Youth soccer drills

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. This does not hurt the player in any way if is it practiced correctly in the youth soccer drills.

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. In kids soccer drills, I’ll be happy to tell you the fundamental rules of heading before getting down to the major points.

Teach the players to move along the ball in such a way that their body comes directly in front of the ball when they get in contact with it. Teach the players to continue watching the ball all the way through and until that time when it strikes their forehead.

The kids must know the importance of keeping their eyes open and watch the ball coming to and going away from them. It they don’t know which way the ball is going or coming from, they risk getting hurt. 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

Majority of the youth soccer drills lay stress on the value of movement necessary to head the ball accurately. Two of these have been discussed for your benefit and are as follows;

Sitting and Knees: This youth soccer coaching drill involves just 2 players and a 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 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. Now, the player will have to move forward to actually shoot the ball. This drill teaches the technique of using the head to direct the ball.

Head out of Hands: You will need cones and a ball for each player in this drill. This drill requires the players to hold the ball with their hands and the throw it off by heading it. They should learn to alternatively move their head to the ball and then bring the ball to their head.

Using the cones has the advantage of teaching the players to head the ball to a specific 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 a wealth of information and resources on youth soccer available in our youth soccer coaching community and you too can take advantage of it by registering for 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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