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Have you ever imagined how the use of the head can be an effective way of redirecting 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.

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. It requires you to shrink the ball’s size by letting some air out of it, thus making it supple. 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. 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.

Youth Soccer Drills

Most of the youth soccer drills highlight the movement required to head the ball properly. 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 will sit on the ground with their feet straight out in front of him or her. The second player will stand directly in front of the first one and throw the ball really low towards him or her. The objective behind this is that because the ball is thrown short, the person will have to come forward to hit it.

This activity should be repeated with a player positioned with both knees on the ground. Here, the player will have to lunge forward to strike the ball. This drill has the effect of teaching the players to use their head in directing the ball.

Head out of Hands: You will need cones and a ball for each player in this drill. It needs the players to hold the ball with their hands and then throw it out 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.

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.

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.