Field Hockey: hockey

Just beginning to coach 7-8 year olds in hockey..any suggested drills for dribbling/pushing the ball?

are the new hockey rules ie hitting into the d direct from a free hit being applied to junior hockey

Does anyone have a link to a few GOOD Hockey Specific fitness tests. And I'm not looking for bleep tests which is somewhat out of date. Many thanks

I'm a junior and really wanna play. Is it too late? Also, how do I get started? Thanks!

I help out at local skill teaching children from yr 1 to yr 7 the skills of hockey. I am always looking for fun mini games which encases all skill types. This is from non hockey to excellent hockey players.

As of 1 September, major FIH events such as the Champions Trophy, Hockey World League Final and Rio 2016 Olympic Games will assume a new format that includes moving to four 15-minute quarters and having 40-second time-outs when a penalty corner is awarded and after a goal is scored. Do you think this a positive or negative for the future of hockey?

...where it will list and describe playing terminology such as shave, tackle-back, steal, forehand.

How can I teach my team of u/12 girls to "see" hockey or rather think hockey? It's if they can"t read hockey and are thinking with "netball brains" instead of hockey brains. I don't know if it makes sense to someone but it is very frustrating. I can teach them skills and practice practice practice but the moment they play a game they forget everything and can't seem to know what to do. Hope it makes sense for somebody.

I coach aged 7 children and I don't know how to teach them how to play a proper hockey match without all of them going for the ball and not staying in their positions. Do I put lines where they are not allowed to pass? or what?

i have just turned 14 and really want to start hockey with on of my friends, however i have only played at school so don't really know where to start?

Hi all, after "volunteering" at the last minute to coach last season, I'm looking forward to coaching again this season but would like to be a bit more organised starting the season. Last season I used drills from here (thank you contributors) and put together a practice plan each week addressing what I thought were our weakness from the game just played. This got us through the season, we were promoted after grading and finished the season in the top 4 playoffs for our grade.I wonder if there is some kind of guide to putting a more coherent training plan together for the season.I'm coaching a boys secondary school team, aged 12-18. What kind of skills should they have mastered?What should they be attempting, working towards mastering (individually and as a team)?I last played as a collage boy on grass fields, the change to turf pitches has obviously obsoleted (along with age) much of what I knew as a player.Any pointers appreciated.David

What fun warm ups can I use with a group of 7-11 year olds with and without hockey sticks? Many thanks xx

Hi,I perhaps naively, expected to have most of our team from last year carry over and only have a few new comers to integrate and get up to speed with the rest. However meeting the team at our first practice last night i find I have five players still at school from last year and the rest all new comers, most of whom had not held a hockey stick at all till practice.This being only my second season coaching (year 9 to year 13 boys) has left me feeling a little blindsided, and feeling quite unsure how to prepare practices that target both groups of boys. Do i lump them both groups together, keep them separate? What drills/exercises to best bring the new comers up to speed.I don't want to neglect either group, keep practice worthwhile for the experienced boys, but also bringing the new comers up to a level were they can mix in with the others and learn organically from them while practicing as a team. David

hi there I'm using 4-4-2 and on sometimes 3-1-4-2 with a lower level hockey team.I've chosen this over other formations, simply because the hockey experience and ability of my players is not of a high level (and most people have an approximate understanding of 442). Also, I believe that one must choose a formation based on players traits and what they can deliver. For example, I'd ideally prefer to have 3 forwards, to help with more height and width but then would have to either play 3 in the middle or 3 at the back... and my player strengths don't permit this. In short, I simply don't believe I have a strong enough CH / CM to handle 3 in the middle and I'm not convinced that the off-the-ball support from other players is strong enough to allow 3 in the middle. OFFENSIVE PLAYS Anyway, I'm not 100% where to get my centre mids to stand when we have a 16 yd hit to take (i.e. our possession). Obviously one of the CMs comes deep to offer a potential direct outlet from the centre backs or offer an overload option if the ball goes out to the sides (which is more likely, since I've pretty much banned the high risk play of releasing up the middle - we've had far too many turnovers in our final third or quarter because we tried to play up the middle). My players are 'aware' of posting up and leading runs. However, I'm not sure about the 2nd CM. On the one hand I'd ideally like the 2nd CM to come deep as well, in order to potentially help break up the opposition press but by doing so, I distort the midfield and if we do manage to get the ball to one of the CMs, he won't have the 2nd CM in a higher position to release to, etc. DEFENSIVE POSITIONING Can someone suggest, again, about midfield positioning using 4-4-2 or 3-1-4-2, when we are setting up a general press? I have traditionally encouraged man marking, simply because our general positional awareness is weak (which makes zonal play a no-no IMO) + our tracking and attitude to committed defending (i.e. you don’t give up if one tackle fails) could be better! However, looking at suggested presses on Sportplan, some zonal positioning seems a necessity and I think if I can help my players make the step, success will come because they've been forced to become more aware of their pitch positioning, etc. Also, looking at some of the presses, it looks like the midfield can go 'flat' to create a barrier... and as I encourage a diamond shape in midfield, I need to explain to my players what to do and when. Sorry for the wordy question. I hope this all makes sense. Regards, Gary

I have been given my first team ever!! They are 11 year old girls and I wanted guide/ recommendation on how I should structure my one hour sessions? E.g. how long should I spend on a warm up, drill etc. .Cheers,Freya

I have just returned from coaching my first high school hockey tournament. It was great fun but the girls really felt it by the end of the tournament. I want to offer guidance in the form of a fitness build up to the girls for next season but am not sure what my expectations should be. How fit should you be looking to get if you are preparing to play 7 50min games over 5 days? And what types of fitness should I be suggesting? Sprinting and Intervals along with Swimming are things I feel that could be introduced. Ideally it needs to be accessable (not expensive or require special equipment), self managed (to an extent) and let it fit in with their daily rountine as best possible to give them the best chance to commit (i.e. I feel like suggesting they power walk to school rather than get dropped off will work better than asking them to join a gym to do the pelaton classes) Any ideas? Or things that have worked in the past?

Hi Im new to coaching hockey want to know what position do I play some of my weaker players without them losing interest and there confidence.

Need help with planning a rolling subs with 11 players and 5 subs.Keeper,4 backs, 4 midfied, 2 strikers.Any ideas please

Hi allI'm running a session on friday night (21 April 2017) and was hoping to move beyond stuff like deflection goals only, to compensate for not having any goalkeepers.Session theme is unfortunately on goalscoring too.Any tips/suggestions?I have some rebound nets (crazy catch), which might actually work brilliantly to simulate saves but any other ideas would be welcomed.Regards,Gary

Suggestions on how to play this system. I have very young 1st team so feel i must play defensive hockey. Thanks