Field Hockey training at its most basic level can be thought of in five areas that describe all of the actions that occur in a game. These five areas of the game are listed below.

 

    

 

Training field athletes in the areas of Attacking, Defending and Transition play will be the focus of much our technical and tactical practice sessions. The specialty areas of Goal Keeping and Set Pieces (Penalty Corners, Long Corners etc.) are critical to team success but rely on a highly specialized set of skills and training.

Coaches must ensure their training sessions include attention to all five areas of the game. Our focus at this point in the development of the online resource center will be in the first three areas listed – Attacking, Defending and Transition.

The resource center provides drills and articles illustrating the progressive teaching of the “Core 6” skills in the context of each of these areas of the game. You will see how drills can be modified to suit the skill ability of the athletes to ensure players are being trained at the appropriate level of their LTAD stage.

Central to the resource center is the concept of skill progression. Goal keeping and Set Pieces are “areas under construction”. In these sections you will find the key “core skills” to training a Goalie both on their individual skills and as part of the defensive team. Set Pieces will guide you from basic to intermediate to more advanced level set plays for both attacking and defending penalty corners as well as a number of other key situations you may encounter in a field hockey game.

Teaching athletes to be proficient in the Five Areas of the Game will provide a great foundation for building your team!