Hockey Session (Foundation Phase): Sunshine Ball Handling

Double-Pulls, Across

Objective: To get touches on the ball and improve your ball-carrying skills through repetition.

Set-Up: Place six cones in a circle about one yard apart, and two yards across. Have at least one ball.

The Drill: The Sun or circle, should serve as a structure to contain your elimination skills.

1. Start by working on long, dynamic double pulls. Start on one cone and pull across your circle, to the opposite cone and return.

2. Try double-pulls from the back cone, with your feet facing forward to the cone directly opposite it, checking the ball half-way. Once you get to the top cone, do the opposite to return, pulling the ball backwards twice, using your body to "protect" the ball.

3. Work on your V-Drags. Start on one cone, pull the ball back to the middle and then up to the cone next to the one you started at, continue clockwise around the circle.

4. Continue work on your V-Drags, but move counter-clockwise around the circle, so that when you finish your V-Drag, the ball is on your reverse stick.

Points of Emphasis:

• Remember, in a game, all of your elimination skills are happening on the move and with defenders so make sure your body position reflects that — keep the ball away from your feet so that your head can be up and scanning the field, bend your legs and drop your hips so you can move the ball with power
• Challenge yourself to pull the ball quickly and dynamically — don't worry about losing the ball, you're training your muscles to do skills at speed

Recommendations:

• To take it to the next level, add a 3D skill to any of the outlined movements
• Get creative! This is a very basic framework that is meant to be adapted, pick a skill that you want to work on and find a way to integrate it into the circle
• Too easy? Make it bigger to challenge yourself to pull the ball farther, or make it smaller and challenge yourself to pull the ball faster
• Time yourself for each skill — do each elimination for 30 seconds before moving on to the next
• Film yourself — watch and see if there are ways you can be more efficient with your movements. Are you moving your feet too much? Is your head down too often? Are your hands too far apart or too close together?

V-Drag, to Forehand