I am not familiar with a lot of the younger coaches so I do not know his name nor the age group but looking at the schedule I think it might have been a U11 instead of U10 game. I only saw part of the game as mine are older and I was meeting friends there.
Question about Ulittle headers
- Thread starter Monkey
- Start date
coachrefparent
GOLD
Tournament, field, date, time?
El Clasico
GOLD
Why weren't the parents sitting on the opposite side of the field?
They were on the opposite side and so the ref surely must have heard him as well. What surprised me the most was that the ref did not say or do anything. Maybe something happened after I left.
4S Ranch San Diego Premier Cup. Probably Boys U 10 or 11. Not sure the field number and do not know whether that was the coach or a fill in, and there were other teams playing from that club (I think I know the club but not sure since uniforms look a lot different than in years past) at the same time. So without knowing for sure I am not going to wreck anyone's day. Hopefully after this thread and the great advice by the refs on here, all refs will learn how to deal with this situation and it is quickly stamped out.
Just a Parent
SILVER ELITE
The ref association is not refereeing the game. I am.
On the other hand, if the instructions came from the state director of instruction, (as it did the first few weeks of the initial rule application before clarifications were issued), then my choices are to either follow the instructions or decline the game.
Just a Parent
SILVER ELITE
Wrong. As usual.
Useless post. As usual.
Just a Parent
SILVER ELITE
To ignorami, sure.
Footyguy10
BRONZE
Sorry if there is a more relevant thread for this as I know this one is more about the correct rule and the inappropriate parents, but I had a couple questions about teaching / allowing heading with Ulittles.
My 7yo DS loves to head the ball. I understand this isn’t allowed in games until an older age but when we are training together he is begging me to practice headers and will sometimes try to do at practices. I love that’s he’s fearless with it and I had previously taught him the correct technique but it leads me to 2 questions; 1) is it safe for him and 2) is heading in training but not being able to do in games going to hurt his development?
Is heading safe for him? That’s why they made the rule but the information I was able to find made it seem like most head injuries were due to collisions (person v person, person v ground, person v ground) not heading the ball. Is there something I’m missing in my assessment? It would be a small amount of time (less than 20 minutes / week) with the ball only coming from short distances without much force. IMO, him having practiced the correct way to do it for awhile can help him do safely once he’s allowed to in game situations instead of just being thrown into it then but I am not an expert on the science. I generally believe teaching the correct form and practicing that way is the best way to teach skills like these but obviously his safety comes first and will defer to that.
Assuming it is safe, is practicing these skills early good for development? The rules are the rules so he will not be able to do at games or club practices. He is only 7 years old so I am concerned that letting him do with me but not with the team might be difficult but I think he would be able to separate that. Is being comfortable with this skill at an early age worth it or it’s something he can easily pick up later and I should just wait?
My 7yo DS loves to head the ball. I understand this isn’t allowed in games until an older age but when we are training together he is begging me to practice headers and will sometimes try to do at practices. I love that’s he’s fearless with it and I had previously taught him the correct technique but it leads me to 2 questions; 1) is it safe for him and 2) is heading in training but not being able to do in games going to hurt his development?
Is heading safe for him? That’s why they made the rule but the information I was able to find made it seem like most head injuries were due to collisions (person v person, person v ground, person v ground) not heading the ball. Is there something I’m missing in my assessment? It would be a small amount of time (less than 20 minutes / week) with the ball only coming from short distances without much force. IMO, him having practiced the correct way to do it for awhile can help him do safely once he’s allowed to in game situations instead of just being thrown into it then but I am not an expert on the science. I generally believe teaching the correct form and practicing that way is the best way to teach skills like these but obviously his safety comes first and will defer to that.
Assuming it is safe, is practicing these skills early good for development? The rules are the rules so he will not be able to do at games or club practices. He is only 7 years old so I am concerned that letting him do with me but not with the team might be difficult but I think he would be able to separate that. Is being comfortable with this skill at an early age worth it or it’s something he can easily pick up later and I should just wait?
I’ll give you my two cents on the second part.
