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? In youth soccer drills, this exercise in no way hurts the player provided it is learnt properly.
You should deflate the ball in case of teaching this skill to your players for the first time. 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.
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. Teach the players to continue watching the ball all the way through and until that time when 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. If their eyes are closed, they can be 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.
Almost all youth soccer drills emphasize the movement involved in properly heading the ball. Two of the drills have been explained below for a better understand of yours.
Sitting and Knees: This youth soccer coaching drill involves just 2 players and a ball. One player should sit on the ground with the legs spread out in the front. 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 idea is to throw the ball short so that the one heading it has to move forward to strike the ball.
This activity should go on with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Now, the player will have to move forward to actually shoot 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 needs the players to hold the ball with their hands and then throw it out 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 the techniques to head the ball in a direction using their head.
So there you have it; youth soccer drills to develop the skill of heading amongst the players and enable them to compete in the game without the fear of getting hurt. 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.
Tags: kids soccer drills, youth soccer coaching, youth soccer drills, youth soccer practice