M-station Used For Improved Goalkeeping at Club Brugge
2016 Belgian league champions and Champions League participant Club Brugge has incorporated the m-station football 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 football rebounder is their preferred piece of practice equipment.
The Belgian Jupiler Pro League is home to many talented footballers. Several such footballers 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 football 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 football 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 football 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.
How to Improve as a Defender With the m-station
A great offense wins games, but a strong defense wins championships. Conceding goals is just as impactful as scoring them, so if you have trouble scoring goals, it is imperative that you do not concede any. For young players, choosing to be a defender may not be as appealing as choosing to be a striker, because those who score goals are the ones most often acknowledged.
However, defenders are just as important as strikers, and being a defender requires even more concentration because every mistake can be especially detrimental to the success of the team. Fans forget the moment a striker misses an open goal, but they remember poor defending because it leads directly to goals.
Take your defending to the next level with these 5 drills for the m-station football rebounder and sign up for NEXT11. Sign up here to unlock new drills on a weekly basis and continuously improve your defending.
1. Headers — Clearing
Being able to clear the ball correctly with a header, especially if you are a center-back, is crucial. First of all, if you mistime your header and only graze the ball with the top of your head, the botched clearance is just as dangerous as the cross itself, and perhaps even more so as there is one less defender to take care of the ball. Secondly, by clearing correctly with a header, you are asserting dominance and the opposing team will be less inclined to try crosses again. This is a way of protecting the keeper, as many goalkeepers prefer shot stopping to dealing with aerial balls.
When performing this drill with the m-station football rebounder, make sure to keep your eyes on the ball and take a slightly offset stance before you jump.
2. Short passes — Interceptions and passing on the first touch
For a modern center-back, football is not just about tackling, heading, and marking. You need to be able to participate in the game even more; having a center-back with great skill on the ball allows greater options for a team during a game. Also, if you can pass both long and short, you reduce your limitations as a player. If the opposing team emphasizes marking your forwards, pass it short. If the opposing team pushes your defensive midfielders or your defenders up, pass it long.
To improve short passing, make sure to look up when you know where you will meet the ball to see where your opponents are. Next, lock your angle and kick the ball with the inside of your foot. For every move you make on the field, it is important to look up in order to give yourself an overview of the field and players’ positions. Do not make assumptions or pass blindly — learn how to look up while playing.
3. Crosses — Shoulder feint and crossing
Defense is not solely about center-backs; fullbacks are just as important, but not only for defensive reasons. In today’s football, it is important to be able to contribute on both ends of the field by dribbling, overlapping, and crossing. Coaches do not want a Gary Neville anymore; they want a Jordi Alba, a Marcelo, or a Dani Alves. Looking at Barcelona, the runs from Dani Alves and Jordi Alba are instrumental parts of the offense, as the players offer width and depth on their respective sides of the field. When Messi has the ball, Alba makes the deep run, and when Neymar has the ball, Dani Alves makes the deep run.
When crossing, as exemplified in this drill, approach the ball at a 45-60 degree angle, raise your arms to the side, and strike the ball with the inside of your foot.
4. Dribbling — Dribbling straight
As a fullback, you will have to create space for your teammates by almost always going wide. By staying wide, regardless of whether you are in possession of the ball or not, you demand attention and therefore stretch the defensive line of the opposing team, which ultimately provides space for your team’s more creative players to operate in. However, if you too are capable of dribbling, you demand even more attention, as the defender cannot stay 1v1 against you. Naturally, if you drag two players towards you, at least one of your teammates will have enough space to do something. As a fullback, you should stay wide in order to not take up space that is already occupied, which is why dribbling straight is important.
Point your toes towards the ground as if to strike the ball using your laces, and make small touches using the laces with the ball in front of you. Frequent small touches give you better control as you run.
