Hockey: Cover and Delay - Proud to Coach

Difficulty of the skill: Red - a difficult core skill for ages 7-9 years and upwards. As players progress and develop the difficulty of the skill should reduce.

What does it mean?

Closing down and dictating to the ball carrier where they can and cannot move with the ball. The defending player looks to channel the ball carrier in order to make them either push the ball off the pitch; create a tackling opportunity ;or to provide another teammate with an opportunity to make a tackle.

Example of the skill

Channelling enables the defender to have maximum control of the situation. If in the middle of the pitch the defending player would look to channel the player towards their (defending players) right hand (open stick side) or alternatively to either a teammates stick or towards the sideline.

Suggested Exercise

Player one begins with the ball in the opposite diagonal corner to player two. Player one’s target is to score through the red cones which are defended by player two. Player two’s aim is to run in an arc towards player one and channel the attacker away from the red cones and force them to the blue cones.

Attacking players could begin the exercise passively, allowing the defending player to practice their channelling technique. The exercise could progress to become more game like with the attacking player becoming less passive and attempting to score through the defending player’s goal by eliminating the defending player.

Introduce Inside Left and Inside Right and passing option as indicated on diagram

Add in passive defenders

This system is more attacking then the sweeper behind system (1-1-3-3-3).

The advantage of this set-up is that you have a free player behind the midfield (highlighted). This creates a numerical advantage for your team in the middle. This overload will help your team, especially your attackers, to push forward and penetrate the opposition's circle.

When not in possession you will have an extra man to support your midfielders. This arrangement gives more opportunities to 1/2 court press and/or full press the opposition.

When to use:

You would employ this system if your midfiled is being overrun and is struggling to cope with the opposition, but your back line is coping with their players.