Contact Help center
Football Football
HOME Football Coaching Trends SEARCH

Football: attacking headers

attacking headers DRILLS
View All

Attacking header Heading - Foo...

Both players start on their knees with one player feeding an accurate throw for the other player to attack. It is best to begin practising this drill on knees and progress to the standing up position when players feel more confident.

General

Attacking heading with goalkee...

Group in pairs. 1 ball per pair. Repeat in 5 other areas for a total of 12 players. The goalkeeper serves the ball underhand and with both hands in front of the player. The player runs in and heads the ball towards the goal. He should look up and head the ball downwards and towards the corners. Rotate positions.Serve the ball high or low to encourage the player to dive or leap to meet the ball.

General

Attacking heading Technique vi...

One feeder throws the ball up for the other player to try and head, back between the feeder's legs. The feeder needs to stand with their feet apart and react quickly to the return header. The heading player should keep their feet moving, being ready at all times to head the ball back with power.

General

Attacking, jumping header Head...

A progression from the attacking header drill. The jump adds extra power and purchase to the header and means the player can meet the ball in the air earlier that if they didn't jump.

General

10 Headers Heading - Football ...

Standing in pairs opposite each other the feeder throws the ball for their partner. The receiving player then heads the ball back into the feeder's hands.

General

Pass Wide, Cross and Attacking...

Players line up in 3 queues, with the ball starting with player 1. Player 1 makes a 1-2 pass with player 2 before passing the ball down the line for player 3 to run onto. Player 3 times their run to meet the pass and gets the ball under control before swinging a cross into the box for the players 1 and 2 to run onto and head into the goal.

General

Heading Variations Heading - F...

Working in pairs one player feeds whilst the other player is the returning player who heads the ball back to the feeder's hands. However, the returning player must have their wits about them as they need to listen out to the feeder's call. The feeder has three calls - Feet, attacking and defensive. Depending on the call the heading player must perform a different sort of header.

General

Point Blank Heading Crossing a...

Players 1, 3 and 5 are feeding the ball towards the 6 yard box. Players 2, 4 and 6 take turns to either head or volley towards goal. Once players have either fed, or shot they swap to the other side.

General

Defensive Header - 3 Player Re...

Defensive header relay. 3 players with one ball. Front player of the 2 players throws up the ball to the heading player, after the player throws the ball he has to try and close down the heading player. The player heading the ball has to head the ball over the approaching player to the 3rd player waiting to catch the ball.

General

Headers and Volleys Shooting -...

The first attacking player runs into the box, towards the penalty spot. As the attacker makes their run the feeder throws the ball in for a volley or header.

General

World Cup Headers Heading - Fo...

Groups of 4 players are paired and stationed on the sides of the area as shown in the diagram. Each team takes on the identity of a World Cup Team. The object of the game is to head the ball past the opposing team and over the opposing goal line. The player in possession serves the ball to his teammate to head towards the opposing goal line. The defending team must attempt to stop the ball from crossing their end line without using their hands. Once the ball has been stopped, the receiving player picks the ball up and serves the ball to his partner to repeat in the opposite direction. If a team heads a ball straight back and scores, the team gets 2 points.

General

Heading Game Heading - Footbal...

Players are split into two teams and line up behind the red cone at their end. One blue player starts in the middle between the two middle cones. They are the goalkeeper.To start the drill the coach feeds a lofted throw to the red player to advance onto and try to head between the cones. The blue keeper tries to stop the ball and can use any part of their body to do so.After they have headed the ball the goalkeeping player joins the back of the opposite line and the red player (who just had the attacking header) becomes the new keeper between the cones.

General

Heading unopposed Heading - Fo...

Objective: To get a basic understanding of heading the ball.Detail:Players work in pairs to begin with, so 8 x 2.I player acts as a server, whilst the other player heads the ball back.To progress, players head the ball to their partner and run around them and back to original position.

General

Ball in the box Passing and Re...

