Which is best? [Head Or Chest]

Youth soccer players really struggle with the ball coming at their head or chest.  This requires advanced technical application. To receive the ball properly as to avoid chances for injury due to technique & positioning is as important as is what you do with the ball.

There are many websites that discuss the ‘how to’ of proper positioning how to head or chest. However, in this post – 3 tips on chest trap in soccer, I am addressing both the ‘how’ & the ‘why’ of the techniques.

Over & over I read the same instruction. You’ll see the same techniques modeled and they may be right in theory or in writing, but the accompanying videos of demonstration are wrong!  [Which may be one reason why so many people don’t demonstrate or insert a link to a clip of a professional performing the skill in a game.]

The first rule of heading

The first rule of heading is not how you bend your knees or make a jump – it is that you be aggressive [& aware]. This aggression requires you to go after the ball, not shrink from it, therefore helping prevent injury to yourself on the attack and the return to ground. This one rule requires that you know how to turn your body, position your arms, & properly ‘receive’ the ball away from other players. This is where the importance of physical fitness & a good vertical really benefit a player. I demonstrate this teaching 20 tips for heading the soccer ball. 

While practicing the techniques, I see some students (when trying to chest) will get hit in neck & when working on heading, people get hit in nose. These are common points of connection and error & is why practicing both techniques, at any level, should be done in a small space, with small tosses & an even smaller & softer ball for more accuracy of point of connections.

Why we practice headers

We practice these techniques so we’ll be able to make accurate split-second decisions and determine which is best. Do we head or chest? The answer is not straightforward, as it depends on what part of field you’re in.  Also what situation you find yourself in, especially for set pieces, & the age of the player.

• For example, if you’re in penalty area you’re most likely to use your head, whether attacking or defending.
• The same is true with defending.  You want to be good with your head because balls are often crossed in.  Heading can get your team out of danger. You can head the ball back where it came from or you can redirect it.
• You’ll even see sometimes the defender will head ball over their own goal. While this will give the other team a corner kick it is sometimes safer than heading the ball back down the middle of your own 18 where the other team can strike a ball on goal.
• The best place to head a ball out or clear a ball out is with the outside of the field because you’re not putting your team in danger where the other team can score right away.
• You want to chest the ball in time especially when you have the time to settle a ball down and pass the ball away as compared to heading, where the ball goes farther away and more out of control, causing a turnover.

Differences from Pro vs Youth soccer

In pro soccer you head the ball more simply due to the advantage of a vertical. As this is the only way (head or chest) you can pass the ball back to the goalie it’s great then for defenders. It gives your team more possession and options for starting a new attack (& it’s great for attackers as well).

For youth players, as we spoke about last post, I highly recommend these players get skilled at chesting the ball.  This way they are not taking unnecessary risk by the frequency & dangers of heading the ball with incomplete physical development to protect them from injury.

So which is best – head or chest?

If I had to answer the question as a straight answer of one versus the other, I would say ‘chest’ for youth players but ‘head’ for college & professional athletes because the brain, skull & neck are stronger as adults and obviously you can score more with your head as an adult. And as I stated in the last post, 3 tips on the chest trap, when you’re at these advanced levels, the game is more about winning whereas a youth player is still about learning the game & avoiding concussions.

If the risks were not so high with youth soccer my opinion would be different from a tactical perspective.  But from a protective standpoint it’s different.

Training tip for balls in the air

One thing I have observed is when the ball is coming rapidly, many players try to head the ball. This is simply due to its position of play. Instead they could let the ball keep ‘running’, abruptly cut & turn for the ball, have it at their feet moments later. 

This would obviously slow the play down & would allow them to keep possession.  Then they can pass the ball off, which is sometimes the best option. This is not only a smart tactical move but is one less fast traveling ball to the head!