Has it ever occurred to you that head can be very effectively used in passing on 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.
In case your players have not performed this skill of heading before, start teaching them by using a deflated ball. Let some air out of the ball so that it becomes soft and easy to handle. 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. They can be seriously hurt of they don’t keep their eyes open. 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.
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: When it comes to youth soccer coaching, this drill uses 2 players and 1 ball. One player needs to sit on the ground with the legs stretched 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 strategy behind this is that the person who hits the ball has to come forward to do it because the ball id thrown short.
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. This drill teaches the technique of using the head to direct the ball.
Head out of Hands: In this drill, one requires cones and a ball for each player. This drill requires the players to hold the ball with their hands and the throw it off by heading it. They should be taught to move their head to the ball and not move 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 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