Two boxes of 20x10 steps, are marked out with cones. Teams are evenly split and they stand in one box each. Team 1 start with a football each. On the coach's command the team with the balls attempt to play a long pass in the air, that makes its first bounce in the other team's box.

General

Heading on the move Technique ...

1 ball between two players. One player feeds and catches the ball, while the other player heads the ball back to the player throwing. The player must head the ball back to the feeder's hands. However, both players should be moving at all times - firstly the feeder should walk forwards, but when they reach the baseline players change direction.

General

Heading triangle Heading - Soc...

The player with the ball feeds it anti-clockwise to the second player's head for them to head to the third player in the triangle. The third player now feeds the ball to the first player for them to head to the second player's hands.

General

Lofted pass Technique video - ...

Lofted passes are great for clearing your lines, switching play or dinking the ball over the top to a striker who is making a run behind the other team's defensive line. Approach the ball at a slight angle, back swing of leg (using arms for balance) and follow through with your pass.

General

Heading in pairs Technique vid...

two players tryto head the ball to each other as may times as possible.

General

Play ball wide Crossing and Fi...

Player 1 playes the ball to player 2 to draw the defender player 2 passes the ball back to player 1 when the defender comes close to player 1 player 1 passes the ball wide to player 3 who runs down the wing and crosses the ball into the box either to the near or far post depending on where the defender moves to.

General

Attacking the Crossed Ball Cro...

Organize groups of 6. Station goalkeepers in a goal at each end line. Place 2 players inside the area and 2 wide players outside the area. Goalkeepers should have a supply of balls. Repeat in another area for a total of 12 players. White goalkeeper distributes the ball to player white 1, who advances the ball up the touchline with his first touch and crosses the ball to player white 2 with his second touch. Keepers must stay on their line throughout the practice. Repeat in the opposite direction from red goalkeeper to red player 1 and red player 2. The wide player should attempt to vary his crosses to near, middle and far post positions.

General

Get through the grid to cross ...

4 attacking players keep switching the ball (each transfer has to go via both link players). Only one defender is only allowed to go out and defend when the attackers have received the ball. If the attacking team switch the ball the defender has to pass the ball to the other defender who has to stop the ball before then being allowed to defend against the wing player. The aim is for one of the wingers to dribble the ball through the grid on the side line and then cross the ball to the opposite winger coming in.

General

Back Post Corner Crossing and ...

Again, the signal made between player and corner taker before the ball is played into the box.A player should be on the front post, with three attackers making runs into the area between the back post and the six-yard line. They should attack the goal by heading, or look for an alternative player.

General

Football: Passing wide to cros...

Set up:Cone off an area 2 areas: Width 44 yards length 20 yards one above the other. At each side of one area have an extra square of 5 yards.Set up a 2 goals, one at the top of the areas and one at the bottom.Red team players: GK, 2 Defenders in the bottom area, 2 Attackers in the top area and 2 wingers, one in each 5 yard square. Blue team players: GK, 2 Defenders in top area, 2 Attackers in bottom area.Description: Red team start with the ball.Passes:GK -> Defender (or straight to winger) -> wingerWinger crosses to one of the Attacking players who can either pass the ball to the other Attacker or take a shot.If Blue team win the ball then they can go for goal although they don't have the same wide options.

General

Football: Instep first touch -...

1 Ball between two players. One player feeds and catches the ball. The other player has to volley the ball back the other player using their instep while jogging both forwards and backwards (following the lead of the feeder).

General

Unfortunately there were no results for your search! Please try again
attacking headers SESSIONS
View All

Attacking Headers in the 16 Yard Box

You don't need to be Peter Crouch to score from corners. Work on scoring from wide angles with this attacking headers session
attacking headers ANSWERS
View All

How can you coach defending the long ball?

How can you coach defending the long ball? My team moved up to 11-a-side last season and struggled when attempting to play off-side with the high ball over the top. Has anyone got any session/drills to target this defending?

Archived User Coach

my under 13's dont attack the ...

my under 13's dont attack the ball at corners, we lose a lot of goals because of it.

