Football Rebounder Drills

Posted on: November 13th, 2019 | by Laura Murdoch | No Comments

Last Updated on: 29th July 2025, 12:00 pm

A football rebounder is one of the most versatile and effective training tools you can own. It doesn’t matter if you’re a coach, a player or a parent. A rebounder is ideal for team drills, solo practice, or practicing in your garden. You can use it to help sharpen reactions, improve first touch, and replicate real-game scenarios without chasing the ball.

It’s also a brilliant training aid for coaches. Instead of spending your time feeding balls to your players, you’ll be able to focus on what they’re doing. So you can take in their form and offer helpful feedback. A rebounder is a great piece of training equipment that can keep your players engaged and help develop their skills.

A football rebounder on a football pitch

 

Football Training Rebounder

Whether you’re looking for something to set up in your back garden or bring to your next training session, a rebounder is a great option. Its lightweight steel frame is robust enough to handle anything you might kick its way, but is easy to carry. It folds away, which means it’s easy to transport to practice and store when you’re done.

The frame measures 1m x 1m, so you’ll have a large enough area to aim for. The spring-loaded area returns your ball and you can easily change the angle of the frame. This means you can change the trajectory of the returning balls to focus on different skills. A rebounder is a great piece of equipment for solo practice because it can replicate on-pitch situations. It forces you to think and move quickly. Using a rebounder alongside other training equipment will improve all aspects of your game.

Good For Goalkeepers

Football rebounders are great for training your goalkeepers. With the possibility to adjust the angle, they can force your keeper to deal with incoming shots of different heights and speeds. This piece of equipment means that a keeper can practice being in goal without needing loads of people around. They’ll be able to practice stopping and catching footballs for as long as they need.

Using a rebounder can help improve reaction time, footwork, and even throwing and kicking. The possibilities are endless and it will bring a new level to your goalkeeper training. Check out this video of Everton FC U21s to see how intense goalkeeper training with a rebounder can get.

 

All-Round Skill Development

This one piece of equipment is something of an all-rounder. These are just a few of the possibilities of how you can use it:

  • Improve first touch (head, chest, thighs and feet)
  • Work on volleys
  • Strengthen your weaker foot
  • Improve agility and reaction time
  • Work on shot accuracy
  • Increase heading accuracy
  • Improving throwing accuracy

This versatility makes the rebounder a key training aid for all players. Pick one up for the garden and step up your training.

 

Footballer using a football rebounder in a training session

 

Perfect for Young Players Starting Out

A football rebounder is a great tool for youngsters just starting their football journey. They can be a fun and engaging way to learn essential skills. A rebounder lets them practice at their own pace and focus whatever they need most. Get your children a rebounder and help them develop their handling, passing and shooting to provide a foundation for their future progress.

Getting Started with Rebounder Training

You can use a rebounder in plenty of training drills. It all depends on what you want to focus on. But even the simplest of drills can be effective. Repetition is the key to mastering any skill because you’ll build muscle memory.

For example, using a rebounder to practice passing will mean you become more aware of what a good pass feels like on your foot. Soon it will become second nature and you’ll be passing like the best of them.

Rebounder Games for Solo Practice

Rebounders are great for solo practice because they can stand in for other players. Set one up in your garden and you’ll be able to develop your skills whenever you want. Here are a few drills and games that you can set up in your garden.

Target Practice

    • Set up targets (training cones, buckets, or any other objects) around the rebounder.
    • Assign a point value to each target depending on how difficult they are to hit.
    • Aim to hit specific targets by passing or shooting the ball against the rebounder.
    • Keep going for a specified amount of time/passes and work out your score.
    • Play again and try to beat your score.

Football rebounder drills - player using a rebounder at trainingDribble and Rebound

    • Set up the rebounder in one section of your garden.
    • Dribble the ball around the garden using all of the space available.
    • Pass the ball against the rebounder and then continue dribbling.
    • Incorporate quick changes of direction and variations in dribbling techniques.

Shooting Challenge

    • Set up a goal or designated target area.
    • Shoot the ball against the rebounder and then quickly position yourself for a follow-up shot on goal.
    • Work on both accuracy and finishing skills.

Crossbar Challenge

    • Set up the rebounder in front of the goal.
    • Try to hit the crossbar by shooting the ball against the rebounder.
    • Adjust the distance and angle to increase the difficulty.

Juggling Competition

    • Juggle the ball a few times and then pass it against the rebounder.
    • Continue juggling after the rebound and repeat the process.
    • Challenge yourself to see how many juggles you can maintain in between rebounds.

Team Training Drills

You can easily incorporate a football rebounder into your team training sessions. Here are a few drills that will help your players develop their basic skills.

Passing Accuracy Drill:

    • Place the rebounder in the centre of a square grid.
    • Give each player a ball and have them form a circle around the rebounder
    • Each player passes their ball to the rebounder. Get them to control the return with a specific surface (e.g. inside foot, outside foot, instep). Encourage quick, accurate passes.

Increase difficulty: Increase the distance between the players and the rebounders. Require one-touch passes or limit the number of touches.

First Touch Drill:

    • Divide your players into pairs and have them stand facing the rebounder.
    • One player passes the ball to the rebounder. Their partner must control the returned ball with their first touch before passing it back.

Increase difficulty: Increase the distance between the players and the rebounders. Require one-touch passes or limit the number of touches.

Volleying Drill:

    • Set up the rebounder at an angle. Give each player a ball and have them stand in a line facing the rebounder.
    • Each player serves the ball to the rebounder with one touch and then volley it back with precision.
    • Have players work on both instep and laces volleys.

Increase difficulty: Increase the angle of the rebounder to make the returns more unpredictable.

Football rebounder and football on the pitch

Dribbling and Passing Drill:

    • Set up a series of cones or training markers in front of the rebounder.
    • Have players dribble the ball through the cones and then pass it against the rebounder.
    • Incorporate quick changes of direction and work on tight ball control.

Increase difficulty: Increase the angle of the rebounder to make the returns more unpredictable.

1v1 Rebounder Game:

    • Divide the players into pairs. Position a rebounder between them and place a goal on either side.
    • One player passes the ball to the rebounder. Both players compete to get the ball in each other’s goals. Players take turns being the attacker and defender.

Increase difficulty: Reduce the size of the goals or increase the distance between the rebounder and goals. Limit touches for the attacker to encourage quick decision-making.

Watch These Rebounder Drills in Action

For ideas of how to use your rebounder then check out the following videos

Buy Your Football Rebounder Now

Ready to level up your training? Whether it’s solo practice or team sessions, a football rebounder is the tool you’ll keep coming back to. Head to our training equipment section now and grab one.

 

Click to shop our football rebounder

 

 


Previous training equipment posts:

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.