5. Long passes — Switching the play
As mentioned earlier, a center-back’s participation in the build-up of a play is essential to a team’s success in many tactical systems. Most teams prefer to build up gradually from the defense rather than send long balls for tall strikers, as most strikers at top-level play are all about movement off the ball, first touches, and finishing. However, on occasion you might want to play a long ball to the wing or the forward, and as a center-back, you have to be prepared for this. Stay clear of a marking and run into a position where you can receive the ball to take pressure off your teammates. Playing a long ball does not necessarily have to be an act of panic.
Before you receive the ball, look up to understand the movement on the field. Approach the ball at a 45-degree angle, lean your body a bit away from the ball to create a straight line from your foot up through your hip and shoulder, place your standing foot 10-20 cm away from the ball (depending on your height), and point it in the direction of the pass.
Become A Better Midfielder With Just A Few m-station Drills
The midfield is what connects the offense and the defense. As a midfielder, you have to be able to attack, defend, and do everything in between. However, there are many different midfield roles, each with certain responsibilities depending on your team’s tactical setup. As a defensive midfielder, your main job is to prevent goals from being scored against your team, and as an attacking midfielder, your main job is to make sure that your team scores enough goals to eventually win the game. As a central midfielder, you have to do both of the above while staying focused for the entire 90 minutes of the game.
Here we present 5 drills that will help you improve your game using the m-station football rebounder. If you feel like taking your skills to the next level the NEXT11 training program teaches you how to become a better midfielder regardless of whether your job is to defend, attack, or do both. Sign up here to receive new drills every week to become a better midfielder.
1. Short Passes — Interception and Passing on the First Touch
As a defensive midfielder, your job is to maintain balance when your team is dispossessed. Fall back, position yourself correctly, and identify passing opportunities. Tackling, marking, and a great understanding of the game are essential to a strong defensive midfielder. As a midfielder, you will also be in control of the ball after intercepting it or receiving a short pass. Unless you are the Busquets/Xabi Alonso kind of defensive midfielder, you should execute a short, simple pass once you gain possession of the ball, thereby providing a stable environment in which the more creative players can thrive. N’Golo Kanté was a major factor on the Leicester team that brought home the 2015/2016 Premier League title. Many of his timely interceptions led to quick goals on the other end of the field.
With this drill, you have to look up to see where your teammates and opponents are, lock your angle on the player you want to pass to, and kick the ball with the inside of your foot.
2. First Touch — The Xavi Edition
Xavi is indisputably one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is not a classic defensive midfielder like Daniele De Rossi or Sami Khedira,, but he takes a relatively defensive stance on the field. In most cases, he is the first person to receive the ball from the defensive line. However, even in this deep position, some technical skills on the ball are required. The way Xavi controls the ball is unique, and to pay tribute to what he offers on the pitch, this drill is named after him.
When playing the ball off the m-station rebounder, make sure to dribble with the outside of your foot to keep your body between your opponent and the ball. Make your turn away from your opponent, and use your arm to protect your personal space and maintain balance to protect the ball from your opponent.
3. First Touch — The Fabregas Edition
Being able to make a good first touch on the ball is extremely important for a central or slightly attacking midfielder. There are different ways of controlling the ball, and we already introduced the Xavi edition. We now discuss a maneuver from another product of La Masia: Cesc Fabregas. At the age of 21, the Spanish midfielder became the captain of a promising Arsenal side, and he participated in both Arsenal’s incredible 2003-04 season and the 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona. Fabregas has always been renowned for having an exquisite and stylish first touch, which is why this drill is dedicated to him and his technical ability.
To execute a proper Fabregas Turn, stretch out your foot to meet the ball, and use your foot to guide the ball past you and in the new direction. Make sure to keep contact between the ball and your foot throughout the turn. The fewer touches you make, the better control you achieve.
4. Long Passes — Diagonal Pass
There are, as mentioned earlier, different types of midfielders, but even those specific types of midfielders have subcategories, like the central holding midfielder. There is the Daniele De Rossi type of central holding midfielder, and there is the Xabi Alonso type. As the Xabi Alonso type of holding midfielder, you are partly a playmaker. Your job is to set up your teammates by delivering accurate long balls as well as short passes. Xabi Alonso is particularly well known for his extremely precise diagonal passes, which tear up defenses in an unparalleled fashion and contribute to his status as one of the most decorated players of all time.
