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.
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. Including heading skill in the kids soccer drills requires you to first teach them the basics of this skill before starting with the practice.
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. They should keep their eyes on the ball all the way in, and continue watching it as 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. It they don’t know which way the ball is going or coming from, they risk getting 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.
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 drill in youth soccer coaching requires 2 players and a ball. One player should ssit on the ground and have their legs stretched 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 concept is that the ball will be thrown short so that the person towards whom it travels has to come forward to hit it.
Keep doing this activity with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Then the player will have to bend forward to strike the ball. Using this drill, the players learn to use their head to steer the ball.
Head out of Hands: In this drill, one requires cones and a ball for each player. 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 be instructed to move their head to the ball and then the ball to their head.
The cones can help the players learn heading to a particular location. The players learn proper handling techniques and accuracy for using the head to redirect the ball.
So this is it; using these youth soccer drills, your players will get confident in heading the ball and competing without getting hurt. Our youth soccer coaching community has tons of valuable information on youth soccer and you can take advantage of it by enrolling for it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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 training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Drills
