Hockey: introduction: Practice for pressing the ball

"All for one, and one for all!" - Teach your players to apply pressure to the opposition as a team!

Two lines of players with 1 ball per grid.

Player 1 passes the ball to player 2 who runs to the opposite cone. Player 3 makes their intercepting run as the player makes their pass, trying to intercept the ball before it reaches player its intended recipient. If they successfully intercept the ball they make a pass to player 4.

Exercise start again.

Player 1 runs straight to receive the ball from player 4 and player 2 has to try and intercept the ball and pass the ball to player 5.

Players work in pairs in this drill - attacking and defending pair.

The player who starts with the ball has to dribble around the cone and then try to score a goal on the half way line.

At the same time one player from the defending pair also runs around the cone. Once the player with the ball has run around the cone the drill is live.

The defending team are trying to dispossess the player with the ball and score against the keeper and the last defender.

The drill continues until one of the team has had a shot at one of the goals.

4 players inside the 23 meter area try to pass the ball through the defensive zone (the space between the 23 meter to the half way line) to the players in the other half.

When the ball has successfully been played across to the other side the opposite team must try and play the ball back through the defensive zone.

The 6 defenders inside the middle zone have to try and intercept the ball and break. When they get the ball they must try and score a goal against the players who lost the ball.

Two teams play a game against each other with off set goals.