When executing a long diagonal pass, you will usually be positioned on your own side of the pitch. The longer the pass, the more movement you force out of the opposing team. Before you hit the ball, approach it at a 45-degree angle. Lean your body a bit away from the ball to create a straight line from your foot up through your hip and shoulder. Place your standing foot 10-20 cm away from the ball (depending on your height) and point it in the direction of the pass.
5. Basic Football Skills — Fast Feet
Having fast feet and quick reactions is important for any type of football player, but being able to think quickly and react accordingly with the ball is especially crucial for wingers and attacking midfielders. Technical ability is one thing, but if you do not have strong reaction time, technical skills will not help you much. Beating your marker is easy without a ball if you are simply faster than your opponent, but beating him with the ball at your feet is a greater challenge. It requires pace, agility, balance, technical ability, and determination, and this set of skills can be enhanced with a specific drill focusing on your reflexes and rapid turns with the ball.
To improve your foot speed and develop stronger reflexes, stand on the balls of your feet. Bend your knees, keep your arms in a natural running position, and pull your right arm forward when you tap the ball with your left foot.
UEFA Women’s Cup winner and former Swedish U-19 international Madelene Göras is one of Sweden’s most decorated female footballers. She began her career as a coach back in 2005 when she was still playing for AIK.For more than 10 years now, Madelene has worked as a women’s football training coach and instructor.
She initiated her very own project in 2011, the Goeras Football Education, to provide an educational environment for young female football player with dreams of turning their hobby into a profession. For the last couple of months, Madelene has been using the m-station football rebounder for her training sessions, and she has been pleasantly surprised by how the m-station can be utilized in many different exercises regardless of how many players are using it. Madelene elaborates:
-I think it’s a very helpful tool, especially with individual training, but also with teams or with small groups of players.
En video slået op af GOERAS PLAYER⚽️ (@goerasplayer) den
Flexible, Intelligent Football Equipment
The ability of the rebounder to accommodate multiple players at once is not its only attractive feature. The m-station allows a wide range of specific exercises to be carried out in women’s football training sessions without the help of others, as the strings at the “sweet spot” are designed to enable you to improve every aspect of your game.
-It’s easy to hit the sweet-spot and the rebound is the best I have tried.
The rebound is easily the most critical part of the m-station football rebounder. If the rebound is not optimal, the player will not improve sufficiently, and if the player does not improve using the equipment, there is no purpose for the equipment. Top-notch training equipment is essential, as it allows the player to develop in the specific areas he or she needs to improve. The best equipment and great determination are what will always enable you to improve.
En video slået op af MADELENE GÖRAS (@madelenegoras) den
The Multifunctional m-station football rebounder
As one of the leading female football coaches in Sweden, Madelene knows what it takes to make it to the top level. Football is a game with many details, and only by endlessly practicing can you become the player you want to be. Whether you are developing skills in defense or attack, the m-station allows you to improve your movement, passing, first touch, turning, reflexes, and shooting without the help of another player.
-You can practice a whole sequence, including passing, receiving, followed by finishing at target.
En video slået op af MADELENE GÖRAS (@madelenegoras) den
To Madelene, the m-station offers a unique type of utility that cannot and should not be underestimated during women’s football training sessions. This sophisticated tool ensures that players can practice what they need to practice and not just wait in line for poorly thrown balls by coaches or players. In other words, players improve more in a shorter span of time.
-I will use the m-station at my camps and at individual training, but also with teams or small groups.
Find more info on the m-station football rebounder here or get directly in touch with our Marketing Manager, Simon Secher, on simon@muninsports.com if you have any questions.
Enhance Your Goalkeeping Skills with the m-station
As a goalkeeper, you have a skill set distinct from that of every other player on the field. You might not have the best raw skills on the ball, but your position is arguably the most important one on the field, as every mistake you make is costly. The pressure of being a goalkeeper is something only very few can cope with, but by practicing the right exercises, you can learn how to become a better goalkeeper, which ultimately will increase your confidence on the field.
