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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. 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. 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.

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. Players should learn to maintain a clear view of the ball all the way in until it thumps their forehead.

Your players must recognize the importance of continuously looking at the ball whether it coming to them to 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.

Youth soccer drills

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 should stand in front of the 1st one and throw the ball at a very low level towards him or her. The strategy behind this is that the person who hits the ball has to come forward to do it because the ball id thrown short.

Repeat this activity with one player positioned with both knees on the ground. Here, the player will have to lunge forward to strike the ball. This drill teaches the technique of using the head to direct the ball.

Head out of Hands: This drill requires cones and one ball for each player. The players need to hold the ball with their hands and then knock it off by heading it. They should be instructed to move their head to the ball and then the ball to their head.

Use of cones can help in teaching them the skill of heading to a specific location. The players learn the techniques to head the ball accurately and 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 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: www.SoccerDrillsTips.com

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 at 2:14 am and is filed under JetSki. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.