Excellent drills, very detailed videos. Useful site for my U15 boys team.
drills for lifting the ball
1-2-1 coaching with u12 son (forward-JDC level) need to keep it fresh and fun any ideas? Andy Batch
I have a midfielder that wants to practice defending against lifted balls in a 1-2-1 situation, any ideas for drills that will assist with this?
How can I help my u/12 girls to attack? At the moment they are running beside the opponent but not attacking the players.
Can someone give me advice on the best was to teach ladies 3d skills while entering the D? I am open to any suggestions. I have tried to get them lifting the ball over sticks but it doesn't seem to transfer to matches.
Can you lift the ball with a drag flick to score,, will it be called dangerous??
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
when an attacker comes to you is it best to have your stick right at the ground or in an angle ?
I am just starting to get into the Hockey5s coaching space and was wondering if there is a general thought around the adptability of the 'indoor' drills and concepts as the basis of a 5s training session?
I have a midfielder that wants to practice defending against lifted balls in a 1-2-1 situation, any ideas for drills that will assist with this?
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
Whenever i have the ball, and i'm moving up the field, everytime a defender comes and tries to take the ball, they always succed. This is a big problem of mine, i almost always lose the ball to a defender when i'm moving, and i usually can't recover (not that i literallyy CAN'T, the defender is just to far past me to be able for me to get the ball back)and get back the ball, and i feel really dumb because i'm a very talented player, but i'm alwayse afraid to take the ball mainly just because when i move fast and a defender comes, i try to lift the ball and it just doesn't work, and i normally can't pull the ball far enough either cause the grass is thik. PLEASSEEE help me adn give me some advice on recovering and better techniques on how to get by a defender while moving very quickly.
in more ways than one
2026 is the first full year with mandatory face masks for penalty corner defence. Here's how to train your defenders for the new equipment reality.
Move beyond drills and let your players discover solutions through play. The constraints-led approach is transforming how hockey is coached at every level.
From mandatory safety equipment to evolving tactical systems and player-centred coaching methods, field hockey is transforming. Here's what every coach needs to know for 2026.
Coaches from around the world look to Sportplan for coaching confidence.