Excellent drills, very detailed videos. Useful site for my U15 boys team.
Thinking about switching to a zone defense in the circle. We play man to man now and marking seems to be a problem. Any thoughts on zone vs. man to man and any tips for teaching zone defense?
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?
Can anyone please share drills to transition into a zone defense below the 25 yard line and from the 50?
Do you have some examples of player placements and drills for clearing the ball from defensive 16 yrd hits Thanks Mark
Dear colleagues, what are the best ways to defend an attacking team that is playing with a field player with goalkeeping privileges? Te question concerns indoor hockey only.
What is the recommended formation for a middle school level to set up for defense on a short corner, we play on grass.
Hi, I have a complicated set of questions which shows my limited understanding of field hockey. Iâm coaching a U13 team of 22 girls in the U.S., and each player has at least one year of experience. Iâve played FH only with my kids though I have a basic understanding of the game and its concepts from playing soccer and basketball, and watching games for many years. I've coached kids in other sports, this is my first year coaching field hockey. (If youâre wondering why Iâm coaching, no parent in my community with playing experience would step up and my daughter loves the game.)A warming: This is a long set of interrelated questions but your taking the time will be greatly appreciated. Problem: The core problem is responsibility conflicts on defense. My players understand concepts of zone and marking separately. I donât know enough to explain how they should manage the two responsibilities in field hockey. I âget itâ by playing other sports for so long and therefore am able to see how they arenât âgetting it.â For clarity, I have in mind two kinds of offense players: OP1 (has the ball); OP2 (doesnât). The girls understand that zone means each has a certain area to protect; and marking, how to position themselves in relation to offensive player without the ball (OP2), and when to mark tight vs. loose, and to what it means to follow her mark. Situation 1 (Off-ball play): if one OP2 (OP2-A) enter zone of Left Midfield (LM), for example, how LM apply marking principles (a) when OP2-A enters zone; (b) a second OP2 (OP-B) enters zone; (c) if OP2-A leaves zone, LM should (i) release OP2-A and stay on OP2-B or (ii) follow OP1-A and leave OP2-B. How resolve these zone/marking conflicts for other positions: CM/RM? For RD/LD/CD? (We play a basic 3-3-1-3.)Situation 2 (Support teammate pressuring ball (D1). The girls understand basics of channeling, approaching OP1 to tackle, and how D2 should support D1 (e.g., D2 is cover for D2). Weâve done drills (1v2), but transferring into game situations is difficult. How explain D2 maintain zone responsibilities (a) if supporting D1 means D2 (a) vacates assigned zone and/or (b) or OP2 in zone). Situation 3 (Forwards). They are having trouble with changing defensive responsibilities from within the opposing teamâs quarter of the field, the middle quarters, and our quarter of the field nearest to our goal. Iâve thought about just making the defense solely marking but that creates its own chaos and tires out the girls. Without these basic concepts, the result is a joyless scrum: players are bunched up on defense, so if thereâs a turnover, the players are too close together for a counterattack. This is unfortunate because the speed of field hockey games should appeal to kids in the U.S. Thanks
Hi allOver the weekend I coached my U18s and we did well but I wanted to find out, is there any tactics, coaching sessions for indoor hockey to help defend in different structures or heck even stop attackers from getting their angles right0
Hi, my defense I'm worried cos two of my boys are heavy and slow. they working hard but I'm struggling to create a formation that doesn't put my defense at risk. I need your advice on what to do.
Thinking about switching to a zone defense in the circle. We play man to man now and marking seems to be a problem. Any thoughts on zone vs. man to man and any tips for teaching zone defense?
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?
Dear colleagues, what are the best ways to defend an attacking team that is playing with a field player with goalkeeping privileges? Te question concerns indoor hockey only.
I help out at local skill teaching children from yr 1 to yr 7 the skills of hockey. I am always looking for fun mini games which encases all skill types. This is from non hockey to excellent hockey players.
Suggestions on how to play this system. I have very young 1st team so feel i must play defensive hockey. Thanks
What is the recommended formation for a middle school level to set up for defense on a short corner, we play on grass.
in more ways than one
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Excellent drills, very detailed videos. Useful site for my U15 boys team.
I love using Sportplan. It's been a great help for co-ordinating hockey practice and being able to help tweak skills and getting the most out of my players!
Great site. An absolute must for coaches who are willing to change and learn new drills. Superb, simply superb.
Wow what a great website, I have found sportplan an important tool for me when planning my netball sessions with my netball team. There are alot of very helpful tips/ideas/skills that I can learn and teach to my team. Thank you sportplan I hope to continue to use your helpful tips and to learn more about improving my teams netball skills. Thanks again....keep it up....
I have been using Sportplan now for 3 years and can honestly say that I have never repeated the same session twice. My girls are always focused and are improving every year. Thanks Sportplan.
What a fantastic tool. The Chalkboard and session tools make an unbelievable difference in making training plans in both time and organization. I will be instructing all of my assistant coaches that this tool must be used for all sessions during the season, so that we may build a club coaching resource library.
I can't get enough of the Sportplan, It has given me back the enthusiasm i was starting to lose. My girls are so keen and are ready at 14 to take the next up in their game. Sportplan will help no end.
