Ever wondered the effectiveness of using the head to readdress the ball while it is still in the air? Doing this skill in youth soccer drills is particularly safe when it is carried out with care and caution.
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. 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.
The players should learn to move along the ball while it is still in air because they need to be in front of the ball when making a contact with it. The players must keep their eyes fixed the ball all the way through, till the time it comes into contact with 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.
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: 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 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. Here, the player will have to lunge forward to strike the ball. This drill is useful in teaching the players to use their head in guiding the ball.
Head out of Hands: You will need cones and a ball for each player in this drill. It requires the player to hold the ball with his hands and then knock the ball out of their hands by heading it. They should learn the art of moving their head to the ball and vice-versa.
The cones can help the players learn heading to a particular location. The players acquire the skill of heading the ball in a particular direction 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 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.
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