Small games with a soft ball
Ready when: Dribble and stop (b2) done.
What you are learning
Keeping the ball as a team by passing, and switching straight to defending when the ball is lost. Small games teach children to pass before they are caught.
Words on this card Stick, Slap, Receive, Bib, Keep-ball, 3 v 1, Marking
- Stick
- The hockey stick, with a curved hook at the bottom called the head.
- Slap
- A pass or shot with a swing of the stick.
- Receive
- Controlling a ball that comes to you, with the stick flat on the ground.
- Bib
- A coloured vest that shows which team a player is on.
- Keep-ball
- A game where one team tries to keep the ball away from the other by passing.
- 3 v 1
- Three players against one; "v" means against.
- Marking
- Staying close to an opponent so they cannot get the ball easily.
Set up
A 10 m by 10 m square, tennis balls, bibs.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- Mark the square and give one child a bib as the defender.
- Walk through it with three attackers: pass to someone the defender is not near.
- Show the switch: when the defender wins the ball, they swap with the attacker who lost it.
Your part while they practise
Be the referee; keep it fair.
Step by step
- Keep-ball 3 v 1 in the square.
- Pass before the defender reaches you.
- Then a mini game: the team that loses the ball starts marking at once.
- Sticks low, no hitting.
How much: 3 games of 4 minutes 15 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Keep-ball 3 v 1
Three attackers pass in the square while one defender tries to win the ball.
Who plays: 4 or more: three attackers against one defender; you referee.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Three attackers and one defender in the square
- The attackers pass to keep the ball; the defender tries to touch it
- When the defender wins it, or it leaves the square, the attacker who lost it becomes the defender
- Play 4 minutes, then start again with new teams
- Fair play
- A grown-up defender must keep one hand behind the back.
- Points
- The attackers score 1 point for every 5 passes in a row; the defender scores 2 points for each ball won.
- Fouls
- The ball goes to the other side
- The stick above the waist
- A hit with a swing instead of a push
- The ball played with a foot
- Winning
- The most points at the end of 4 minutes.
- 2 points for 1 star
- 4 points for 2 stars
- 6 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
More attackers than defenders.
Equal sides, a shot at the end.
What you will see, and what to say
- the stick goes high
Keep it low
Below the waist, always. - one player has the ball all the time
Pass before you are caught
Look for the free team-mate.
Self-check
5 passes in a row in a 3 v 1 game.
Stop and get a coach when
A child is hit; stop and check.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains passing in a game, awareness.
awiseathlete.com/sports/field-hockey/field-hockey-b4