The m-station is used in the daily training routine of 2014-2015 Danish Superliga soccer champion FC Midtjylland. We spoke with the club’s ‘goal-box’ coach, Peter Johanesson, regarding the use of the m-station soccer rebounder at the youth academy and at the Superliga level.
The Jutlandic Heath, a Danish term used to describe a rather desolate landscape in Jutland, is home to FC Midtjylland, one of the leading soccer clubs in Denmark. In 2015, the club won its first domestic league title, finishing ahead of FC Copenhagen. In the following UEFA Europa League campaign, the club knocked out Premier League club Southampton before beating none other than Manchester United in Herning. None of this resulted from luck or star-player investments; it was the result of young players developed through the youth academy.
IT’S ABOUT OPTIMAL CONDITIONS
FC Midtjylland’s renowned youth academy was formed back in 2004, and since then, multiple players from the academy have made their way to the first team. The sole focus of the academy is to develop and enhance young players’ skills to prepare the players for the first team. We spoke with coach, Peter Johanesson, about how the m-station soccer rebounder contributes to this goal. Johanesson had this to say:
“To us, it’s about providing the players with optimal equipment. Without the m-station soccer rebounders, we would not have the right conditions for developing our players the way we want to.”
THE M-STATION FOR THE FIRST TEAM AND THE YOUTH ACADEMY
“Our academy players live right next to the artificial turf, so when they want to train individually they don’t have to go that far. Here, they’ll utilize the m-station rebounder to improve their first touch as well as their turns on their own.”
Johanesson emphasizes that the m-station is an effective device for training without other players or coaches around you. Continuous development is crucial for young players, so it is important that the players have the opportunity to train and improve on their own. The m-station offers young players that opportunity.
“The academy players utilize the m-station for improving on their own. They improve their movements and touches without having coaches next to them all the time. The kids are smart. They know what they have to do to improve.”
Johanesson has successfully used the m-station soccer rebounder to improve players’ ability to react faster on through-balls that carry great pace and unconventional movement.
“I use [the m-station rebounder] a lot during training sessions with the Superliga first team to help the players improve in 1v1 situations. The m-station can be used to make very specific passes, and we utilize the device to full effect by setting it up with an automatic ball launcher. The combination of those two devices is amazingly educating, because we can challenge the players even more and sharpen their reflexes. With the m-station and the ball launcher, we are able to create exercises suited for players at the on top level.”
According to Johanesson, the m-station has become indispensable to FC Midtjylland’s daily training sessions and concludes:
“Our players have developed immensely during their individual trainings thanks to [the] m-station, and for our part, there is no doubt that we will continue to use the device. We knew we wanted it, because it is simply that good”
If you have any questions about the FC Midtjylland use case or if you want to know how your soccer club can benefit from training with the m-station, please get directly in touch with our Marketing Manager, Simon Secher, at simon@muninsports.com.
