Ten Best Drills For Field Hockey
- By Emily Reich
Ten Best Drills For Field Hockey
The best way to get better at stick skills and ball control in field hockey is to practice, practice, practice. The more comfortable you become with these skills while practicing drills, the more natural they will come during game time. Drills are designed to either focus on one specific skill at a time, or practice a variety of different skills necessary for game play. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned player, drills are helpful to all levels. Here are some great drills to try at your upcoming practice.
Shuttle Passing
Players will get into groups of three or more with half the group on one end, and the other half ten or so yards away. The side with more players starts with the ball. Player one passes the ball to the other side, and follows through running after their pass, and gets in the end of the line. Pass at ten yards to start, and increase the distance as players get warmed up. You can make this drill more challenging and have players receive the ball, use an elimination skill, such as pull right, and pass back. Players can also dribble the ball and hand off the ball off from one player to the next in the shuttle. This is a great drill for practice and as a warm up passing on game day.
Cone Dribbling Drills
Cone drills are great to work on dribbling and ball possessions. You can set the cones up anyways you want; it is best to use the low disk cones. Have players start at one end and dribble through the cones. Each time they come to a cone they must use an elimination skill. Once they eliminate the cone, players should show a change in speed. This drill practices eliminating defenders, and changing speed between moves.
Wagon Wheel Stations
Set up cones in a circle, so that there is cone on the outside of the “wheel” and another in the middle for each station. Split players up into groups at each spoke with a ball. One player from each group will dribble into the middle of the wheel, round their cone and dribble back out to the edge, and pass or handoff the ball to the next player. Each spoke of the wheel can focus on a different skill as players dribble around the cones. For example, pull left or right, pull back and lift over or a spin move. Players will then rotate around the circle to work each skill.
Pass on the Run
Form two lines at one end of the field. One line will start with the ball. Players will run down the field passing back and forth. This works on players ability to pass and receive the ball while in motion, an important skill in the game of field hockey. Players should be able to both push and hit the ball as well as receive on the run. This is a great drill for beginner players familiarizing themselves with new skills and for advance players as a warm up at the beginning of practice or game day.
Shoot on the Run
Have players practice taking shots on a run at the goal cage. This works on shooting skills during a breakaway, but is also good practice for defenders taking hard, accurate hits on the run. Start at the offensive 25- or 30-yard line. Have players with a ball run toward the circle. When they reach the top of the circle they should use an elimination skill and get a quick shot off. You can do this drill with or without a goal keeper in the cage. If you choose to use a goal keeper, players have the change to take a rebound shot if the goalie does not clear the ball wide enough.
One v One
Form two lines, one offense and one defense. Whether players line up in a defensive or offensive position of the field during game time does not matter here. The offensive line starts with the ball. Have defense play dummy defense to start and work up to full defense. The offensive players will work on their elimination and ball possession skills, and defense works on one on one defense skills and playing clean defense. This helps during game play as one on one situations happen all over the field.
Three v two
This drill is used by many team field sports. Have offence form three lines on the 50-yard line and defense form two on the end line. Send three offensive players down with the ball. Have them practice flat and through passes on the way down the field. Once the three offensive players reach the 25-yard line, two defenders and the goalie step out and play the ball down in the circle. The ball is played until either the defense clears the ball out of their end, or the offense scores. This works on zone defense and offensive circle play.
Kill the Keeper
This drill works on quick touches to score around the keeper, and works on the goal keeper’s agility and reaction time. Have players form two lines behind the stroke line. One player or coach will be at the stroke line with all the balls. The player or coach at the stroke line roles the ball out toward the cage, while one player at a time runs out to get a touch and redirect on the ball toward the cage before the keeper gets to it. This drill should be quick, rapid fire. Players get one chance to play the ball and goalies get one chance to clear the ball before the play is dead, and the next ball and player comes out. This works on quick touches to change the direction of the ball in front of the goal.
Deflection Drill
Similar to kill the keeper, the deflection drill has strikers work on taking shots on goal, while offense works on deflections into the goal. Have offensive deflectors form two lines on the edge of the circle about 45 degrees off from the cage. Two strikers will practice taking shots from the top of the circle on goal while the deflectors run out in front of the cage to try to get a tip on the ball. This is a great drill to make into a competition of who can get more touches and score more goals.
Queen of the Circle
Use the circle, or determine a finite space on the field. All players in the circle will start will their own ball. Players dribble around the space working to protect their ball, but also trying to take other players balls away. Once your ball is knocked out of the circle, you are eliminated. As the number of players remaining decreases, you can start to make the space smaller. The last player standing is the queen of the circle. This drill focuses on good body positioning, offensive and defensive stick skills. You must be able to use your body to protect your own ball, while going after another players ball with your stick.
As with all drills in field hockey, you need a good foundation in order to excel when performing a drill. Here is a great video explaining the basics of dribbling.