Archived User Coach

JOIN SPORTPLAN FOR FREE

  • search our library of 500+ football drills
  • create your own professional coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested plans
STAY CONNECTED

in more ways than one

sportplan_football
LATEST COACHING TRENDS
High-Intensity Possession for Senior Teams: Keep the Ball, Wear Them Out

High-Intensity Possession for Senior Teams: Keep the Ball, Wear Them Out

Possession without purpose is pointless. These drills combine ball retention with physical conditioning to create teams that dominate and outlast opponents.

December 2025
|
Sportplan Coaching
Attacking Transitions: How to Exploit the 6-Second Window

Attacking Transitions: How to Exploit the 6-Second Window

Teams have just 6 seconds to exploit a turnover before defences reorganise. Learn how to train your players to attack with speed and purpose.

November 2025
|
Sportplan Coaching
Quick Feet and Quick Decisions: U10 Control and Dribbling Drills

Quick Feet and Quick Decisions: U10 Control and Dribbling Drills

The U10 age group is the golden window for developing ball mastery. Miss it, and you're playing catch-up forever. Here's how to get it right.

October 2025
|
Sportplan Coaching
VIEW ALL COACHING TRENDS
Football POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
defendingshootingpre seasonbarcaheadingsocceroverlapcrossingdribblinggoalkeepercreating spacesession planspassingpossessionwarm up3rd man runcornersfirst touchfitnesswarm ups

What our users have been saying...

Coaches from around the world look to Sportplan for coaching confidence.

Excellent site with easy to navigate pages.

Lawrence Hanrahan England

The 'My Stuff' feature is amazing! It's a coach's best friend!

Thomas McArdle United Kingdom

Love the site, it's a fantastic learning tool!

Ian Mckellar America

Wow what a great website, I have found sportplan an important tool for me when planning my netball sessions with my netball team. There are alot of very helpful tips/ideas/skills that I can learn and teach to my team. Thank you sportplan I hope to continue to use your helpful tips and to learn more about improving my teams netball skills. Thanks again....keep it up....

Monique New Zealand

I have been using Sportplan now for 3 years and can honestly say that I have never repeated the same session twice. My girls are always focused and are improving every year. Thanks Sportplan.

Debbie Cross Australia

What a fantastic tool. The Chalkboard and session tools make an unbelievable difference in making training plans in both time and organization. I will be instructing all of my assistant coaches that this tool must be used for all sessions during the season, so that we may build a club coaching resource library.

Wes Campbell Rugby Coach Canada

I can't get enough of the Sportplan, It has given me back the enthusiasm i was starting to lose. My girls are so keen and are ready at 14 to take the next up in their game. Sportplan will help no end.

Cornel Basketball Coach, South Africa

SIGN UP NOW FOR FREE

  • search our library of 500+ football drills
  • create professional football coaching plans
  • or access our tried and tested football plans

Sportplan App

Give it a try - it's better in the app

SPORTPLAN USES COOKIES

Sportspeople like cookies too! By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. More info

Privacy Policy
We are committed to privacy and support current industry initiatives to preserve individual privacy rights on the Internet. Protecting your privacy on-line is an evolving area and this website will constantly evolve to meet these demands.


Cookies
Some of our web pages utilise "cookies". A "cookie" is a small text file that may be used, forexample, to collect information about web site activity. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to recallPersonal Information previously indicated by a web user. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, includingwhether or not to accept them and how to remove them.

Some cookies are necessary for the operation of our website, if you choose to block them some aspects of the site may not work for you. Non necessary cookies are only set when you have given your explicit consent to their use. Such cookies included those set by our statistics package Google Analytics.

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.

More info
Football POPULAR SEARCH TERMS
3rd man run barca conditioned games control corners creating space cricket crossing defending dribbling first touch fitness football games goalkeeping heading overlap passing possession pre season search session plans shooting shooting drills soccer team sheet through the gate turning drills warm up warm ups
YOUR SESSION IS STARTING SOON... Join the growing community of football coaches plus 500+ drills and pro tools to make coaching easy.
LET'S DO IT