Field hockey drills for youth teams, with video, setup and coaching points. For 6U to 14U.
3 drills · 20 minutes if you ran them all
Pairs, each with a ball, in a large area. The leader dribbles wherever they like, changing speed and direction, and the partner has to shadow them and copy every move. Swap roles every 45 seconds.
Small touches when you change direction. Leaders, try to lose your partner with a quick change of pace rather than a sprint.
Watch: England HockeySet three zones in a line: Jack, Queen and King. Players pair up in each zone and play a short 1v1 keep-the-ball battle. The winner moves up a zone and the loser moves down, so everyone keeps playing someone at their level.
Protect the ball with your body, keep the stick low and stay on your toes. Shake hands and move on fast so nobody stands still.
Watch: England HockeyEvery player has a ball inside a 20 by 20 yard box. They dribble around and react to your calls: green is jog with the ball, amber is slow controlled dribble, red is stop with the ball dead on the stick. Add extra calls like a pull back, a spin or a change of direction once they have the basics.
Heads up so nobody collides. Ball stays in front of the right foot and the stick stays on it at every speed.
Watch: England Hockey5 drills · 38 minutes if you ran them all
Lay sticks or low cones flat on the ground every four yards. Players dribble toward each obstacle and lift the ball over it with a small scoop, land it and carry on to the next. Finish the line with a push pass to a partner.
Get the stick under the ball and lift with the hands, not a big swing. Low body and soft hands on the landing.
Watch: England HockeySet 20 yard lanes with a cone at each end. Players carry the ball on the forehand side as fast as they can, keeping the ball slightly ahead and outside the right foot, then turn and come back at a controlled pace. Run it as a relay once the technique holds up.
Ball out in front where you can see it and the goal. Push the ball, do not slap it, and keep your head up.
Watch: England HockeyLay out a slalom of five cones about three yards apart. Players dribble through, moving the ball from the forehand side to the backhand side and back around each cone. Start slowly and add a timed challenge when the hands are working.
Left hand turns the stick, right hand guides it. Knees bent, ball close, and keep looking up between touches.
Watch: England HockeyPlayers spread out with a ball each and two cones a yard apart. They drag the ball from outside the right cone to outside the left cone and back, rotating the stick over the ball each time. Count how many clean pulls they can make in 30 seconds, then try it moving forward.
Left hand does the turning, right hand slides loosely. Keep the ball in contact with the stick the whole way across.
Watch: USA Field HockeyA big area with a few hoops or cone circles as safe islands. Every player dribbles a ball while two pirates without balls try to tackle and knock balls out of the area. Players can rest on an island for three seconds, then must leave. Rotate pirates often.
Keep the ball on your stick and your eyes on the pirates. Change direction early rather than trying to outrun them.
Watch: England Hockey8 drills · 60 minutes if you ran them all
Pairs eight yards apart. Players turn the stick over and push the ball with the backhand, then receive and return it on the forehand. Switch so both players get repetitions on the backhand side.
Stick turned over with the flat side facing the target, ball slightly back on the left foot. Push, do not slap.
Watch: England HockeyPairs eight yards apart, one ball. Players push the ball to each other along the ground, receiving it and passing it straight back. Step back a yard every ten passes until the pairs are 15 yards apart.
Ball starts next to the back foot, hands apart, and sweep through low with the stick staying on the ground. Point the stick at your target on the follow through.
Watch: England HockeyPairs ten yards apart. One player feeds a firm push and the other receives it on the forehand with a soft stick, controls it to the side and passes it back. Progress to receiving on the move toward the ball.
Stick down early and give a little as the ball arrives. Receive it out in front so your next touch is ready.
Watch: England HockeyPairs 15 yards apart. Players sweep the ball with the stick flat along the ground, building power from a bigger distance than the push. Add a gate of two cones in the middle that the pass must go through.
Get low with the stick flat to the turf and sweep through the ball. Weight goes onto the front foot as you pass.
Watch: England HockeyFour players stand on the corners of a ten yard square with one interceptor in the middle. The corner players pass across and around the square while the interceptor tries to cut out passes. Whoever gets intercepted swaps into the middle.
Disguise your pass by looking one way and passing the other. Interceptor, read the body shape and anticipate.
Watch: England HockeyScatter eight cone gates around a 30 by 30 yard area. Pairs pass to each other through as many different gates as they can in 60 seconds, counting one point per gate. They cannot use the same gate twice in a row.
Look up and find the next gate before you receive. Firm passes on the ground beat slow ones.
Watch: England HockeyPut a cone or a ball on a tee in the middle of a 15 yard square with a player on each side. Players take turns pushing a pass to knock the target over. Give each player three attempts, then reset and go again.
Pick your spot, keep the stick low and follow through at the target. Accuracy first, power second.
