How to - Soccer Heading

Soccer Heading - For some strange reason, it seems normal for us to control a moving object with our feet, but it's totally weird to do the same with our heads. What we need to understand is that neither our feet nor our head are designed for controlling objects, we have our hands for that. And whereas our feet can be controlled far easier and we learn the kicking motion since we're children, hitting a soccer ball with your head is something that's more forced than natural.

In the next article, we'll learn everything there is to know about soccer heading, from how you should hit the ball correctly, learning the different methods of heading the ball as well as analyzing the role heading plays for each player on the pitch.

Soccer Heading - Learn How to Head a Soccer Ball Correctly

Like I said earlier, heading a soccer ball is a forced mechanics that you will probably have hard time learning at first. This is because as humans, we are naturally afraid of hitting an object that's moving towards us with our heads. In order to learn how to head a soccer ball correctly, you'll first have to overcome this fear.

Remember how the ball hurt your head the first time you tried heading it? That's most likely because you let the ball hit your head and not vice versa.

If you charge at the ball and hit it first, it's the ball that will take most of the shock and not your head. Just try it a couple of times on your next practice and you'll notice it's not all that painful.

Another important aspect of heading correctly is learning where to hit the ball and hitting it with the correct part of your head. The area you should try hitting the ball with is the upper part of your forehead, the part where the skull is slightly bumped outwards. This area is tough and is composed simply of skin and bone, so there's no pain involved when hitting the ball with it.

You should focus on hitting the ball around its equator. Otherwise, if you hit it too low or too high, it won't go straight. But in order to hit it in the right place, you will have to see the ball coming all the way.

Now, we have a natural instinct to close our eyes when hitting something with our heads and that's the second instinct you'll have to suppress. If you can’t see the ball, you can't hit it right and there's a chance it might even smack you in the face! Trust me, you don't want that.

Okay, so now we know the following:
* we need to hit the ball first and not allow it to hit us

* we have to hit it with the upper part of our forehead

*we have to hit the ball as close to its equator as possible, in order for it to go straight

* we need to keep our eyes open, in order to see where we're hitting the ball

Lastly, we should learn how to apply force to a header. It might seem that the strength in a soccer header comes from the neck, but in truth, the neck plays a very small role in the final force formula. It's actually your back and your abdominal muscles that do most of the work, with the neck playing a secondary role. So if you want to obtain strong headers, make sure you work your lower back and abdomen extensively.

Obviously, you might have all the strength in the world, but without the right hitting technique your headers will still be poor.

So make sure you arch your back in a wide extension a few seconds before striking the ball, then simply push forth your upper body and propel your head forward and strike the ball.

This will require some getting used to at first and combining powerful headers with accuracy will take even more time. But trust me, it's all a matter of coordination and coordination can always be obtained through practice.

Now that you know how to head a soccer ball correctly, let's see the heading arsenal you have available as a soccer player.

Soccer Heading - Different Types of Headers in Soccer

Standard Header – This will be the most used heading technique in a match, regardless of the position you play on. You'll be using the heading technique explained above: arch your back, hit the ball with the upper forehead, etc. Standard headers can be used to push the ball in the back of the net, pass or redirect a flying ball or as a defensive clearance.

Glancing Header – The glancing header is mostly used as a finish move, although you might also want to use this technique as a pass. It involves turning your head in the direction you want to pass on the ball to, without actually hitting the ball, but simply glancing it to give it a slight deflection. Glancing headers should usually be used in situations where the cross has enough force to make a simple deflection dangerous enough. With rain or curly crosses, a standard header is probably better.

Diving Header – Probably the hardest type of header in your arsenal, but nevertheless a very efficient and spectacular one. You can try a diving header when the cross is too far out to be reached with your foot and usually closer to the goal than 11-12 yards, or else the diving header might be in vain.

A lot of people wonder why "didn't he use his feet instead" when seeing a soccer player perform a diving header. The thing is, when the ball is out of reach, you could try jumping towards it with one foot in front, but you will only have a single foot to support the jump, since the other one will be stretched out front.

This won't give you that much of an advantage, whereas with a diving header, you can use both feet to propel yourself towards the incoming ball.

By the way, when performing a diving header, make sure you extend your arms forward to help you land on them, otherwise it could get ugly. At the same time, make sure you don't commit handball by extending them forth like that.

Flick/Backpass Header – The flick header or the backpass is a sort of reversed standard header. You'll be arching your body backwards, not forward like you would do in a standard header and you will have to hit the ball with the back of your head, instead of the upper part of your forehead.

There are three main uses for the flick header in soccer: when a defender wants to send the ball back safely to his goalkeeper (make sure you don't print too much force in the ball), when a midfielder wants to pass the ball forward to the strikers and when a forward tries to make use of a vertical cross to score a goal.

Field Position and Soccer Heading

Soccer Heading >> Goalkeepers – You'll rarely have to head, since you can use your hands to control high balls. However, there are two types of situations where a goalkeeper is forced to use his head literally. One is when you're trying to deflect a ball from the edge of the penalty box and you're unsure whether or not you can catch the ball in your hands (you're unsure if you're in the penalty box, or if you're outside of it and risk a handball and a dangerous free kick).

The other time you will have to make use of your heading skills is if your coach tells you to create offensive superiority on a last-minute set piece, when your team is down one goal. It won't be the case too often, but you never know...

Soccer Heading >> Defenders – Defenders are probably the players on the pitch that head the ball most during a match. Whether it's with the purpose of clearing a ball or making use of the cross from a corner or free kick, a defender's heading skill must be at his best at all times. Left and right backs don't need such a high heading skill, but it's of utmost importance for central defenders who will be under constant fire from the opposing team’s long balls.

Soccer Heading >> Midfielders – Midfielder's should have good heading skills, especially central midfielders. They will have to purge long balls coming from either side, so a central midfielder should have solid headers. Midfielders can also make good use of their heading skills from set pieces.

Soccer Heading >> Attackers – Attackers should undoubtedly have high heading skills and they should be familiar with all methods of heading a ball (see above). There are several attackers throughout the history of soccer that made themselves heard far and wide due to their impressive heading skills, some names that come to my mind right now include Oliver Bierhoff (Germany), Alan Shearer (England) or Patrick Kluivert (Holland).

That's pretty much everything you need to know about soccer headers. If you want to train this fundamental soccer skill on your own, this simple exercise will help. Hold the ball in your hands, throw it vertically and head it either standing or while jumping.

Focus on hitting the ball in the right spot, suppressing your instinct to close your eyes and on the correct arching of your body. In addition, if you have a buddy from the soccer team that is interested in practicing his crosses, ask him to cross for you after practice. This way you both learn the tricks of your trade at the same time, so it's a win-win situation.