The m-station football rebounder allows you to improve every aspect of your goalkeeping. In this article, we present 5 examples of how you can improve your goalkeeping using the m-station football rebounder. If you feel like taking your goalkeeping skills to the next level after watching these m-station drills, you should sign up for the NEXT11 training program here to receive new drills every week.
1. Handling — Aerial dives and catches
Being able to handle and catch shots is what most people think of when speaking of goalkeeping. It is extremely important as a goalkeeper not to allow rebounds, and this drill teaches you how to make sure that you catch the ball and not give the attacker a second chance to score a goal. The way you approach the ball in the air is critical to the outcome of the action, and this drill teaches you how to position yourself, jump, and catch the ball correctly.
Stand in your start position with your weight on the front of your feet and your hands in front of your body. When you take off reach for the ball with both hands and make sure that the leg closest to the ball points diagonal forward. Try to catch the ball at a forward going movement.
2. Jumping Reach — Catching high balls from the side
For defenders, having a goalkeeper able to catch high balls from crosses is calming and reassuring. Goalkeepers have the benefit of being allowed to use their arms and hands, so in theory, goalkeepers should always have the advantage over attacking players when high balls enter the danger zone. However, goalkeepers with poor aerial skills are quite common nowadays, and such poor skills often lead to unnecessary goals. This drill will allow you to become a better goalkeeper in the air, and a goalkeeper with a strong aerial presence boosts the confidence of the entire team.
Start the drill by making an early forward-moving take off. Make your last step longer than the preceding ones, catch the ball high in the air, and try to land on one leg.
3. First touch — Receiving and passing
In modern football, most top goalkeepers are not just good shot stoppers; they are technically adept with a strong sense of outfield player movement. Manuel Neuer is a great example of why having a technical and skilled goalkeeper (who is almost as technical with the ball as an outfield player, in Neuer’s case) is greatly beneficial. Neuer functions as a libero, also known as a sweeper keeper, due to his superior awareness and technical ability. The ability to participate in the game like this is becoming increasingly important for goalkeepers. With this drill, you can practice your first touch as well as your passing, and you will learn how to put yourself in a position on the pitch where you are able to help your defenders when under pressure.
To begin, take the ball with your front foot. Pull the ball past your standing foot and accelerate after the ball.
Goalkeepers are often defined by the strength of their reflexes. Reflexes are at the core of goalkeeping, and being able to stop shots properly largely depends on the sharpness of your reflexes. Gianluigi Buffon, David de Gea, Manuel Neuer, and Joe Hart are all incredibly strong shot stoppers due to their reflexes, and it is fair to conclude that these players would not be as decorated as they are if they did not have reflexes of the highest level. Improving your reflexes takes time and determination, and in some cases your physical traits limit you from reaching the absolute top level, but this drill allows anyone and everyone to improve in this particularly important area of goalkeeping.
To do this drill, start by making a fast turn towards the rebounder or wall as soon as you have thrown the ball, and focus on keeping your balance when you turn. Keep your hands in front of you.
When you want to punish the opposing team for over committing on offense, utilizing the space behind them is important for increasing your chances of scoring a goal on a counter attack. Throwing the ball with an overhead throw is much more accurate than kicking the ball to an outfield player, and with the right amount of space granted, a quick throw from the goalkeeper could very well lead to a goal. Much of Leicester’s success in the 15/16 season came down to Kasper Schmeichel and his ability to throw the ball out quickly in order to initiate a counter attack. There are different ways of throwing the ball as a goalkeeper, but this drill focuses on the overhead throw.
Make your last step longer than the preceding ones. Point your front foot in the direction you want to throw the ball. Hold the ball between the palm of your hand and the lower part of your forearm. Point your free hand at the spot you want to hit, and let go of the ball.
If you have any questions about the m-station or these drills, please do not hesitate to get directly in touch with our coaches at coach@muninsports.com.
