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Defensive Heading & Clearances
Head the ball high, far and wide safely
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Defending
Defensive Heading & Clearances is a 12-minute heading drill for 3-14 players, suitable for Under 12 to Adults at beginner, intermediate, advanced level. You need balls, cones. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.
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Defending
Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Minimal Equipment
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Aerial
Defending Set Pieces
Duration
12 min
Players
3-14
Pitch size
Penalty area
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Defensive Heading & Clearances — Marked area · Penalty area
Step 1 of 4Server lofts the ball, defender heads into the wide target zone.
- 1. Server lofts the ball, defender heads into the wide target zone.
- 2. Six headers per player only, then rotate to a ground role.
- 3. Score for height, distance and width of the clearance.
- 4. Rotation: Rotate to a ground role.
- Cones mark the area
- Dashed lines = zones / thirds
- Ball
- C = coach / server
- Dotted arrow = rotation between repetitions
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Head the ball high, far and wide safely
- -Attack the ball rather than let it drop
- -Follow FA guidance on limited heading volume
Setup
- 1Servers on the edge of the box with light balls.
- 2Defenders in the six yard area with a target zone wide.
- 3Cones marking the clearance target zones.
Coaching instructions
- 1Server lofts the ball, defender heads into the wide target zone.
- 2Six headers per player only, then rotate to a ground role.
- 3Score for height, distance and width of the clearance.
Coaching points
- -Attack the ball, meet it at the highest point
- -Contact with the forehead, eyes open
- -Neck muscles firm, head through the ball
- -Take off on one foot with the lead knee up
Common mistakes
- -Waiting for the ball to arrive
- -Closing eyes and heading with the top of the head
- -Heading straight back to the server