Forwarding the ball by using the head while the ball is still in the air is an effective method and most of us have never thought about it. This heading skill in Youth soccer drills causes no physical harm to the players when it is executed correctly.
When you are about to teach the heading skill to players for the first time, you should do it with a deflated ball. This can be done by letting some air out of the ball so that it shrinks and becomes soft and supple for kids to play. In kids soccer drills, I’ll be happy to tell you the fundamental rules of heading before getting down to the major points.
Teach the players to move along the ball in such a way that their body comes directly in front of the ball when they get in contact with it. Players should learn to maintain a clear view of the ball all the way in until it thumps their forehead.
The kids must know the importance of keeping their eyes open and watch the ball coming to and going away from them. If they close their eyes, they’ll get hurt. In youth soccer practice, players should be taught to strike the ball with the top-front area of the forehead instead of the temples or crown of the head.
Almost all youth soccer drills emphasize the movement involved in properly heading the ball. Following are the two drills that have been explained for you:
Sitting and Knees: When it comes to youth soccer coaching, this drill uses 2 players and 1 ball. One player will sit on the ground with their feet straight out in front of him or her. The other player should stand directly in front of the 1st and throw the ball at a very low level towards him or her. The idea is to throw the ball short so that the one heading it has to move forward to strike the ball.
This activity should go on with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Here, the player will have to lunge forward to strike the ball. Using this drill, the players learn to use their head to steer the ball.
Head out of Hands: In this drill, one requires cones and a ball for each player. The players need to hold the ball with their hands and then knock it off by heading it. They should learn to alternatively move their head to the ball and then bring the ball to their head.
Using the cones has the advantage of teaching the players to head the ball to a specific location. The players learn the techniques to head the ball in a direction using their head.
There you go; using youth soccer drills, the players will head the ball fearlessly thereby making them better competitors. There is a huge amount of resources in our youth soccer coaching community and you can benefit from it all by subscribing to it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Youth Soccer Drills
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June 25, 2010
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