Learn How To Become A Better Striker with the m-station
Football is about scoring more goals than the team you are facing. If your team has trouble scoring goals, you will probably not make it far in the tournament. Strikers are usually the ones deciding the outcome of the game, which is why most of the greatest players of all time are strikers, wingers or attacking midfielders. This is also why the most expensive players of all time belong to at least one of these positions. As a striker, you are in many cases the star of the team, and people will wear your name on the back of their jersey.
It takes confidence, technical ability, and determination to score goals, and the satisfaction from scoring a match-winning goal is unparalleled. The m-station football rebounder allows you to improve every aspect of your game. Here, we present a 5 striker drills as examples of how you can improve using the m-station. You can also sign up for the NEXT11 training program to receive new training drills each week. With just a few clicks, you can become a better striker. Sign up here to start scoring more goals.
1. FINISHING — FIRST TOUCH AND FINISHING Most strikers in modern football are all about movement, technical ability, and finishing. Luis Suarez is a prime example of which qualities a striker should possess: pace, off the ball movement, exquisite finishing, and confidence. Most top strikers in today’s football are technically gifted players, because the idea of a target man in the box has faded in recent years. As a technically gifted forward, you should be able to receive the ball and finish immediately. For attacking players, the first touch is everything. If you fail your first touch, the attack slows down significantly and your chances of scoring are severely reduced. It takes determination and confidence to translate a first touch into a finish, but once you are able to do this, you are much scarier to face for a defender.
First, swing your kicking foot past your standing foot. Hit the side of the ball with the inside of your foot. Finish by bending a bit at your hip and swinging your kicking foot through the ball.
2. DRIBBLING — LAUDRUP FEINT To be a striker in the style of Suarez, Agüero, Messi, and Ronaldo, you must be able to dribble. If you are able to drag two or more players towards you, you are creating an immense amount of space for your teammates on the pitch. In fact, dribbling is more about proposing a threat than it is about actually dribbling past the defender, because once the defender realizes he needs backup against you, you won the war by requiring an unusual amount of attention from the defending side. Michael Laudrup is one of the most technically gifted players of all time, and he was in many ways an inventor on the pitch. As one of the most elegant players on the pitch of his generation, Laudrup has a legacy that still affects modern football today.
To perform the Laudrup feint, take a wide stance. Drag the ball sideways; do not kick it. Finish by playing the ball forward with the inside of your foot.
3. FINISHING — FINISHING WITH VOLLEY The year is 2002, and the stage for a Champions League final is set in Glasgow, Scotland. Roberto Carlos receives the ball on the flank, he hits it high, and the attack seems to have stagnated. However, in the box, a certain Frenchman named Zinedine Zidane times his volley perfectly and smashes the ball into the back of the net. To this day, that goal is one of the most iconic goals in modern football, and it defines one of the best midfielders of all time. Hitting the perfect volley is extremely difficult, and even for the best players in the world, hitting it like Zidane did is something that happens once in one-hundred attempts. Naturally, it takes skill, but it also requires a certain amount of luck.
To give yourself the best chance of hitting the perfect volley, your standing leg should be pointed at the goal. Keep your arms to your sides to stay balanced, and point your toes at the ground. Hit the top half of the ball to keep it down.
4. DRIBBLING — FAKE SHOT, CUT 180 Faking a shot is not what most people think of when discussing dribbling, but it is at least as efficient as dribbling, if not more so. To most people, dribbling requires strong control, pace, and technical ability, but by faking your shot, all you need is a superior mind. When faking a shot, you have to understand and anticipate the movement from the defenders. In other words, you have to understand what they expect you to do and react accordingly by doing something else. This takes some quick thinking, but if you pretend that you are about to shoot, the defender will react as if you are about to shoot. Instead of actually shooting, you fake the shot and turn the other direction to make the change even greater.
Initiate the drill by lifting your arm. Pull back your striking foot and swing it towards the ball. Stop the swing right before you hit the ball. Make your next move quickly and accelerate with the ball.
