2016 Belgian league champions and Champions League participant Club Brugge has incorporated the m-station soccer rebounder into its daily training sessions. Not having a strong goalkeeper can be detrimental to the success of a team, which is why goalkeeping coach Jan van Steenberghe utilizes the m-station for optimized preparation.
We at Munin Sports had a chance to talk to both Jan van Steenberghe and former Club Brugge goalkeeper (now with Valencia FC) and Australian international Mathew Ryan to learn why the m-station soccer rebounder is their preferred piece of practice equipment.
The Belgian Jupiler Pro League is home to many talented soccer players. Several such soccer players play for domestic-league winners Club Brugge, who in May 2016 brought home the club’s 14th championship. In a competitive league with multiple contenders each year, such as Gent, Anderlecht, and Standard Liege, bringing home the title takes hard work and dedication. With multiple appearances in the Champions League, Club Brugge knows how to provide the right environment for its players to continuously improve.
Unpredictable and fast rebounds improve reflexes and positioning
Saving a shot as a goalkeeper requires two things: reflexes and positioning. Some goalkeepers compensate for poor positioning with greater reflexes, and some goalkeepers compensate for poor reflexes with better positioning. However, these two elements of goalkeeping do not contradict each other; goalkeepers can excel at both and become exceptionally strong keepers. Goalkeeping coach Jan van Steenberghe elaborates on how the m-station soccer rebounder can take your goalkeeping skills to the next level:
“[The m-station rebounder] creates enormous amounts of opportunities for exercises to keep our goalkeepers busy. With the m-station rebounder, they have to judge every ball differently because it never returns the same way, which automatically makes them more focused on the ball while doing the exercises.”
The peculiar movement created by the rebound is due to the m-station’s unique design and material composition. The design allows great versatility and flexibility as you can twist and turn the device in almost any direction. Also, the strings have been strung in a way that makes the rebound incredibly fast, providing the goalkeeper with an in-game experience during practice.
“The m-station is a frame on which strings have been strung, similar to a tennis racket. You can tilt the net in almost any direction, which trains you for even the most impossible shots.”
Jan van Steenberghe also notes that Club Brugge players stick around even after training sessions have ended to continue working on their skills with the m-station:
“Since the m-station has been in use during training, the players have been happily staying back to play a few games. For fun, but of course also to win.”
Goalkeeping is more than shot stopping
Due to Mathew Ryan’s success at Club Brugge from 2013 through 2015, Ryan was picked up by Valencia at the start of the 2015/2016 season. In addition to playing for one of the most successful Spanish sides in recent years, Ryan is also the starting goalkeeper for his national team. As a top-level goalkeeper, he knows how to help himself become a better player with the right equipment.
“With [the] m-station, I can practice my footwork, I can make saves, and most importantly, I think the way the ball reacts off the net is a bit unexpected, and you cannot always predict what is going to happen in a game. This allows us to work on the unpredictability of a shot or something else that you do not expect in a game, so it is a very useful piece of equipment.”
The flexibility of the m-station soccer rebounder allows Ryan to work on every aspect of his goalkeeping in scenarios comparable to those in real games. The best way to improve is by continuously challenging yourself, and with the unpredictability and speed of the balls coming off the rebound, the m-station soccer rebounder truly challenges you and serves as a multifunctional piece of equipment designed for goalkeeping at any level. To Ryan, helping his team achieve success is all that matters, and one way of doing that is by using only the best equipment.
“I am happy with the m-station! Anything that can improve my game as a goalkeeper and at the end of the day help the team win the game will make me very happy.”
If you have any questions about the Club Brugge use case or if you want to know how your goalkeepers can benefit from training with the m-station, please get directly in touch with our Marketing Manager, Simon Secher, at simon@muninsports.com.
