Defensive Heading & Clearances

Objective

• -Head the ball high, far and wide safely
• -Attack the ball rather than let it drop
• -Follow FA guidance on limited heading volume

Setup

1. 1Servers on the edge of the box with light balls.
2. 2Defenders in the six yard area with a target zone wide.
3. 3Cones marking the clearance target zones.

How to play

1. 1Server lofts the ball, defender heads into the wide target zone.
2. 2Six headers per player only, then rotate to a ground role.
3. 3Score for height, distance and width of the clearance.

Progressions

• +Add a competing attacker
• +Serve from a wide cross

Regressions

• -Underarm serves from close range
• -Soft or lighter ball

Variations

• -Head then clear the second ball on the ground
• -Pairs competition for target zone hits

Common mistakes

• -Waiting for the ball to arrive
• -Closing eyes and heading with the top of the head
• -Heading straight back to the server