Small-sided game
Ready when: Pass and follow (i1) done.
What you are learning
Playing a real game with a few players a side: spreading out to make space, passing into it and shooting only from a marked shooting zone, as in the real game. The basic rules start here.
Words on this card Stick, Flat side, Slap, Free hit, Shin pads, Mouthguard, Bib
- Stick
- The hockey stick, with a curved hook at the bottom called the head.
- Flat side
- The head of the stick has a flat side, which is the only side allowed to play the ball, and a rounded back.
- Slap
- A pass or shot with a swing of the stick.
- Free hit
- An unopposed hit given to a team after the other team fouls.
- Shin pads
- Hard pads worn under the socks to protect the shins.
- Mouthguard
- A soft guard worn over the teeth.
- Bib
- A coloured vest that shows which team a player is on.
Set up
A pitch with two goals; bibs; shin pads and mouthguards; a chalk half circle 6 m out from each goal as the shooting zone.
Weather: dry ground
Show it first for the one teaching
- Show the pitch: the goals, the shooting zones and the sidelines.
- Walk through a start: one team pushes the ball back from the centre.
- Show a free hit after a foul: the ball is still, opponents step 5 m away.
Your part while they practise
Referee; teach the basic rules.
Step by step
- Pick two teams of 4 or 5 in bibs.
- Play with a condition, such as no tackling, or four passes before shooting.
- Goals only from inside the shooting zone.
- Change the condition halfway.
How much: 2 halves of 8 minutes 20 min a session once a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: 4 v 4
A short game with the real goal rule; goals count only from inside the shooting zone.
Who plays: two teams of 4 or 5 against each other; you referee.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Start with a push back from the centre
- Play two halves of 8 minutes; swap ends at half time
- After a goal, the other team restarts from the centre
- A ball over the sideline is pushed back in by the other team
- Fair play
- A grown-up plays only as a passer and may not shoot.
- Points
- 1 goal for each shot that crosses the line from inside the shooting zone.
- Fouls
- A free hit to the other team
- The ball played with a foot or the rounded side
- The stick above the waist
- Blocking an opponent away from the ball
- Winning
- More goals at the end of the second half.
- 1 goals for 1 star
- 2 goals for 2 stars
- 4 goals for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Start 2 v 1 or 3 v 2.
Remove the conditions.
What you will see, and what to say
- two players chase the ball
Hold your space
One goes, one stays. - the shot is rushed
Look up, then shoot
See the goal first.
Self-check
Each player touches the ball in 3 of 4 passing sequences.
Stop and get a coach when
A child is hurt.
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 game understanding, passing in space.
awiseathlete.com/sports/field-hockey/field-hockey-i3