5. FIRST TOUCH — CHEST CONTROL AND FINISHING First touches and technical ability are not all about good footwork. At some point in a game, you will receive the ball in a position where you cannot use your legs or feet to control the ball. Aerial balls are inevitable in a game of football, and chest control is the best way to deal with aerial balls and avoid heading the ball uncontrollably. Players like Lewandowski and Robin van Persie are extremely good at receiving the ball at chest height with their backs turned away from the goal of the opposing team. At the 2014 World Cup, James Rodriguez scored the goal of the tournament by making a directional first touch with his chest and laying the ball off to his left foot.
To do it like James, look over your shoulder before you receive the ball. To maximize ball speed, make sure it is your chest that hits the ball, and not the ball that hits your chest.
If you have any questions about the m-station or these drills, please do not hesitate to get directly in touch with our coaches at coach@muninsports.com.
m-station Wins “Best Individual Training Innovation” Award
Each year, we encounter new ways to improve football training. The best place in the world to see the latest innovations in football equipment is at the NSCAA convention. The convention is held in the US by the NSCAA, the world’s largest organization for football coaches.
The floor of this convention is filled with more than six hundred booths exhibiting the latest training equipment, mobile apps for training analysis, and much more. This year, Munin Sports was at the convention with the m-station football rebounder, and it was a great experience. In fact, we received an award for the m-station from the American website TopDrawerSoccer.
TopDrawerSoccer.com is the home of non-professional football in the US, focusing on football at the college level and high-school level. The site has become the official provider of college and club scores for more than 100,000 players in the US, which has led to TopDrawerSoccer being the biggest and best website for non-professional football in the US.
It was therefore a great honour for us to receive the award for “Best Individual Training Innovation” for the m-station football rebounder from TopDrawerSoccer. But what is it that separated our rebounder from the rest? Here’s what Will Parchman of TopDrawerSoccer wrote about the m-station:
-For one, it extends to the ground, providing full coverage for ground passes, but it also eliminates sweet spots with the high grade material used for the strings.
In lieu of rubber or more typical composite, m-station essentially uses strings similar to what we see in Tennis, which gives it more consistency, a more realistic pass feel and gives it corrosion resistance.
The mobile app for m-station, MuninPlay, was also mentioned as one of the key reasons the m-station won the award:
-The ability to establish a direct connection between your phone and the m-station football rebounder was something that really impressed us.
To be at one of the biggest footballing conventions in the world with our m-station football rebounder and receive an award along the way was a great honour and experience, and it’s something we are very proud of here at Munin Sports. But as our co-founder Joachim Christgau told TopDrawerSoccer,
-The m-station is, I guess, the best rebounder in the world.
Find more info on the m-station football rebounder here or get directly in touch with our Marketing Manager, Simon Secher, on simon@muninsports.com if you have any questions.
NikeTown: the Unique Football Experience with m-station
Nike is a giant in the world of sports equipment. The iconic “Swoosh” logo has become a symbol of great quality and stylish design. Nike has stores all over the world, some of which are NikeTown stores.
In NikeTown, Nike offers customers a unique way to try out equipment. Instead of customers trying on products and simply walking around the store, NikeTown has coaches available to help customers experience a realistic football setting with training drills and more. The goal for Nike is to create the ultimate football retail experience, and that’s just what they’ve accomplished. Nike is really taking the customer training experience to the next level; you have to experience it to fully realize how unique it is.
A NikeTown store in London has chosen to use the m-station football rebounder by Munin Sports to enhance its customers’ football retail experience. The store has designed its customers’ method of testing football boots around the m-station, as the quality of the m-station is just what Nike is looking for to improve the customer training experience even more.
This means that each day more than 50 customers try out their new boots with the m-station. Nike has gotten great responses from customers regarding the m-station football rebounder. Specifically, customers have emphasized the incredibly realistic touch and feel when kicking or receiving the ball from the m-station. We are currently working on adding a digital layer to the experience in order for the coaches to give feedback to the customers.
