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. This can be done by letting some air out of the ball so that it shrinks and becomes soft and supple for kids to play. In kids soccer drills, I’ll be happy to tell you the fundamental rules of heading before getting down to the major points.
When the ball is still in the air, the players should move along the ball for the reason that their body should directly in front of the ball when they face 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. 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: 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 should stand in front of the 1st one and throw the ball at a very low level 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 be repeated 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. The players need to hold the ball with their hands and then knock it off by heading it. They should be instructed to move their head to the ball and then the ball to their head.
Using the cones has the advantage of teaching the players to head the ball 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.