Field Hockey: left channel

This is a question about channeling. Should a left side defender channel the Left Inside or Left Outside player to the center of the field or channel her down the sideline?

I can find lots of defensive drills, but am not sure which would be best for defending the left channel.

Bram. I have a question on your answer about defending the left channel. Over the years I've heard various different views on how to defend the left channel. You answer suggest forcing the attacker on to the strong side where an inside defender can provide a cover tackle if necessary. Fine. Other rhetoric suggests keeping the attacker wide and restricting the route to goal. For me, your suggestion offers the greatest risk. Can you provide some perspective of these two approaches.

What are the best things to get your players to do when you come up against a full press / 3/4 press, anything that's putting a lot of pressure on high up the pitch?

HI! Any drills for kids around 11 years old (11 a-side) to learn positions in the field. I find it hard because they stay still in one place and they don´t move or they play across the whole field instead of staying in their side of the turf.. Thanks Barbs

overlapping outside halves ? or drop Midfield in hole?

Have some questions about two inners. Also anyone running it. Do you like it?

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

Baseline defence: How to prevent teams from Scoring goals from the left and Right baseline.Do I tell my left and Right half to channel player outwards ,protect feet,frontal pressure and allow other defenders to tuck infield.Or do I opt to tell defenders to go man to man inside 23 and then apply frontal pressure ,channel player outwards ,watch angle of engagment.As recently we only conceded through attack on our baseline

Hi, I have a complicated set of questions which shows my limited understanding of field hockey. I’m coaching a U13 team of 22 girls in the U.S., and each player has at least one year of experience. I’ve played FH only with my kids though I have a basic understanding of the game and its concepts from playing soccer and basketball, and watching games for many years. I've coached kids in other sports, this is my first year coaching field hockey. (If you’re wondering why I’m coaching, no parent in my community with playing experience would step up and my daughter loves the game.)A warming: This is a long set of interrelated questions but your taking the time will be greatly appreciated. Problem: The core problem is responsibility conflicts on defense. My players understand concepts of zone and marking separately. I don’t know enough to explain how they should manage the two responsibilities in field hockey. I “get it” by playing other sports for so long and therefore am able to see how they aren’t “getting it.” For clarity, I have in mind two kinds of offense players: OP1 (has the ball); OP2 (doesn’t). The girls understand that zone means each has a certain area to protect; and marking, how to position themselves in relation to offensive player without the ball (OP2), and when to mark tight vs. loose, and to what it means to follow her mark. Situation 1 (Off-ball play): if one OP2 (OP2-A) enter zone of Left Midfield (LM), for example, how LM apply marking principles (a) when OP2-A enters zone; (b) a second OP2 (OP-B) enters zone; (c) if OP2-A leaves zone, LM should (i) release OP2-A and stay on OP2-B or (ii) follow OP1-A and leave OP2-B. How resolve these zone/marking conflicts for other positions: CM/RM? For RD/LD/CD? (We play a basic 3-3-1-3.)Situation 2 (Support teammate pressuring ball (D1). The girls understand basics of channeling, approaching OP1 to tackle, and how D2 should support D1 (e.g., D2 is cover for D2). We’ve done drills (1v2), but transferring into game situations is difficult. How explain D2 maintain zone responsibilities (a) if supporting D1 means D2 (a) vacates assigned zone and/or (b) or OP2 in zone). Situation 3 (Forwards). They are having trouble with changing defensive responsibilities from within the opposing team’s quarter of the field, the middle quarters, and our quarter of the field nearest to our goal. I’ve thought about just making the defense solely marking but that creates its own chaos and tires out the girls. Without these basic concepts, the result is a joyless scrum: players are bunched up on defense, so if there’s a turnover, the players are too close together for a counterattack. This is unfortunate because the speed of field hockey games should appeal to kids in the U.S. Thanks

Bram. I have a question on your answer about defending the left channel. Over the years I've heard various different views on how to defend the left channel. You answer suggest forcing the attacker on to the strong side where an inside defender can provide a cover tackle if necessary. Fine. Other rhetoric suggests keeping the attacker wide and restricting the route to goal. For me, your suggestion offers the greatest risk. Can you provide some perspective of these two approaches.

overlapping outside halves ? or drop Midfield in hole?

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