Headers

[KMCC]

Just a few from last night:

http://kent.smugmug.com/photos/264826223_mpstu-L.jpg

http://kent.smugmug.com/photos/264833913_zkdSz-L.jpg

http://kent.smugmug.com/photos/264842779_6aqrY-L.jpg

[KED]

Hey Kent. #1 is SO good -- looks like you were right there next to them, and great drama on her face. I love it. A large percentage of my best soccer shots are headers -- great drama.

Regards,
Kent

[jonh68]

#1 is the best. Great action and facial expression.:thumb

[quark]

#1 is great. What does the girl in white have written all over her hand! :rofl

[JohnEBongo]

Great shots!! Nice and tight. I love the handful of jersey the the girl has in the last shot.

[donek]

Hey Kent. #1 is SO good -- looks like you were right there next to them, and great drama on her face. I love it. A large percentage of my best soccer shots are headers -- great drama.

Regards,
Kent

I guess I just don't know the game well enough. I almost never get the headers as I can't predict when or where they'll be. Maybe someone can school me on the best way to predict this action. I would really love the insight.

Awesome shots BTW.

[KMCC]

I guess I just don't know the game well enough. I almost never get the headers as I can't predict when or where they'll be. Maybe someone can school me on the best way to predict this action. I would really love the insight.

Awesome shots BTW.
Thanks for the comments.

I think that shooting sports is all about anticipating the action and knowing where the flow of the game is likely to take that action. The better the photographer knows the game, the more likely the photographer is to capture a shot at the moment of peak action.

In terms of soccer headers, anytime I see the ball being kicked up into the air, I try to anticipate where it's going to come back down, zero in on the players are in that area of the field, and then take the shot as soon as I see them (through the viewfinder) beginning to leap to meet the ball. Timing is everything.

I very rarely fire off a burst of shots in hopes of catching one at the right moment.

As with everything else, practice makes perfect. But mainly it's luck! :D

[KED]

I guess I just don't know the game well enough. I almost never get the headers as I can't predict when or where they'll be. Maybe someone can school me on the best way to predict this action. I would really love the insight.

Awesome shots BTW.
KMCC articulated it perfectly below, but my two cents is that it's really simple, at least at the high school level and above -- if the ball goes into the air above the height of players' heads, somebody is likely to head it, so follow the ball.

With little kids (and I've been watching soccer, if not shooting it, for 15 years),
they're unlikely to try and even less likely to succeed.

[Frog Lady]

nice Kent - I like the 1st and 3rd. Good expressions.

C.