Field Hockey: with the ball

Can you tell me the correct technique for a penalty flick? How you would put it into a training exercise?

Are there any drills to force players to stay low

im twelve, i play for my school team and i am going for a trial at southgate hockey. I  play up front, and i can shoot pretty well but i cant lift it over the keeper. any tips would be much appreiciated

Playing field hockey on real grass not turff. Any advice as to good tactics, more running with the ball rather than passing game?

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...

I am looking for 6 a side hockey formations. We have been playing 3-1-1-1. Worked very well, however sweeper was so good, goalie never touched the ball. I want to move sweeper to goalie/ sweeper but our mid field player is too good to just play right. What to do? 2-2-1-1 or 1-3-1-1?     

How do you encourage positional play and spreading out on hockey field U9 girls level?

Dear colleagues, I am coaching a 1st women team (Argentina) and the system that is working for us very well is 3-1-3-3. Given the quality players we've got in the midfield and attack we try to emphasize our offensive game all the time. The problem I am struggling to resolve is that the forwards do not get involved in chances to score inside the circle very often. The few chances the forwards have they are able to score but it is our midfielders who most of the time get to the circle in possession with the ball. I would like to see a quick transfer of the ball from the midfielders to the forwards who need to be in touch with the ball more often during the game and have the midfielders supporting the attack rather than being the leaders of the attack.Is there any drill or way to improve this aspect of the game? Thanks for your time. Martin

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

What is the difference between a "Steal" and a "Shave" in defence techniques? A lot of different explanations are given on the internet, and I want to give the right information to my students. Both are used in Tackle Back situations.I always thought that a steal is taking over the ball when it is "loose" - like the opponent wants to give a pass -and a shave is taking over the ball when an opponent has the ball on the stick.

could someone comment on the 5 yard rule when entering the scoring area? There always seams to be a lot of wrong information regarding this rule.

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

How can you train to break through a team that starts half court and your team starts with the ball? Four players in the defence start maybe playing the ball first to the left wing and this player hits the ball back to the free defence player who passes the ball to the right defence player who is over the 23 meter line... I like to understand the different tactical approaches. Can you share some ideas with me?

How to coach fast attackers to control the pace of the ball as they accelerate? At higher speeds, the players' touch on the ball needs to be "softer" but this requires hands and feet to work at varying intensity. I see a lot of speedsters push the ball too far ahead of themselves, the faster they go. The outcome is often a failed shot at goal because the ball runs out of reach or out over the back line.

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

I'm in the U.S., coaching a team of 11-12 year olds, with 1-2 years of experience. Defending the circle, when the ball is loose, my players are not getting control of the ball to hit out of the circle. It's congested with opponent and my team's players. If my players get control, they lose it quickly. If the opponent has control, my players aren't very good at taking the ball or stopping the opponent from taking a shot. Luckily we have a good goalie but she can only do so much. (Full disclosure: I didn't play FH but have a decent understanding of the game. No one else in my community would step up to coach so it's fallen to me.)