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Hockey: 1/2 Court Press

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The 1/2 court press is again a team effort and relies on all players joining in and being disciplined.

The 1/2 court press is a bit like space invaders - players must move as one unit, from side to side in front of the ball.

It is very important that once the ball has gone into the zone, past the highest defenders, the team goes in to full court press mode. But when the ball is played back out of the 1/2 court zone the 1/2 court disciplines have to be adhered to once again.

The advantage of the 1/2 court press is that it is easier than taking the initiative, also less agreements need to be made compared to the full press.

When to use:

The Half court Press is very good for the underdog team that is not able to create chances from their own possession.

So using this system you choose to let the opposition have most of the possession and wait for them to make a mistake.

Your team will create lots of break opportunities because with every loss of possession the opposition will leave a large amount of space behind them which your side can exploit for the break.

COACHING POINTS

Limitations:

If any of your players decide to full court press the ball the 1/2 court press will fall apart and the opposition will be gifted a break opportunity.

Do not play the 1/2 court press when you feel that you are allowing the opposition to get too close to your goal. In this instance you should change the 1/2 Court to 3/4 court or full press.

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OFTEN USED WITH...

Full Court Press:

The difference between the Full Press, which puts pressure on the specific areas on the pitch (wide areas in the opposition's 23m area) and the Full Court Press is that pressure is apllied on all areas around the pitch. Each player marks their man tightly and looks to step in front of their man.

When to use:

When you want to keep the opposition as far away from your goal, and to prevent the opposition's backline from playing the ball around (ideal when the opposition's backline are skilled at passing the ball out).

Roles and Responsibilities

Full Press - Puting Pressure on the Opposition:

The basis of the press is that no player commits to the ball but a team screen is set up in the decided territory of the pitch. The aim is not to try and steal the ball from the opposition, but instead to make the opposition give the ball to you.

By pushing up you are trying to make the opposition make a mistake in trying to run or pass the ball out of these areas. After intercepting a bad pass your team should be looking to break and score.

When to use:

The Full Press should take place only if:

The opposition has a free hit in one of the 2 zones shown in the diagram.
Or a player in possession in the 23m area is given a very bad bobbly pass to their reverse stick side. However, this is slightly harder to read as all players need to react, because of this this tactic is probably not worth exploring to begin with.

Your team's press should prevent all lateral (sideways) passes across the pitch. All other passing options are easier to close down if you use the side lines to your advantage.

Roles and Responsibilities

halfcourt press with switch denial player high up the pitch:

When playing against a half court press with a high forward that puts pressure on the direct switch pass the transfer tends to have to go via the 1st support defender which tends to slow the transfer down so when the ball gets to the opposite wide defender the opposition will have the press in place. Also if the team in possession tries to force the ball into the midfield the press tends to close in and the pressure tends to lead to ball turnover of ball and a break for the defending team on top of of this the attacking team tends have either midfield or forwards in the channels down the line available to receive the pass. If this pass is given once again the press will close down on the player in possession and turn over ball is likely to follow.

Roles and Responsibilities