Field Hockey Training Tips

Field hockey training tips can be used to help you translate your athletic ability to the principles of field hockey. Rather than playing on ice, field hockey is played on and outdoor or indoor field. This means your ice skating skills won’t help you as they would in conventional hockey. These training tips can help get you ready for your first game and to continue to improve.

1. Study the rules of the game. Before you can start actually practicing with real game scenarios, you need to understand the basics of the game. This includes the length of the game, how many players are on a team and their positions, what constitutes a foul or penalty and the basics of the field layout.
2. Practice dribbling the ball down the length of the field. This requires being on an actual field to practice. Use your hockey stick to move the ball forward down the field. However, you need to keep it close enough at all times that another player wouldn’t be able to steal it from you.
3. Practice making a goal. Set up a target and practice hitting the ball into it from various distances. To make this drill more challenging, ask someone to act as the goalie and attempt to block the ball. The more you practice, the more accurate your shots are likely to get.
4. Participate in scrimmages. Scrimmages are simulated practice games that can help you perfect your field hockey goals. Try to mimic the conditions of an actual game to make the scrimmage more challenging. If implemented correctly with real competition and game conditions, this can be one of the most effective field hockey training tips.
5. Do cardio exercises. When playing field hockey, you will basically be running back and forth across the field over and over again. This means you need to be in excellent cardiovascular shape. Exercise daily and incorporate cardio exercises, such as cycling, swimming and running. Running will likely be the most effective cardiovascular exercises you can do for your field hockey training.