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.
When you are about to teach the heading skill to players for the first time, you should do it with a deflated ball. It requires you to shrink the ball’s size by letting some air out of it, thus making it supple. 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. 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. They can be seriously hurt of they don’t keep their eyes open. 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.
Majority of the youth soccer drills lay stress on the value of movement necessary to head the ball accurately. Out of many, here are two drills that your players can perform.
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 second player will stand directly in front of the first one and throw the ball really low 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 be repeated with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Now, the player will have to move forward to actually shoot the ball. Using this drill, the players learn to use their head to steer the ball.
Head out of Hands: You will need cones and a ball for each player in this drill. It needs the players to hold the ball with their hands and then throw it out by heading it. They should learn to alternatively move their head to the ball and then bring the ball to their head.
Use of cones can help in teaching them the skill of heading to a specific location. The players learn the techniques to head the ball accurately and using their head.
So this is it; using these youth soccer drills, your players will get confident in heading the ball and competing without getting hurt. 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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