Field Hockey: hit pass

Can any one help me with the new mandantory rule. If a free hit is taken in the 23mts square and is hit back into the centre square am I correct in coaching that it still must be touched by another stick in the 23mts square before entering the circle

Any tips for the new hockey self pass rules

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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 explain the rule about the free hit outside the sirkle.

Are there any drills to force players to stay low

When teaching the self-pass rule to my team, are there any tips in terms of when to hit and when to carry, depending on the situation?

My team's players don't have　strong pass. So our pass is hard to arrive for FW. Please tell me way to pass (push, sweep, hit) strong.

How do I get my team to play better as a team and pass more

Does anyone have a simple drill for 7-8yr olds to help with what to do when the whistle blows for a free hit?

player is getting ready to hit free hit. other player on same team is 5 yards away waiting if pass is needed it. defender is right behind her. is tha obstruction?

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...

With the new own goal rule it's getting very critical to defend the player who is carrying the ball.The team that I coach had a major problem on this area last season.I've already told them what they sould do in order to make it difficult for the ball carrier to scan for a pass or hit the ball inside our defending circle,or at least make him to drible instead of making a dangerous pass.But,they are not used to doing it and we have conceived a lot of goals that way.We have the same problem at defending a free hit inside our 25 yards,when the attacker dribles with the ball for the neccessary 5 meters and then smashes it into our circle.I am trying to think of a way or an excersise that will make them do it,but I haven't found one.Any ideas for both ways could be very helpful.

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.

My club has a 5s team which is predominantly young lad (15 upwards) but as of next season the juniors team will have 13 year olds who will be joining the mens league. as an older player (Compared to them anyway) myself and another player are going to start a kind of mentoring program to get the youngsters ready for the mens league. what is the best way and any tips what we should be taking note of etc?

rules of free hit

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

Hi allI am looking for advice on how to implement processes in my girls school hockey team. processes of setting up presses, defensive structures and counter attacking thinking. I have 14 players in the team from 15 years old to 18. we train twice a week. only a few play club hockey as well. We either play a 3-1-4-2 or a 3-1-3-3.I find it difficult for example, when you want to teach a press on the opposition 16, to simulate gameplay with only 14 players (if they are all at training). I can have my halves setup for taking the 16 and then get my strikers and links to setup, but then I still want defenders to see things from the back but they are taking the 16? Also when taking the 16 they then don't have any support in the drill because everyone else is setting up a press?I know we need to work on our basics in order for the other tactics and skills and game plans to work. However I find it frustrating with this team that on counter attacks for a few reasons which I am struggling to mend;- they only head forward. No one holds up the ball to wait for support.- they run straight and don't use angles- they pass too late and get tackled - they don't have the vision to see an early pass or pass into space- players without the ball do not run into useful positions and angles and get caught out by the person with the ball who then makes a pass to no one and it runs out of play.So suggestions please for;- open, creative but simple counter attacking- teaching processes for presses on free hits and 16s- coaching how to take 16s and work your way out- coaching vision and expecting your players to be in support. RegardsMatt

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

I'm finding it really hard to find a practise relating to hit outs on a 16 for my over 35's squad. They are still very "grass" based players and I would like help in trying to find a drill that will show them that hitting the ball straight down the middle of the pitch to the opposition isn't the only option? Hope you can help Jax