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? Doing this skill in Youth soccer drills is particularly safe when it is carried out with care and caution.
Before you begin with training the players in the skill of heading, deflate the ball a bit especially when they are doing it 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.
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. 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. 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.
A large number of youth soccer drills call attention to the movement involved in correctly handling 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 should ssit on the ground and have their 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 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 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. This drill has the effect of teaching the players to use their head in directing 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 learn to alternatively move their head to the ball and then bring the ball to their head.
When the cones are used, the kids learn to head the ball to a particular location. The players learn the techniques to head the ball in a direction using their head.
There you go; using youth soccer drills, the players will head the ball fearlessly thereby making them better competitors. 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.
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 Training
