Field Hockey: line

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

I have a ladies team with slow defenders who insist on playing 5-10 yards (sometimes more) off of their attacker. They do this as they say they are much slower and therefore need the space to catch up to them and as a 'buffer'. This is an argument I have heard used by a lot of slower players.I however have been arguing that they'd have more success if they marked closer and tried to prevent them from turning and gathering speed/or being within range to make the interception in the first place. They may get beaten on occasion if the player has the wherewithal to turn with skill and beat their marker, but I feel for a lot of players, the mere pressure of having a defender in close proximity may discourage them from attempting to turn and force them to play the ball backwards.My argument is that if you give a player with speed 10 yards to build up speed against you then it will be harder to stop them/catch them, especially in a wide space. The way I think about it is, if two cars are in a race, but the first one is allowed to get up to 30 mph before the start line AND is the faster vehicle, it's a no-brainer as to who will win. I'm interested to see what everyone else thinks - am I thinking about this incorrectly or does my thinking make sense?

Does anyone have a good field hockey drill for transitioning out of the defensive end after a goalie clear or a steal?

what is the best way for a half to get fit?

I am looking for a good drill that will explain posting up to maintain possesion? Anyone help?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What are the main principles of pressing to gain possession?

Can some explain how the Steal the Bacon drill works. I don't see it in the list of drills

I'm finding it really hard to find a practise relating to hit outs on a 16 for my over 35's squad. They are still very "grass" based players and I would like help in trying to find a drill that will show them that hitting the ball straight down the middle of the pitch to the opposition isn't the only option? Hope you can help Jax

To John Royce: Formations Hey John just wondered your thoughts have taken over ane A1 Womens Side was trying to think a bit outside the box thought of trying a 1-1-3-4-2 formation or 1-1-3-3-3. had any success or heartache with either. Have varying degrees of age in this team which make it a little for younger ones to comprehend. Regards Ian Manhire Newtown A1 Womens Coach

hi there I'm using 4-4-2 and on sometimes 3-1-4-2 with a lower level hockey team.I've chosen this over other formations, simply because the hockey experience and ability of my players is not of a high level (and most people have an approximate understanding of 442). Also, I believe that one must choose a formation based on players traits and what they can deliver. For example, I'd ideally prefer to have 3 forwards, to help with more height and width but then would have to either play 3 in the middle or 3 at the back... and my player strengths don't permit this. In short, I simply don't believe I have a strong enough CH / CM to handle 3 in the middle and I'm not convinced that the off-the-ball support from other players is strong enough to allow 3 in the middle. OFFENSIVE PLAYS Anyway, I'm not 100% where to get my centre mids to stand when we have a 16 yd hit to take (i.e. our possession). Obviously one of the CMs comes deep to offer a potential direct outlet from the centre backs or offer an overload option if the ball goes out to the sides (which is more likely, since I've pretty much banned the high risk play of releasing up the middle - we've had far too many turnovers in our final third or quarter because we tried to play up the middle). My players are 'aware' of posting up and leading runs. However, I'm not sure about the 2nd CM. On the one hand I'd ideally like the 2nd CM to come deep as well, in order to potentially help break up the opposition press but by doing so, I distort the midfield and if we do manage to get the ball to one of the CMs, he won't have the 2nd CM in a higher position to release to, etc. DEFENSIVE POSITIONING Can someone suggest, again, about midfield positioning using 4-4-2 or 3-1-4-2, when we are setting up a general press? I have traditionally encouraged man marking, simply because our general positional awareness is weak (which makes zonal play a no-no IMO) + our tracking and attitude to committed defending (i.e. you don’t give up if one tackle fails) could be better! However, looking at suggested presses on Sportplan, some zonal positioning seems a necessity and I think if I can help my players make the step, success will come because they've been forced to become more aware of their pitch positioning, etc. Also, looking at some of the presses, it looks like the midfield can go 'flat' to create a barrier... and as I encourage a diamond shape in midfield, I need to explain to my players what to do and when. Sorry for the wordy question. I hope this all makes sense. Regards, Gary

Hi all, I'm looking for drills that assist in getting my team to use both the lower and 25 line T spots. There was a 6 on 5 drill on Sportplan but I can not find it. Does anyone have any I can utilise?

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

Hi all- I am 37 years old. I played field hockey for 3 years only (in high school). As you can imagine, I'm not very good/experienced. I was a competitive soccer player which made me good enough athletically to play field hockey but anyway, the point is: I never played field hockey at a high level.I now find myself in a head coaching position. (Long story-I did coach some field hockey some years ago and had a blast but it was a while back). Anyway, I have three assistant coaches who aren't much more experienced than I am. Our high school program is VERY weak and so nobody really steps up to coach there.Basically, my question is: what do I do? I have some girls who have played but not much. Then I have girls who literally don't know how to hold their stick and are quite I athletic. We barely have enough girls to field a team. As for drills, I'm trying to use this site but if you were in my position, what specifically would you be doing with these girls so they don't lose 7-0 every game? Right now, I'm focusing on body control and comfort with the ball- (we are playing possession and they are so uncomfortable they just hit the ball away because they don't have the skills to hold). Any help you can give is greatly appreciated!Brooke Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

Can I create my starting line up, subs, rotations etc.

How do I get the right timing for a jab im trying to step up my defensive skills and i just cant get the right timing and technique for it Asked using Sportplan Mobile App

Hi, can you add white lines for example to focus in on the side of the pitch for a drill?

In field hockey, how do you hit a tomahawk flat and accurately?

Playing adult mens at a low league level, mixture of ageing experienced players, inexperienced young and not so young players.We normally play 343 diamond, with mixed results, when I works it works well.We are without our keeper , so an outfield player (me , not so young, not so good) padding up.Really need a formation that is going to discourage pressure on the last line of defence (this section has the best, older experienced players).Bit vague and difficult to answer, I would think but a pointer would be good. Many thanks

how to play defending 3V2