Ever wondered the effectiveness of using the head to readdress the ball while it is still in the air? This does not hurt the player in any way if is it practiced correctly in the youth soccer drills.
In case your players have not performed this skill of heading before, start teaching them by using a deflated ball. Let some air out of the ball so that it becomes soft and easy to handle. 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.
Your players must recognize the importance of continuously looking at the ball whether it coming to them to going away from them. It they don’t know which way the ball is going or coming from, they risk getting 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.
Majority of the youth soccer drills lay stress on the value of movement necessary to head the ball accurately. Two of these have been discussed for your benefit and are as follows;
Sitting and Knees: This drill in youth soccer coaching requires 2 players and a ball. One player needs to sit on the ground with the 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 strategy behind this is that the person who hits the ball has to come forward to do it because the ball id thrown short.
This activity should be repeated with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Now, the player will have to move forward to actually shoot 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 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 proper handling techniques and accuracy for using the head to redirect the ball.
So now you know, using youth soccer drills, the players will learn to safely head the ball in a game without hurting themselves. There is a wealth of information and resources on youth soccer available in our youth soccer coaching community and you too can take advantage of it by registering 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.
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