sportplan_hockey
TRANSFORM YOUR TEAM'S SEASON WITH PROFESSIONALLY PLANNED SESSIONS
Use our expert plans or build your own using our library of over 700+ drills, and easy-to-use tools.
JOIN NOWHELP! When i have the ball, am moving quicly and a defender comes, i cant' get past them, and i can't recover fast enough
Whenever i have the ball, and i'm moving up the field, everytime a defender comes and tries to take the ball, they always succed. This is a big problem of mine, i almost always lose the ball to a defender when i'm moving, and i usually can't recover (not that i literallyy CAN'T, the defender is just to far past me to be able for me to get the ball back)and get back the ball, and i feel really dumb because i'm a very talented player, but i'm alwayse afraid to take the ball mainly just because when i move fast and a defender comes, i try to lift the ball and it just doesn't work, and i normally can't pull the ball far enough either cause the grass is thik. PLEASSEEE help me adn give me some advice on recovering and better techniques on how to get by a defender while moving very quickly.
Hockey CoachCoach
ANSWERS
Hockey CoachCoach
Hi Brooke, You may want to examine how you are carrying the ball on your dribble and work to increase your vision by making adjustments in keeping the ball out a little further in front of you. If you are carrying the ball too far to your side and back, your head will be down and your vision of the field ahead will be limited. Preparing for your defensive attack on you is key, especially on a bumpy field. First you have to see, then you have to prepare to outsmart the situation you are about to be in. What you need to do is practice luring your defenders away from the space in which you wish to travel. Learning your 'safety distance' from an attacker is key because you have to start your breakdown steps prior to their getting an advantage over you, you need to get low in the legs, maintain ball of the foot pressure points (no flatfooted playing as you get into the heat) and be prepared to make a quick reverse stick dodge once you lure them to their non-stick side. You ultimately want to try to drag them left (their non-stick side) so you can open your allie right to travel past them. To practice this, start with cones set up 10-20yds apart in a row down the field, dribble with speed towards them, when you get about 5-8 yrds away from cone fake and travel to the left of the cone like a last minute sway to the left, before you get into a stick distance from the cone, quickly do a reverse stick drag right and sprint on to the next cone and repeat. Add a player at the cone who will be allowed to play defense on you after you mastered the technique. Speed of execution and non-obvious body movement as well as sharp drags right will make this a skill building exercise for your problem. Practice pop overs off your back right foot by slapping the ball hard into the ground, with the head of your stick angled forward, will help when the ball gets too far behind you when sticking in the grass will help too! Barb Becker USA
