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.
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.
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. It they don’t know which way the ball is going or coming from, they risk getting hurt. In youth soccer practice, teach players to strike the ball with the forehead’s top-front part instead of the crown or temples.
A large number of youth soccer drills call attention to the movement involved in correctly handling the ball. Two of these have been discussed for your benefit and are as follows;
Sitting and Knees: Performing this drill in youth soccer coaching requires two players and one 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 objective behind this is that because the ball is thrown short, the person will have to come forward to hit it.
Keep doing this activity 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: To work with this drill, you need to have 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 the art of moving their head to the ball and vice-versa.
Use of cones can help in teaching them the skill of heading to a specific location. The players acquire the skill of heading the ball in a particular 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 no limit to the amount of information and knowledge available in context of the heading skill and you can subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community to let this knowledge help you too.
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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