Youth Soccer Drills:Uncover Heading Secrets
Have you ever imagined how the use of the head can be an effective way of redirecting the ball when it is still in the air? This heading skill in youth soccer drills causes no physical harm to the players when it is executed correctly.
You should deflate the ball in case of teaching this skill to your players for the first time. For this, let some air out of the ball and make it soft so that players find it easy to play with. Before I get down to the details of kids soccer drills on heading, let me share with you the basics of this skill that players need to be taught first.
When the ball is in air, teach the players to move along with it so that their body is directly in front of it when they face the ball. They should keep their eyes on the ball all the way in, and continue watching it as 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. If they close their eyes, they’ll get 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.
Most of the youth soccer drills highlight the movement required to head the ball properly. 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 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 go on with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Here, the player will have to lunge forward to strike the ball. This drill teaches the technique of using the head to direct the ball.
Head out of Hands: This drill requires cones and one 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.
When the cones are used, the kids learn to head the ball to a particular location. The players learn the techniques to head the ball in a direction using their head.
So now you know, using youth soccer drills, the players will learn to safely head the ball in a game without hurting themselves. 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.
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