Hockey Session (Under 10s): U10 05/24

T Rex/Chicken Wing Tag Warmup (15 mins)

Make channels about 5m wide and 10-15m long. Pair players up.

This warmup is intended to introduce defensive channeling & work on footwork

The goal is to make it across the line on the opposite side without being tagged.

The partner is trying to tag them, but they must have (coaches choose) either their elbows pinned to their sides (t rex) or their hands behind their back (chicken wing).

If you tag your partner, you switch roles. 

If you want to make it more competitive, players get 1 pt for tagging and 1pt for getting across the line successfully. Play for a couple minutes and switch partners (queen’s court style)

After a couple of rounds, we can introduce these coaching points: 

1. Approaching the attacker with a staggered stance instead of straight on

2. Being on the balls of your feet instead of sitting back on your heels

3. Drop stepping to change directions and keep the attacker in front of you instead of turning to chase

2v1 Attack (20 mins)

- Player 1 passes in to Player 2 and gets the ball back.

- After passing back, Player 2 immediately runs to either the left or the right outside of the reach of the “defender” (we will bring out pool noodles/tires/big cones to act as defenders)

- Player 1 passes to Player 2, who dribbles into the goal or shoots

Coaching points:

- Explain how big the “shadow” of a defender is and how far away you need to be to really be open for a pass

- run with your stick close to the ground and be in a ready position to receive the ball

Progression:

- Same initial drill with a second level. When the red player chooses a side, the green player chooses the same side and runs outside of the shadow of their defender to get the next pass