It is inimitable in the air. Optimum jump. Perfect timing. With a few small steps, Miroslav Klose climbs up and balances a cross from Michael Ballack between five-meter space and penalty spot into the mesh. It was 2-0 in the record German World Cup victory against Saudi Arabia at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The then 23-year-old shooting star of the DFB team was successful three times. Klose netted her head three times.
The World Cup record scorer marked a total of seven of his 16 World Cup goals with a header. Born in Poland, he scored around a third of all 71 goals for the German national soccer team in this way. The header was always an effective tool for the 1.84-meter tall attacker.
Do you also want to be in the air like “Miro”? No problem So-called header monsters such as Klose, Horst Hrubesch or Kalle “Air” Riedle did not fall out of the sky either. Training is essential when it comes to timing and bouncing when it comes to headers.
While flanks and deals with other players are rather difficult to train in times of corona, there is certainly an opportunity to improve your header strength even in days of lockdowns, training bans and contact restrictions.
Hook, rope, ball, the training area is ready. And off you go! A header pendulum can also be quickly installed in your own home or in the garden. There are a few things to consider.
On the one hand, there are differences in mounting. Headball pendulums can be purchased with one arm or with two arms. Both variants are easiest to attach to a post or similar as an extension.
For example, if you use a carpet rod as a holder, you don't even need extra bars. In theory, a pendulum ball would be enough, which you simply tie to the existing frame.
If you have enough space available, such a pendulum can also be installed indoors without any problems. Here you could simply attach a hook to the ceiling, on which you hang the ball on the string. If you want to flexibly adjust the height of the starting position of the ball, a complete set is probably useful.
Once the pendulum is in place, nothing stands in the way of your training sessions. Now you can happily hop on and commute. And who knows: Maybe a new toilet will be born in a few weeks.
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On the header pendulum, headers can be trained from a standing position, such as from running or jumping. Here you can mount the ball at different heights or adjust the pendulum, if possible.
If you have a two-armed header pendulum, two players can practice at the same time. You can then easily see whether you hit the ball correctly by looking at the movement of the pendulum:
If the string swings evenly and tight back to the starting point after the header, you have hit the swing ball optimally.
During the exercises for the perfect header, you can also work on your coordination and mobility in the air as well as the change of direction during the header, depending on the starting angle.
Essential for a well-timed and powerful header is and remains the jumping power.
In addition to exercises on the header pendulum, explosivity during jumping can therefore be trained. The leg muscles in the back and front thighs and calf are crucial. Buttocks, trunk, back and stomach are also stressed.
Especially when it comes to good body tension in the air. It is important to develop all muscle groups evenly, as any weakness, regardless of which area of the body, can alleviate jumping performance. A variety of exercises are available to improve in these areas. These can be carried out with or without devices. Tips and suggestions for strength training in soccer can be found here: https://v1.b-42.com/post/krafttraining-im-fussball. Our B42 app is also available for targeted jumping strength training.
It's not just headers that you can train eagerly on the pendulum. Volley exercises are also easily possible. All you have to do is adjust the ball or string in height.
Sturdier material is also recommended, as there are usually greater forces on the pendulum during a volleyball than during a header. If you let the ball swing beforehand, you can work on your shooting timing. When the pendulum is at rest, the focus is on shooting posture and shooting power. You can train both your strong foot and your weaker foot.
As for the impact of your volleyball, it's probably smart to build up slowly to get a feel for the exercise. The repertoire of training options for two can also be expanded to include stopping the ball. If one person drops the ball from a height, the other person can accept the swing ball with their chest or foot.
As you can see, the header pendulum is a versatile training device that leads to quick results with relatively little effort.
At this point, however, it should be noted that intensive header training is now controversial.
There are studies that suggest that headers pose an increased risk of brain damage. However, this has not yet been fully proven. The issue is hotly debated in England. In the motherland of soccer, header training for children under the age of twelve is prohibited. In Germany, too, there are increasing voices calling for the restriction of header training in the youth sector.
Others are of the opinion that it is therefore all the more important to master a correctly executed header early in your career and therefore to maintain training in order to limit incorrect executions.
The German Football Association recommends working with lighter balls or plastic balls up to the D-Youth.
Whether and which material you choose for the header pendulum is ultimately up to you. However, if you are bored and/or need to improve your header skills, the header pendulum is certainly a useful and effective option. In many clubs, this training device is not yet standard equipment. You can fix this yourself with ease.
And soon your club may be looking forward to a new header specialist á la Miroslav Klose.
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