Field Hockey: sideline

When defending a free hit, in our attacking half of the field, that is close to the sideline, is it best to take away movement to the center of the field or the sideline. I am playing a system with strength in the middle and most teams seem to be faster than we are?  How does this adapt to the self-pass?

How should a women team,that cannot use the scoup or an overhead,do when the oposit uses a full press at a 16yd hit??Thank you...

What are the key skills in individual defending and what are the best ways to practise them?

Please can you explain the difference in the full court press press and the half court press

Recently been working hard developing the use of the dish around the back to create space. Working great but would now like to develop this with more drills.We have discussed decision making, leading runs and movement but I'm now looking for ideas of exercises that will develop these thoughts amongst the guys. All ideas for exercises we could use at training gratefully received

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

How can I help my u/12 girls to attack? At the moment they are running beside the opponent but not attacking the players.

Hey all, I am trying to implement a new structure for next season, and I want to get thoughts of others. I have my formation - do I start with working the ball out from defence and work forward, midfield, have certain set plays and movements? Where do you start in introducing the formation and player movements - big picture as in general philosophy, position by position? Any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated.Cheers,Brent

I am a high school coach in the USA. We played a team this past weekend who had a defender who lifted on a free hit 30-40 yards. That was pretty much their only offense. All of their forwards were ready to receive the long balls. How do we defend that? Should I have almost everyone drop back 30-40 yards?

Hi, Does anyone have a smart way for giving all your players a number when they are taking part in a trial. Was trying to avoid having to print and laminate and pin numbers onto their backs. How do others manage this when you might have up to 50 kids at a trial and you don't know them all. Any suggestions appreciated. Cheers Tracey

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

Does anyone any set plays for getting out of the defensive half and sideline hits?

How can I get my players to be accountable for their skills? During drills, they mistrap balls next to the sideline, bounces over, poor passing etc, and it doesn't seem to bother them. I instigate the team accountability, where the team calls them on it, but no one seems to do it.Any suggestions would be great.Cheers,Brent

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 all,I am wondering, what do you think about formation 3-5-2? I watch football a lot and i think that our sport is very similar tactically. With this formation you could get 5 defenders when you are defending and in the offense these wide backs could join attack and the you have 5 - 6 players in the finish and easier way to get out of the press. I dont know this is just a thought. Let me know what do you think. Thank you

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?

My Girls team I coach get caught a lot between man marking and zonal marking in the 23 yard area and sometimes end up with half the team doing one and the rest the other. Suggestions on the ideal defensive set up inside the 23?

Please can you explain the difference in the full court press press and the half court press

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