Youth Soccer Drills:Uncover Heading Secrets
Has it ever occurred to you that head can be very effectively used in passing on the ball when it is still in the air? Doing this skill in youth soccer drills is particularly safe when it is carried out with care and caution.
In case your players have not performed this skill of heading before, start teaching them by using a deflated ball. For this, let some air out of the ball and make it soft so that players find it easy to play with. 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. They should keep their eyes on the ball all the way in, and continue watching it as it strikes their forehead.
The kids must know the importance of keeping their eyes open and watch the ball coming to and going away from them. They can be seriously hurt of they don’t keep their eyes open. 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.
Majority of the youth soccer drills lay stress on the value of movement necessary to head the ball accurately. Two of the drills have been explained below for a better understand of yours.
Sitting and Knees: Performing this drill in youth soccer coaching requires two players and one 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.
This activity should go on with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Then, the player will have to attack forward to hit the ball. This drill teaches the technique of using the head to direct the ball.
Head out of Hands: In this drill, one requires cones and a ball for each player. It requires the player to hold the ball with his hands and then knock the ball out of their hands by heading it. They should learn to alternatively move their head to the ball and then bring the ball to their head.
Use of cones can help in teaching them the skill of heading 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. Our youth soccer coaching community has tons of valuable information on youth soccer and you can take advantage of it by enrolling for 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.
