Training from home: rebounders

When it comes to training and self improvement, you can make great leaps by taking time out to work on your game when you otherwise don't have the chance for people to shoot on you. This is an aspect that seems to be almost totally lost in certain areas of England and can really help boost your development curve. Training outside scheduled training (i.e. the sessions you need to go to with your squad!), will help you 'up' your game and develop much more quickly, especially if there is a leap in ability of leagues you are planning on, or you want to work towards a trial for instance.

Whilst we're often considered loners and such, there's nothing wrong with working on your game when you're bored and need some fresh air. Athletes do it, Olympians do it; Beckham would stay hours after training sessions with his team to work on his free kicks. So why not a goalie working on improving?!

In days of old, famous goalkeepers would bounce a ball off a wall to work on catching and things like that. But with modernity, urbanisation and cranky neighbours, this can be a bit tricky!

So I'll be posting up a few ideas to give you some thoughts going into off season (in the UK anyway!).

First up is the rebounder!

They can be a little pricey (£40 plus), so best to look out for bargains on Ebay, but for a long term investment really are worth it. Crazy Catch are specialist makers but there also good enough manufacturers around.

Basically a net that has been tightened enough to create a strong rebound effect, they offer the chance for you to work independently (by yourself) on your catching and overall handling. Throwing a ball against the net, you can work on your 'W' shape and catching grip, which will reinforce the muscle memory as you practise.

The following clip should give you a good idea of what to do!

The glove towel

You'll see goalkeepers at pretty much all levels stashing a towel in the inside of their goal, looping it through the netting or just leaving it in a corner. The towel is an important of goalkeeper's supplies in that it is a simple but effective way of keeping your gloves clean, as well as helping get rid of excess water when you spit/put water on your gloves (like certain grips need you to for wet weather conditions etc.).

You should be able to pick them up easily at a pound store or home store. Look for hand towels or wash towels. You won't need anything as big as a bathroom towel lol!! A lot of goalkeeping companies like Reusch produce their own towels, but you can often find cheaper deals which are just as good!

So what is the towel for?

• To wipe away sweat on your face or that has built up around your gloves
• To wipe dirt off your gloves (helps you got more use out of them in the long run), especially on muddy pitches!
• To wipe down your gloves after putting water on them to help with grip (keeping a 'tacky'/sticky grip with the foam)

Here you can see Everton and American international goalkeeper Tim Howard with a towel in game:

And you can also see Palace's Julian Speroni with his towel in the following links:

http://lsp.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/2013-08-10-Crystal-Palace-v-Lazio/G0000Naiwcwn3rPU/I0000bSxj67EKH4o/C0000InfoxEw66Bw

http://lsp.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/2013-07-23-Gillingham-v-Crystal-Palace/G0000s4WwJt9PXGw/I0000K2lfBR28DEs/C0000InfoxEw66Bw