Tues. Apr. 14, 7:30P, Irish Dome We will be working on the skills of: offensive and defensive heading **Warm-Up players in pairs - "ribbon" warm-up (1, 2 or 3 cones) - arrange cones, 1 player works/1 passes, working player returns using skill and moves to other side, work 30 sec at a time 1. 1-touch pass 2. foot volley 3. head volley var: increase time, increase difficulty of obstacle coaching points: eyes on ball, prepare body surface, strike cleanly, accuracy over power **offensive heading 1. players in groups of 3, 1 ball per 3 players 2. toss, head, catch, repeat 3. offensive header is downward, line drive coaching points: eyes on ball, movement starts at waist, move arms away from strike, strike the ball (don't let the ball strike you), push through the ball **defensive heading 1. spread out 2. header is up and away coaching points: look up, lean upper body back (wind up), move arms downward **hot potato relay 1. players in 2 lines or 3 lines 2. one player moves ahead 5 yds, faces line, and is the tosser 3. tosser tosses ball to first player who heads (defensive) back 4. first player moves to back of line. continue. switch tossers. 5. once players get the hang of this, have a relay race. 6. next: tosser tosses to 1st player who heads back, then tosser heads to 2nd player who heads back, etc. Play continues until ball hits the ground, then change tossers. Count max number of consecutive heads or total heads in 2 min. coaching points: eyes on ball, balance, move from waist **assist and shoot 1. players in 4 lines - 2 outside of 6-yd box (headers), and 1 on each side of goal (tossers), balls at side of box 2. 1st player from each line moves into box 3. 1 tosser tosses to 1st player who heads to 2nd player, who scores 4. move clockwise to next line coaching points: eyes on ball, headed pass needs to arc - not line drive, know where your teammate is, headed shot directed downward **header endzone game 1. 40x30 grid w/ 5 yd end-zones 2. move ball: toss, head, catch, repeat 3. D may use hands 4. score by completing toss, head, catch to teammate in endzone var: score in goal by header coaching points: communication, timing of runs, play to open man, may need more time to redirect header, quick transition