Continual heading

By Michael Beale

Like throw-ins, headers continually occur in matches and are a great way to score goals. If you go to the trouble of getting your wingers to cross the ball into the penalty area then you want an end product.

A good way to get your players to take the opportunities that come their way when the ball is crossed is to have them practising before the match.

This is a great warm-up to turn your players’ focus to the matter in hand - scoring goals!

• Split your players into two teams, around five or six yards either side of a small flag goal that is about four yards wide.
  
• Nominate one player to be in goal first.
• Serve a ball for the other team to head at goal.
  
• Immediately after heading at goal, each player must react and become the goalkeeper.
• Then serve a ball to the opposite team and repeat the process.
  
• The practice is repeated until one of the teams has scored five goals.