Hockey Drills

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.

4 man midfield with the centre half pushing up higher up the pitch, supporting the front 3 and the midfield. When to use: This formation will help the team to transfer the ball when in possession.

Place some cones at random 5 meters away from the goal. Coach hits the balls from the top of the circle. Goal keeper has to save the shots and react to the balls that get deflected by the cones.

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.

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.

We will be working on this kind of move in the midfield these next couple of weeks So we are able to outletting the ball via a wall pass into behind the midfield. We may add some rotations into the last few weeks sessions as well

The team with the ball must try and keep possession of the ball. Only 2 players from each team are allowed to be inside the area. 1 player can move anywhere on the outside of the area. To involve this player, the players inside the area have to pass the ball to the outside player. On doing so, the outside player can come into the area and the player that passed the ball becomes the new outside player.

Moving back and forth between two cones players make straight and diagonal passes to each other while moving.

This animation is made to show my team The way we set up our press and where each player moves according to where the ball is.

This exercise is designed to encourage defenders to force attacking players to move onto the defenders forehand The player with the ball tries to run through between the 2 cones, indicating the maximum 10 points. This should encourage the defender to try and force the player onto their open stick side, away from this high scoring gate!

Split your group into two teams - defenders and attackers. Players with the ball have to run around the cone and try and score. Players without ball also have to run around the cone, and then try and stop the other player scoring.

Defenders on 23 metre line closes down and forces the attacker outside away from the goal. Attacker has to try and score a goal.

Defender passes the ball. Attackers go 1 on 1 and try to penetrate the circle. Defenders priority is to stop the player getting through gate 1, then gate 2, then gate 3. The defender engages as far away from the the circle edge as possible. Work the left and right sides.

- Ball is fed into a forward on the half way line T- spot - Two defenders - One defender is set slightly ahead of the forward - The second defender is on the half way line, and must run back to assist his team once the initial ball has been fed in

- Ball is passeed to the left foot - Player receiving deliberately traps the ball on the reverse side

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