Field Hockey Training Ideas – Indoor Practice Planning

Don’t blame the rain

From time to time, spring weather doesn’t always make outdoor field hockey practices easy. So while the plants may be grateful for a little rain, it can often discourage team spirits and ruin your practice plans. Don’t let the rain put you off, though, and use the following field hockey training ideas to switch your practices from a soggy field to an indoor gym.

Start things off on a fun note

The first of my field hockey training ideas to relocate practice indoors is to start things off on a fun note. Most players don’t always enjoy the limitations of practicing indoors, and in addition, players are missing out on the fresh air and sunshine that comes with practicing on a spring afternoon.

So when practices are forced indoors due to weather, I always like to start with a game of frozen tag or a good old-fashioned dodge ball. This will inject much-needed vitality into your players and give them an excuse to run around and have fun. Also, it will warm them up for indoor and conditioning exercises.

exercises done indoors

next to me field hockey training ideas when practices are moved indoors is to implement some new drills that my players haven’t seen before. The following two drills are a great way to use the inside space and get your players practicing their passing and receiving skills.

For the first drill, called Hook Dribble, two players pass the ball to each other before shooting on goal. This drill can be done with or without a goalkeeper, depending on how easy your situation is. Before starting the drill, place a number of plastic cones just before the middle of the court with a path for players to swerve sharply around them. Players should line up on the center line, with an additional player waiting on the far left around the center line.

To start, the player at the front of the line runs the ball through the path of the cone. Once they have completed the run, they pass the ball to player 2, who runs in a strong hook to the top of the circle and shoots on goal. After passing the ball to Player 2, Player 1 takes up position next to the center line and the next player in line begins the run around the cones. After the players have gotten used to it, run this drill quickly to keep the players on their toes.

For the next drill, called Rotate Forward, you’ll need to set up a cone course on the left side of the court before the half court line. Have all players line up behind the cones except for one who stands to the left just over the half court line.

At the sound of his whistle, Player 1 maneuvers the ball through the cones and then passes to Player 2 on completion. Instead of arcing and shooting as in the previous drill, Player 2 returns the ball to Player 1, who swerves into the field and can either take the shot or return it to Player 2 to do so. When executing this drill, make sure the emphasis is on clean backhand passes at full speed.