Helling began his career with ZFC, moving to Telstar in August 1971. He played for them until 1975. He next played for Ajax. Whilst at Ajax in 1975 he famously missed a penalty in a European Cupmatch against Levski-Spartak, resulting in Ajax's elimination from the competition. He made 29 appearances for Ajax – 21 in the league, 3 in the Cup, and 5 times in Europe. He returned to Telstar for a loan spell in 1976. He then spent 8 seasons with Volendam, for whom he scored 48 goals in 218 games in all competitions. At Volendam he was part of the team which won promotion in May 1983. He ended his career with amateur side Always Forward.