Field Hockey: train at home

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

I really have a big problem with my u/15 girls.  They just can't play as a team. Any advice please. There's always a fight between someone. Mariette

I train a school team in India, it is under-16 team. My forwards are good in skills and defenders are good at tackling. But at the last 15 mins of match(35-5-35 mins.), my whole team gets tired and starts making unforced errors. Even skills are as good as other Indian players but when it comes to strength and stamina they lack. Please suggest something that my players are capable fast matches? We play hockey on grass only.

Can anyone please help me with a full training program for mini hockey for 6 weeks. The kidz are in Grade 2(8 yrs old), practise 2 a week for 45 min and play league games 1 a week.

I am coaching a JV team and my girls keep sending the ball back to where the ball came from.  Are there any good drills that would train them redirect?

I have been given my first team ever!! They are 11 year old girls and I wanted guide/ recommendation on how I should structure my one hour sessions? E.g. how long should I spend on a warm up, drill etc. .Cheers,Freya

I'm doing an expo project on hockey goalkeepers and I want to know if there is a need for a basic training guide for beginers eg. goalies for dummies

Anybody got any ideas on how to get 14-15 year old girls to treat a first time coach as a coach and not just a friend?

With pre season looming can you give any advice as to the best training method for ladies hockey team

How can I share training sessions and ideas with my colleague, who also uses this plataform, without downloading until all our ideas are ready?

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

I've been persuaded to coach a women's veterans side (+35). I haven't coached hockey before but have good experience coaching soccer at youth level. Any suggestions on a training plans? How close do soccer tactics align with hockey?Any help is welcomed.ThanksMichael

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

need info on training the goal keeper.

I am coach for my university team. I'll be mainly coaching the bottom team as I cant train and play at the same time, I'm looking to make a book with a ton of drills in with diagrams categorised. I want to make this before uni so I can prepare for the whole year but I'm finding the site a little confusing. Any coaches with experience using the site or tips willing to offer advice or help would be much appreciated

Hi all, after "volunteering" at the last minute to coach last season, I'm looking forward to coaching again this season but would like to be a bit more organised starting the season. Last season I used drills from here (thank you contributors) and put together a practice plan each week addressing what I thought were our weakness from the game just played. This got us through the season, we were promoted after grading and finished the season in the top 4 playoffs for our grade.I wonder if there is some kind of guide to putting a more coherent training plan together for the season.I'm coaching a boys secondary school team, aged 12-18. What kind of skills should they have mastered?What should they be attempting, working towards mastering (individually and as a team)?I last played as a collage boy on grass fields, the change to turf pitches has obviously obsoleted (along with age) much of what I knew as a player.Any pointers appreciated.David

I am preparing a team of boys for a six-a-side outdoor tournament. Any advice on a good training programme and the core skills to be worked on? Suggestions on set pieces and team formation would be helpful indeed.

Whats the best way to use keepers in a 2 hour club night .? Core skills of out field players needs more work to get them up to speed . Any ideas would be great ta Dave .

Hello, can someone please help with this question: Describe two different training types and methods which would have a positive impact on sports performance for AFL players. I need to provide 2 training methods for the 2 training types where the training methods include (examples are the training methods): Aerobic-eg continuous, fartlek, aerobic interval and circuit. Anaerobic- eg anaerobic interval. Flexibility-eg static, ballistic, PNF, dynamic stretching. Strength training- eg free/fixed weights, elastic, hydraulic. So i have information on dynamic stretching but if i am to do that I have to pick another form of stretching from the example methods above such as PNF, static ballistic. Not sure what to say if I had to pick one of those. Also I think aerobic interval seems good, how does it better AFL players performance?

Hi, I am after some information on the Press in regards to feild hockey.. We are looking to try and implement in our team, but some team members have no idea on what it is. I myself know of it and have heard about it and also that there are a few different set ups. I am looking for some diagrams and notes if available so I can pass out at our next training session Cheers Shannon