1. No it’s not an easy skill to pick up. So learning it before he can do it in a game will give him advantages. There are things you can do to minimize contact but I’ll let others with more expertise address
2. But he’s only 7. You’ve got a long way to go before he can do it in games. Given the long list of things he needs to master I don’t know why you would prioritize this. There’s no need at this age to spend 20 minutes a week on this skill. You are much better off spending the time on other critical skills like the first touch. Given the long list of skills, and given how there isn’t enough time for a player to cover them, at least right now that’s not an efficient use of resources unless he’s a savant that can outrun every kid on the field, knows all the skill moves, has a beautiful first touch, can crack the ball on the pass, can slide tackle perfectly without endangering others, has excellent defensive and crossing skills, can hit the high and low corners every time and can take a pk like Messi every time.
3. you training him? Have you played and been coached properly or taken a course. There’s a bit of an art to safely and efficiently handling the header on various types of balls. If you don’t have the knowledge base it might be a waste of time and counterproductive. If you don’t have the skill (not saying if you do or don’t but most soccer parents at least at first don’t) have a private trainer that knows what they are doing do it (and assess what skills the kid needs to prioritize first)
Footyguy10
BRONZE
Appreciate the response!
I 100% agree that heading isn’t the priority but maybe I should explain the situation a little better. My DS just wants to play soccer all day and he wanted do training with me in addition to his club practices / games. He always has fun and is usually asking when we will do it next once we finish. We spend about 45 minutes to an hour doing skill drills in some of the areas you had mentioned, with me deciding and directing the drills. After that we have free time which is where we do whatever he wants. Examples of stuff he picks in this time is us doing PK’s against each other, little 1v1 games and shooting at targets. I still instruct him during the free time (you can’t take the coach out of me haha) but it’s really meant just to be about fun, what he wants, and time for us together. With his team and our other skill work, I believe he has more than enough focused work for a 7 year old so I want this time to be about him. This is the time when we would be practicing the headers (it’s been his 1st request last couple times).
As far as me training him; yes I have played, been coached by some great coaches and taken courses (licensed). Also I have a couple immediate family members who have played or coached high-level soccer that I constantly use for advice and feedback with it. Agreed heading is not simple but I do feel comfortable teaching it correctly.
I 100% agree that heading isn’t the priority but maybe I should explain the situation a little better. My DS just wants to play soccer all day and he wanted do training with me in addition to his club practices / games. He always has fun and is usually asking when we will do it next once we finish. We spend about 45 minutes to an hour doing skill drills in some of the areas you had mentioned, with me deciding and directing the drills. After that we have free time which is where we do whatever he wants. Examples of stuff he picks in this time is us doing PK’s against each other, little 1v1 games and shooting at targets. I still instruct him during the free time (you can’t take the coach out of me haha) but it’s really meant just to be about fun, what he wants, and time for us together. With his team and our other skill work, I believe he has more than enough focused work for a 7 year old so I want this time to be about him. This is the time when we would be practicing the headers (it’s been his 1st request last couple times).
As far as me training him; yes I have played, been coached by some great coaches and taken courses (licensed). Also I have a couple immediate family members who have played or coached high-level soccer that I constantly use for advice and feedback with it. Agreed heading is not simple but I do feel comfortable teaching it correctly.
Heading the ball is relatively easy to learn, and should not be taught until your son is a little older, when you know it will be more safe. A better plan for now would be to teach him how to control the ball out of the air with his chest, thighs and feet. These skills are very important, but are often ignored by older players who default to heading balls out of the air because it is the only thing they know how to do. Here is a drill my G2009 team frequently practices, though not at the same distances.
Just go 1v1 with him or play striker and goalkeeper during the “free time” instead of direct instruction. Enjoy the time. You are only a few years away before he starts questioning you and even if he loves the game resenting you. It works for a handful of parents but eventually most fathers and sons get to the point where they’ll begin to push back and you need to bring in a third party like a trainer if he’s going to go high level (even zlatan didn’t train his own kid once he got a certain age). The most important thing is to recognize when that moment comes or you’ll run the risk of turning him off from the game forever. Forget about the heading for now (give him something to look forward to and look to the old man later when he begins to think you’ve run out of tricks). Watch for the moment he begins to push back (I can’t tell you the number of kids I’ve seen who drop the sport because they can’t stand their parents involvement) and just enjoy the time together while it lasts.
Messi>CR7
GOLD
Footyguy10
BRONZE
Good point about being able to control out of air with rest of body. I do notice my DS and his teammates sometimes being hesitant to do that. I will definitely add a modified version of this drill!
That video is great. And nothing about those small headers looks unsafe to me.