03/12/2026
At Pitz FC, we believe in building technique the right way — and heading is no different. Here’s how our U12–U13 group worked through it this session 🧠⚽
Step 1 — Contact & Connection (seated)
Before anything else, we started sitting down. No jumping, no pressure — just learning where the ball meets the head. The contact point is the forehead, firm and flat. Eyes open, mouth closed, neck braced. We let the kids feel it slowly, getting comfortable with the sensation before adding any movement.
Step 2 — Push with the upper body
A heading error we see constantly at this age: kids just throwing their head at the ball. We coached them to drive through with their upper body — chest forward, core engaged, using the whole torso as the engine. The head follows the body, it doesn’t lead it. Still seated, still controlled.
Step 3 — Generating power
Once contact felt natural, we introduced the wind-up. Leaning back slightly before driving forward — like a spring releasing. The power comes from that loaded upper body snapping forward through the ball. Short, sharp, and purposeful.
Step 4 — Heading down vs heading up
Two very different tools. Heading downward is about keeping your chin tucked and contacting the top half of the ball — used to direct toward goal or into the ground. Heading upward is about getting underneath the ball and lifting your contact point, used to win aerial duels or clear danger. We drilled both so the kids could feel the difference.
Step 5 — On their feet, aiming wide
After about an hour of seated and standing basics, we introduced direction. Left post, right post, near corner, far corner. Head position and neck angle do the steering — and after everything they’d built up, the results spoke for themselves. 👀
Proud of this group. Small sessions like this are how big players are made. 💙
U13 GrassrootsFootball