For us to be collaborating with one of the world’s biggest suppliers of sports equipment and apparel is a testament to how far Munin Sports has come, and it’s something we’re very proud of. We’re currently working on expanding our collaboration with Nike, and we already have some new projects with them in the pipeline. We’re very excited to share details with you, and we’ll certainly do so when the time comes.
Find more info on the m-station football rebounder here.
If you have any questions about the NikeTown case please get directly in touch with our Marketing Manager, Simon Secher, on simon@muninsports.com.
How Arsenal use m-station in Talent Development
With 13 English league titles and 12 victories in the FA Cup, there can be no doubt that Arsenal is one of the true giants of English football. A large part of the club’s success comes from its own academy.
Arsenal’s academy has a long and proud history of producing quality players for the first team. This high quality of players from the academy has turned the development of young talents into one of the main philosophies of the club.
Chief executive officer of Arsenal, Ivan Gazidis, to www.arsenal.com:
– Our future is going to be built around how well we develop our young players and bring them through to our first team. That’s always been an underlying principle of the club and that’s going to continue to be the case. We have top, top coaches here for young players, we have fantastic facilities that we are investing in.
If you want to see how the m-station is used during training sessions at Arsenal’s youth academy, watch this video:
Implementation of m-station in Training Sessions
To have one of the best youth academies in the world you need to have some great facilities. As stated above by Gazidis, Arsenal is currently investing in improving their facilities and one way they have done that is by incorporating the m-station football rebounder by Munin Sports into the training sessions. Carl Laraman is one of the academy coaches at Arsenal’s youth academy and he describes m-station as:
Laraman explains how they use the m-station in many different ways at Arsenal’s academy:
– You can use it in different elevations. For our outfield players you can do a lot of individual stuff in regards to control and passing, you can use it as a rebound facility for shooting, defensive heading and attacking heading.
The m-station is a great piece of training equipment for improving areas like ball control and precise passing, which are two qualities that are very commonly found amongst Arsenal players.
It is not only the outfield players at Arsenal that enjoy the m-station in training. Also the goalkeepers at the academy make good use of it. The goalkeeping coach at Arsenal’s youth academy, Lee Smelt, is also a big fan of using the m-station in training:
– As a goalkeeping coach, the m-station will give the goalkeepers an opportunity to do different sessions, in a different way, give them a different view of things, and I like it. I like the way the ball springs back at different angles.
If you have any questions about the Arsenal FC use case or if you have a m-station user story yourself that you believe should be featured here, please get directly in touch with our Marketing Manager, Simon Secher, on simon@muninsports.com.
43% improvement with the m-station
A study by the Danderyd Football Academy in Stockholm shows impressive results after only 4 weeks of training with the m-station Talent.
We have known for a while that you become a better football player after practicing with the m-station, but we are still surprised at how good the results are in the Swedish study of the Munin Sports football rebounder.
Testing the m-station
The test subjects used the MuninPlay app for registering the total number of repetitions and time use. Trainer Daniel Kalles-Pettersson and the test subjects considered the MuninPlay a good candidate to measure the players’ progress and help them improve their technical skills.
A group of students at an elite high school of the Swedish Football Federation, under the leadership of UEFA pro-trainer Daniel Kalles-Pettersson, have done the research and their results are clear. After four weeks’ training, the test subjects are 43% better at shooting with their weak leg and 42% better at controlling headers.
The graphs below clearly show the test subjects’ technical progress in the two exercises after only four weeks’ training with the m-station Talent.
The test subjects also described the product as well-suited for both beginners and elite players since the m-station Talent exercises can be varied based on level. They were surprised at the dramatic improvement they experienced in such a short period of time, and describes the them-station Talent as a powerful performance-enhancing product.
Trainer Daniel Kalles-Pettersson highlights the importance of variation in day-to-day training, which the m-station Talent can do. He adds that:
– It is a super-tool for football players that want to improve their technical skills. Specifically the m-station Talent contributes to individual technical development, which any aspiring and ambitious player can take with them on to the football pitch.
