Heading

Soccer (Individual Skills) / Popular

Attacking and defensive heading technique and timing.

What coaches agree on

  • Make contact with the ball using the flat, center part of your forehead, just below your hairline.
  • Generate your heading power from your whole body — legs, core, and back — by arching backward and then driving forward through the ball.
Show more
  • Time your run-up or jump to attack the ball, meeting it at the highest point of your movement.

Common mistakes

  • Closing your eyes or flinching away from the ball out of fear as it arrives (sometimes called "turtle-necking"), which causes mishits and painful contact instead of a clean header.
Heading Drills HD
Beginner

Heading Drills HD

Coach's take: Safe, well-built progression -- exactly how you'd teach a first-timer to head.

3.7