Forwarding the ball by using the head while the ball is still in the air is an effective method and most of us have never thought about it. 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. 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.
Let the kids understand the significance of keeping an eye on the ball and watch it coming to them and going away from them. They can be seriously hurt of they don’t keep their eyes open. In youth soccer practice, teach players to strike the ball with the forehead’s top-front part instead of the crown or temples.
Almost all youth soccer drills emphasize the movement involved in properly heading the ball. Following are the two drills that have been explained for you:
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 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 go on 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: In this drill, one requires 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 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 learn the techniques to head the ball accurately and using their head.
There you go; using youth soccer drills, the players will head the ball fearlessly thereby making them better competitors. 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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