Counter Defensive Heading Clear

Objective

• -Clear the ball with height, distance and width
• -Attack the ball rather than waiting for it
• -Follow age-appropriate heading guidance on volume

Setup

1. 1A defensive zone in front of goal with a serving cone 12 yards away in a 32 x 26 yards area.
2. 2Place two mini goals on the halfway line for the counter-attacking side to aim at.
3. 3Soft, correctly inflated balls only — keep total headers low.

How to play

1. 1Server throws the ball into the zone for the defender to clear.
2. 2The defender heads for height and distance towards a wide target cone.
3. 3Limit each player to a small number of headers per session.
4. 4The team in possession starts each rep in their own half and must build forwards.
5. 5Turnovers earn a direct counter at the mini goals worth two points.

Progressions

• +Counter must be finished inside five seconds
• +Raise the demand once the group is consistently successful

Regressions

• -Award the counter goal for simply carrying over halfway
• -Simplify the area or the service until success returns

Variations

• -Swap the counter goals for a dribble-through gate
• -Run the practice on the opposite side of the pitch

Common mistakes

• -Backing away from the ball
• -Too many repetitions in one session
• -Dribbling into traffic when the counter is on