, the X-Zylo has been featured in some of the country's highest profile media outlets. And if you can't get enough of it, there's a glowing X-Zylo Night version, so that the ultimate game of catch can be played at any hour.
— "One thing we've done well with are the X-Zylo products from William Mark. It's this thing that you throw. They call it the flying gyroscope. You can throw it a long way. They have different kinds of shooters. I just had to reorder them," said Mary Sisson, owner of Kazoodles in Vancouver, Wash.
— Two of 37 retailers told TDmonthly in March 2010 that William Mark supplies their top-selling outdoor items.

Kids can Simul-Blast™ two missiles into space and see who can blast their missile higher and get more hang time.  Kids can choose between Foamies™ or, for unbelievable height, Metalix™ missiles.  Marky Sparky's patented Blast Pad® launch system keeps all the missiles on your side of the fence by only allowing nine degrees of vertical. The Dueling Blast Pad® folds up into itself for convenient storage. It comes with six Foamies and six Metalix missiles, equally split between red and blue colors.
— Lori Lind, owner of Brainwaves Toy Shop in Narragansett, R.I., told TDmonthly that Marky Sparky Blast Pads make for popular gift items for boys with her customers.
— “Both girls and boys love to play with this item, and you can offer it to [children] 5 to 10 years of age,” said Jeanette Lauture of Aunt Jean’s Toys & Treats in Montclair, N.J. The product has “great durability” and made Jeanette’s top-10 list of best sellers in summer 2008.

The Infinity Travel Hoop is a full-sized hoop that folds down to a quarter of its area. The hoop is made from the same durable and slightly weighted tubing that the regular BodyHoops are made from, and it comes in three sizes and styles. The hoop unfolds for usage on the go. “Enjoy the convenience of having your hoop with you anywhere you go. No assembly — just twist the hoop and it quickly swivels to an infinity shape and then folds over to a convenient carrying size,” Piper Sellers of BodyHoops told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 25, 2007.

The Ripple is specially designed to meet the needs of a younger rider. It is proportionally smaller than The Wave in length and width, allowing riders to have a narrower stance to match their riding needs. The Ripple offers the same great maneuverability and allows for even tighter turns. Launch date: 2007.

These high-bouncing rubber balls feature figures and realistic backdrops encapsulated inside. Packaged in a fun and colorful box, each set of three balls comes ready to be given as a gift. Each ball measures 45mm in diameter. The Collect-a-Ball line also includes baseball, basketball, soccer, nature and air sports themes. Launch date: February 2007.

This brightly colored balance board maze provides kids with a challenging, yet fun exercise. Kids stand on the maze with the ball positioned in the holding position on the maze. By strategically and timely shifting their weight on the maze, kids will be able to maneuver the ball through the maze. The round maze is over 21" wide and accommodates up to 175 pounds. Launch date: 2006.

This new and improved ReeBoundNet features a wider net, more bounce and a “fixed” bounce-back angle. Although it is constructed of heavy-duty plastic pipe, the ReeBoundNet is still light, easy to carry and collapsible for easy storage. Assembly instructions are illustrated and easy to follow. The minimum order is five units. Launch date: August 1, 2007.

This disc is the world standard for the sport of Ultimate and the official disc of the Ultimate Players Association Championship Series. Ultimate players call it sports equipment ... kids on the beach call it fun. Precision engineered quality has ensured consistent flight since 1981. Full-color custom printing is also available.
— “Discraft flying discs” are best-sellers at Izilla Toys in Seattle, according to Co-Owner Jude Larene. “We sell Ultra-Star discs, which is the official disc for playing Ultimate. Seattle has a huge Ultimate community, even in elementary schools.”

Bright metallic blue and silver make a sporting statement on this ultra-hip football ideal for play or display. The official-size ball is made of cotton, polyester, PVC and rubber. It measures 10.4” x 5.9” inches in diameter.

Fusing the motions of surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding, The Wave inline action board gives riders the ability to do precision 360s, carve downhill and ride uphill. It features front and rear flexible panels that are controlled by a spring-oriented torsion bar. The deck sits atop two wheels, which are both free to rotate 360 degrees. The wheels are 77mm/85A, with ABEC 5 bearings. "We offer a variety of designer decks that kids can choose from to express themselves. We also offer a full line of accessories, from helmets to carry bags to Wave wheels," Sales Manager Jenny Henderson of Street Surfing told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2005.

This Starter Pack includes a deck and two ramps that lock together to create a skater’s own ramp system. LandWave is the world’s only stackable and expandable skateboard ramp. Rubber feet hold LandWave in place, plastic connectors allow for vertical growth, and the system has a 300lb. capacity, which is more than other plastic ramps.

A dynamic strategy, challenge and social interaction game. Bring your players off the bench and move them around the ice looking for scoring opportunities. Eliminate your opponents one player at a time but try to avoid the Penalty Box. The object of the game is to score 10 goals while your opponents are trying to eject your players and take away all of your equipment.  This game is full of non-stop action from the first roll of the die until the final frenzied seconds.  Choose from family or advanced rules for families or gamers. Promoting active life styles and learning in disguise.

If you think you can bend ‘em like Beckham give this game a try. Compete in dice challenges and soccer ball challenges to battle your way to victory. Use your poker face to keep your Keeper Cards a secret until the time is right to slam them down and change the game.