I agree, and I think few things are more game-changing at the youth level besides the ability to control airballs with the feet/legs/chest. Teams that can do that are the ones that consistently win goal kicks and free kicks, and once you combine that with quick outlet passes, you see a team that is consistently…

I’m not sure. I think with a lot of kids activities, if they concentrate on one set of skills early, they’ll be fine picking up another set later.

I think learning what to do when a ball comes at your head is a valuable skill for younger kids, but I agree that beyond that I’d vastly prefer kids learn how to judge, trap and play airballs than to have them running in to head them.

Heading with any accuracy is a really tough skill that, quite frankly, escapes even most well developed young players. I think some youth coaches encourage kids to go agressively for a header because it’s a high risk/high reward play, in the same way that some coaches like to run an offense where a single guy with a…

I’m not qualified to judge the stats and medical evidence, but one thing I’ve noticed about US youth soccer even at a pretty high levels — kids are pretty crappy at trapping air balls.