Header Training

Practical tools for header training at the club

Crosses and high balls are commonplace in soccer. However, those who wait for the ball to land at their feet are usually too late. Successful strikers rely on the header and thus bring even the best goalkeepers to despair. Those who want to use unpredictable headers in a targeted manner turn to aids for header training.

Header training - from the pendulum to the table tennis table

Header training plays a crucial role, especially in soccer. Strikers thus utilize high balls most effectively and heave balls unstoppable in the direction of the goal. Defenders, on the other hand, try to intercept crosses and can already initiate the counterattack with a targeted header against the ball. Heading goals and defensive attempts are not a matter of luck, but are regularly trained by the best athletes to specifically influence the trajectory of the ball.

Different aids help with targeted header training. Header pendulums are the classic and most widespread variant. Athletes attach this to the goal and can perfect their headers in such a way in the chord. The tables for soccer table tennis, on the other hand, serve as a playful variant of the header training. They mainly promote coordination and balance and enrich every training session in the soccer club.

How do header pendulums work?

Header ball pendulums are especially popular in soccer training. This is a device to which a ball is attached by a rope. The pendulum device is attached to an elevated point - the soccer goal, for example, is a good place to do this. The height at which the ball is suspended can be determined by the players themselves. For example, they train flying headers with a one-legged or two-legged takeoff or flat crosses.

To train on the pendulum system, the soccer player bumps the ball with his head by means of a jump and waits for it to swing back. This allows for quick and effective training of headers. Often, header pendulums are misappropriated in soccer training and used for passing and shooting training. In doing so, you hang the ball just above the ground.

For whom are header pendulums and pendulum systems suitable?

First and foremost, equipment for header training is used in soccer. However, they also help improve coordination in other sports. Attackers as well as defenders use them to practice proper heading to strengthen heading technique. This serves to exploit high balls, either to create scoring opportunities or to prevent them.

Not only field players, but also goalkeepers improve their skills with pendulum systems. On the one hand, goalkeeper training is also possible with them, on the other hand, modern goalkeepers today have to intervene much more in the game and often defuse high balls themselves outside the penalty area using a header.

From what age can pendulum systems be used?

The extent to which headers can negatively affect the development of children is controversial. What is certain, however, is that the risk of head injury increases when headers are played and trained specifically. In any case, headers and high balls play a subordinate role in childhood.

Some soccer associations have even banned headers at the youth level. The German Football Association (DFB) recommends header training only at the age of 13 to 14. Thus, youth coaches should cautiously introduce headers only at older ages. The transition from the small to the large field is considered a crucial time. Men and women in adulthood, on the other hand, gain a competitive advantage with targeted header training. But here, too, strict attention should be paid to the prevention of head injuries.