For my fourth blog post I am going to talk about how to head the ball. Heading the ball can be used as a defensive or tactical play in the game of soccer. In fact, just today I scored a header in my Quarter Finals game of the State cup to secure our lead. Heading is very hard to master and needs practice in order to get the hang of it.
How you can Practice it!
In the book High-Performance soccer by Paul Caligiuri he says "Try this drill to work on offensive and defensive heading. You and a partner stand on the six-yard line, facing each other. Head juggle a set number of times and then try to jump up and head the ball far over the crossbar. Or head it powerfully and downward on goal." This drill I've down before and I think it a very helpful drill on practicing your power and accuracy for heading the ball.
If that drill doesn't work I always found that a wall can make a perfect partner in a lonely situation. In order to do this drill with a wall simply play the ball up and head it against the wall keeping the ball going back and fourth between you and the wall. This drill is helpful for fast movement and heading the ball with accuracy.
Do any of these drills sound fun to you? Which one would you try?
This article was very informative! What do you think about the new rule that kids under 11 can't the head ball anymore, would really like to know your opinion.
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