Youth Soccer Drills:3 Action Ideas To Heading
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.
In case your players have not performed this skill of heading before, start teaching them by using a deflated ball. 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. Teach the players to continue watching the ball all the way through and until that time when it strikes their forehead.
Make the players aware of the fact that it is of utmost importance for them to keep their eyes open and on the ball when it comes to or goes away from them. They can be seriously hurt of they don’t keep their eyes open. Players in youth soccer practice should learn to strike the ball by using the top-front portion of their forehead rather than using their temples or top of the head.
Most of the youth soccer drills highlight the movement required to head the ball properly. Out of many, here are two drills that your players can perform.
Sitting and Knees: Performing this drill in youth soccer coaching requires two players and one ball. One player should ssit on the ground and have their legs stretched out in the front. The second player should stand right in front of the second guy and pass the ball very low towards the other player. The objective behind this is that because the ball is thrown short, the person will have 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 attack forward to hit 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. The players need to hold the ball with their hands and then knock it off by heading it. They should learn to alternatively move their head to the ball and then bring the ball to their head.
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 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.
Posted by admin on June 30th, 2010 :: Filed under Kids and Teens
Tags :: kids soccer drills, youth soccer coaching, Youth soccer drills, youth soccer practice