Youth Soccer Drills:3 Sure-fire Tips To Head The Ball
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 does not hurt the player in any way if is it practiced correctly in the youth soccer drills.
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. 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.
Let the kids understand the significance of keeping an eye on the ball and watch it coming to them and going away from them. If they close their eyes, they’ll get hurt. In youth soccer practice, teach players to strike the ball with the forehead’s top-front part instead of the crown or temples.
Majority of the youth soccer drills lay stress on the value of movement necessary to head the ball accurately. 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 will sit on the ground with their feet straight out in front of him or her. 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. Then the player will have to bend forward to strike the ball. This drill teaches the technique of using the head to direct the ball.
Head out of Hands: To work with this drill, you need to have cones and a 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 taught to move their head to the ball and not move 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 accurately and 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 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.