Youth Soccer Drills:Uncover Heading Secrets
Ever wondered the effectiveness of using the head to readdress the ball while it is still in the air? In youth soccer drills, this exercise in no way hurts the player provided it is learnt properly.
When you are about to teach the heading skill to players for the first time, you should do it with a deflated ball. It requires you to shrink the ball’s size by letting some air out of it, thus making it supple. In kids soccer drills, I’ll be happy to tell you the fundamental rules of heading before getting down to the major points.
The players should learn to move along the ball while it is still in air because they need to be in front of the ball when making a contact with it. Teach the players to continue watching the ball all the way through and until that time when it strikes their forehead.
Let the kids understand the significance of keeping an eye on the ball and watch it coming to them and going away from them. If their eyes are closed, they can be hurt. Teach them in youth soccer practice to use the top-front part of their forehead to strike the ball and not with the temples or top of the head.
Almost all youth soccer drills emphasize the movement involved in properly heading the ball. Two of these have been discussed for your benefit and are as follows;
Sitting and Knees: This youth soccer coaching drill involves just 2 players and a ball. One player should ssit on the ground and have their legs stretched out in the front. The second player will stand directly in front of the first one and throw the ball really low towards him or her. The concept is that the ball will be thrown short so that the person towards whom it travels has to come forward to hit it.
Keep doing this activity with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Then the player will have to bend 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. This drill requires the players to hold the ball with their hands and the throw it off by heading it. They should be instructed to move their head to the ball and then the ball to their head.
The cones can help the players learn heading to a particular location. The players learn proper handling techniques and accuracy for using the head to redirect the ball.
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.
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 coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Practice.