Watch: England HockeyLay a winding channel of cones toward a goal. Teams of four pass the ball through the snake, each player in a different section, and the last player shoots. Count goals in two minutes, then rotate positions.
Receive with the stick ready to pass on. Move the ball quickly through the snake and keep the shot low.
Watch: England Hockey4 drills · 38 minutes if you ran them all
Players start ten yards from goal with a ball each. They carry the ball forward, drop the right hand down the stick and flick it up into the top half of the goal. Progress to flicking over a bench or low barrier.
Ball level with the front foot, stick under the ball and a long follow through toward the target.
Watch: England HockeyPlayers line up at the top of the circle with a ball each. Each player takes a touch forward and hits a shot on goal, aiming low for the corners. Set targets with cones inside the goal and award points.
Hands together at the top of the stick, head down over the ball, and a short controlled backswing. Hit through the ball toward your target.
Watch: England HockeyMark a small goal in each corner of a 30 by 30 yard area and play 4v4. Teams can score in any of the four corners, so they must move the ball to find the open one. Play two minute games and rotate.
Look up and switch the play when one corner is covered. Spread out so the defenders cannot cover everything.
Watch: England HockeyTwo lines of players at the top of the circle with a goal in front. On the coach's call, the first player in each line races to receive a pass from the side and shoot before the other. Count goals for each line and keep score.
First touch into shooting space, then shoot straight away. Low and hard beats a perfect placement that takes too long.
Watch: England Hockey5 drills · 42 minutes if you ran them all
Attacker dribbles down a ten yard channel with a defender chasing from behind and to the side. The defender reaches across on the backhand and shaves the ball off the stick without contacting the attacker. Swap roles each rep.
Stay on your feet and get your stick to the ball only. Low body and a flat stick, never swing at it.
Watch: England HockeyPairs with one ball in a five yard channel. The attacker dribbles slowly at the defender, who gets low and blocks the ball with a flat stick on the forehand side. Start at walking pace and build to a jogging attacker.
Get low, stick flat on the ground and feet balanced. Time the block as the ball comes off the attacker's stick.
Watch: England HockeyGroups of four or five in a ten yard square with one defender in the middle. The outside players keep the ball away while the defender presses and tries to win it. If the defender wins it they swap with the player who lost it.
Defender, pressure the ball and close the passing lane with your stick. Keep the attacker on your forehand side.
Watch: England HockeyPairs in a ten yard channel, one attacker and one defender. The defender jockeys the attacker, staying low and patient, then makes a jab or a block tackle when the ball is exposed. Work at walking pace first and build to a game speed 1v1.
Patience, stay on your feet and force them wide. Tackle the ball, not the player.
Watch: USA Field HockeyGroups of three: a passer, an attacker and a defender. The attacker tries to receive a pass while the defender marks tightly, staying close enough to touch. Play five passes, then rotate.
Stay goal side and ball side, and keep your eyes on the ball and the player. Move when they move.
Watch: England Hockey3 drills · 24 minutes if you ran them all
Everyone dribbles inside a 25 yard square except two or three chasers with no ball. Chasers try to win a ball; when they do, the player who lost it becomes a chaser. Play for 90 seconds, rest, and repeat.
Keep moving and keep the ball close. If a chaser comes, change direction early.
Watch: England HockeyOne team keeps the ball inside a 20 yard square while the other team sends one player in at a time to try to win it. Every ten seconds another defender joins. Time how long the possession team can hold the ball, then swap.
Pass early and move to space. Defenders, work together and close the gaps.
Watch: England HockeyEach team has a pile of balls at one end and a treasure chest hoop at the other, 30 yards away. One player at a time dribbles a ball to the chest and sprints back to tag the next player. Count balls in the chest after three minutes.
Head up and ball on the stick the whole way. Sprint back once the ball is safely in the chest.
Watch: England Hockey2 drills · 24 minutes if you ran them all
Mark a protected zone in the middle of the field guarded by two or three ball monsters. The attacking team tries to dribble as many balls as possible into the zone while the monsters tackle and carry balls back out. Play two minutes, count and swap monsters.
Attack in waves so the monsters cannot cover everyone. Monsters, win the ball with a flat stick and get it out fast.
Watch: England HockeyTwo teams of five, each with a castle of three cones at their end. Play a normal game where you score by knocking a cone over with a pass. No goalkeepers, so everyone defends and attacks.
Pass to beat players rather than dribbling through everyone. Spread out and defend as a team.
Watch: England HockeyVideos are linked, not hosted, and belong to England Hockey and USA Field Hockey. Drill write-ups are by Cheat Code Coaching. Durations are what we run them at with a youth team; adjust for your group.
Every drill here is already in the Cheat Code Teams Practice Builder for Youth Field Hockey. Drag them into a plan, tap Start practice, and the clock, the whistle and the next drill are on your phone and your lock screen.