Hockey: Train Line

Good attacking play requires vision and heads up hockey - get your players picking out the best pass!

Spread your team anywhere inside the half of a pitch. Only give your team 3 balls.

You may pass the ball around to anyone inside the half. This will create a lot of talking and activity.

Do this exercise for about 5 minutes. It is important that the players keep talking and moving off the ball, always making themselves available to receive the ball.

For quick decision making do the same exercise inside the circle.

Setup:

1. Lay out sticks on the ground about 1 metre apart.
2. Six sticks should be laid in a continuous straight line.
3. Five cones in a zig-zag formation.
4. Use ladders or a line of two cones close together (about 30cm between each pair).
5. Place a stick on a pair of cones x6, about 1 metre between each one.

The drill:

1. Players run in and out of the sticks
2. Players jump with feet together over the sticks (from left to right followed by right to left)
3. Run round the cones, the players should touch the cone with the inside hand each time
4. Players touch the pitch with one foot between each space
5. Players run through and over as fast as they can. Check that they lift their knees nice and high going over the hurdles.

Pass ball to player and then chase pass to put pressure on player.

Receiving player either passes first touch or two touch to the next player.
First touch should be in direction of intended pass.

First clock wise then anti clock wise then both ways

Group size can vary 5 would be in a square. etc

Set-up a number of gates about 1m wide.

Minimum number of gates 1 for every 2 players.

• Get the players to run through 20 gates.