The 10 Best Soccer Rebounders
Special Honors
Munin Sports M-Station Talent Not only does the M-Station allow you to practice and improve, but it includes an associated app that measures your current skill level, provides helpful personalized training, and tracks your progress over time. The net itself measures 78 by 78 inches and offers 12 settings. muninsports.com
RapidFire Rebound Board If you don't want to have to worry about a net wearing out and losing its elasticity over time, the RapidFire Rebound Board is a good alternative. It is made from an impact-resistant polypropylene composite that can be used in all weather conditions and stand up to the most forceful kicks. networldsports.com
Editor's Notes
October 22, 2020:
When it comes to soccer rebounders, one must balance versatility, portability, durability, convenience, and, of course, price when identifying the perfect model for their needs. And, as expected, compromises must be made. For example, consider the Crazy Catch Wild Child 2.0. It is extremely convenient in that it is compact enough that you don't need to break it down for transport and storage, however, this also means the user must have good accuracy and it won't be suitable for practicing passing. Conversely, the Goalrilla Striker can be used for goalkeeping practice, working on angled shots, and more, but will need to be broken down every time you want to move it.
One of the reasons we are big fans of the Sklz Quickster is that it does an excellent job of balancing the various factors. It is large and versatile enough to be used for practicing all types of skills, but at the same time, it is reasonably affordable and breaks down and pops up quickly and with no hassle. Because it has two nets, it can be used by two players simultaneously, which makes it ideal for team and multi-person practice. The Soccer Wave Jr. also features two nets, and has a smart design with a curved upper side on the larger one, which makes the ball return unpredictable to keep users on their toes. However, it doesn't break down much, so transporting it can be difficult.
When it comes to versatility, the QuickPlay Pro certainly stands out, with its split panels that are independently angle adjustable. Plus, it is heavy and stable enough for use on all surfaces, from indoor courts to grass fields, though this also means it will be heavy to pick up.
If you want something very large, either because your aim isn't the best and you don't want to deal with chasing soccer balls that missed the net, or you want to closely replicate the experience of taking shots on a goal, the Trigon Sports SR612 and Franklin Sports Tournament 5695 are obvious choices.
December 18, 2019:
As with any sport, the only way to get better is to practice. Unfortunately, it can often be difficult to find someone who both wants to, and is available to, train every time you do. That's where these soccer rebounders can help. They allow you to work on your shooting, passing, and settling skills without involving another person.
Those who want a rebounder with a similar form as a traditional goal will want to look to the Goalrilla Striker, which has sides for practicing those angled shots. The sides also make it useful for goalkeeper training. Two other very versatile models are the SKLZ Quickster and Soccer Wave Jr. Both of these have two nets, each of which rebounds differently. This dual-net design also means two players can practice simultaneously without interfering with one another. Additionally, the SKLZ Quickster is lightweight and compact enough when broken down that is allows for easy storage and transport.
If you don't want to deal with having to break down and set up your rebounder every time you use it, you may prefer the compact Crazy Catch Wild Child 2.0, which can fit into the trunk or backseat of most cars without being disassembled. Of course, this also means the rebound area is small, so it is best for players who already have pretty good accuracy when kicking the soccer ball.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the massive Kwik AFR-1, Trigon Sports SR612, and Franklin Sports Tournament 5695, all of which measure at least 12-feet long. Their length gives them more shot angle versatility than smaller models, but it also makes them harder to transport.
What A Pass!
When you kick a soccer ball, you fill it with energy that takes it through the air.
They say that a pass is only as good as the person receiving it, and that goes for everything from soccer to basketball and hockey. It doesn't make a lot of sense in golf, or bowling, but who needs those sports, anyway? The point is that the best players in the world–and we're talking about soccer here–can take the worst passes and make something magical out of them.
In order to train yourself to receive passes, the best thing you can possibly have at your disposal is another player. Whether that player is better or worse than you is somewhat immaterial, as a bad player can certainly help you learn how to receive a bad pass and a good player can make bad passes to you on purpose.
The problem arises when you have to practice receiving passes alone, when there's no one around who can deliver you the ball. In cases like these, you could wing your ball against a set of steps or the wall of a building, and there will be a decent kickback and return to you. When you do that, though, it absolutely tears your ball to shreds, as the roughness of those materials scratches and scuffs the soft, sensitive ball.
A soccer rebounder, on the other hand, uses soft elastic netting strung tightly into a large frame to receive and return your ball. In addition to the springy quality of the netting, some rebounders employ springs around the edges of the frame to increase the energy return. Either way, you get more power in the ball coming back to you thanks to a little cornerstone of physics.
Essentially, any action results in an equal and opposite reaction. That's Newton's third law. When you kick a soccer ball, you fill it with energy that takes it through the air. When that ball hits a brick wall, the ball compresses and loses the bulk of its energy. Even more of the energy is absorbed into the wall.
When that same ball hits a rebounder, however, the softness of the net and its trampoline-like motion allow the ball to retain both its shape and, by extension, the bulk of its energy. That same springy netting, and in some cases additional springs, absorb and return that energy into the ball as the net regains its original shape.
How Will You Train?
Choosing from among the soccer rebounders on our list is going to come down to the person or persons in training, and to what particular set of skills they wish to hone. Some of the rebounders on our list are designed for multiple training purposes, while others work more simply to return your balls as passes.
Some of the rebounders on our list are designed for multiple training purposes, while others work more simply to return your balls as passes.
If you need to work on your accuracy as much as your pass reception, it may be a good idea to shoot for a rebounder that more closely resembles the size and shape of a goal. Even if the size isn't quite there, the ability to train toward picking out and hitting corners is invaluable, and the time saved by having the ball returned to you by the net itself will only increase your training's yield.
The other advantage to having a rebounder that's roughly the size and shape of a soccer goal is that, in the event that you do gather up a few like-minded soccer pals, you can actually have a little scrimmage with a real goal. That means less gear to keep stored as you improve.
Size, however, has its complications in the other direction as well. If the space that you have to train is on the smaller side, like a compact backyard, for example, a smaller rebounder may be necessary. Fear not; these have just as much to teach you about the beautiful game as anything else.
While the pitch may be enormous, and while a lot of the game is played across pretty long distances, the most important parts of an attack almost always occur in tight spaces. If you can train yourself to work well at sending and receiving passes in tight quarters, the opens spaces will seem that much more open, and you can become a lethal forward.
Hands-free For Ages
Soccer, or fútbol, as it's known anywhere that uses the metric system, has its roots in a number of ancient games, most of which involved a ball that players could manipulate with any part of their body except for the hands.
I find no small irony that the game of football originated in a land where foot binding was so prevalent for so many centuries, but that's history for you.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, which is the governing body of international soccer, officially recognizes an ancient Chinese sport from the Han Dynasty called Tsu'Chu as the first form of soccer to utilize a codified rules system. I find no small irony that the game of football originated in a land where foot binding was so prevalent for so many centuries, but that's history for you.
More recently, after the game developed through Europe into a kind of mob sport in which everyone vied violently for possession of the ball, public schools in England throughout the 16th century began to regulate the game into something we might recognize as today's sport.
The first dedicated, competitive clubs for soccer cropped up in the 18th century, and by the 20th century, several elements of the technology to create a kind of ball return system were already in place. These included things like the soccer goal itself, the baseball backstop, and a system for returning balls to a single table tennis player. In 1976, citing these and other inventions, Fred R. Daffer Jr. patented the first soccer practice net with a removable rebounder.