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The 7 best hockey drills for beginners

Are you passionate about field hockey and want to start practicing it? Field hockey requires developing four basic skills: skating, shooting, passing and stick handling. Therefore, it is a very demanding sport that needs constant practice to be the best. Fortunately, there are many field hockey drills for beginners that can help you achieve the goal. So, whether you are a child, youngster or adult, here is a list of the best exercises to start your field hockey journey.

1- Hockey drills: Obstacle course

To start developing the skill of skating, the best option is to practice with an obstacle course. In a game it is essential to have good agility and skate handling as the puck is constantly changing direction. 

The obstacle course can be formed with cones or anything else that will work. Make sure that the obstacles are placed in such a way that you can turn in several directions and go in the opposite direction. Once you have everything ready, start your run, first slowly and then increase the speed.

2- Superman Drill

One of the most important field hockey drills for beginning field hockey players is theSuperman Drill. This simple and fun drill helps players improve their quick recovery from falls. To complete this drill, players should start at the goal line and then kneel, then stand, while performing the classic Superman pose. Repeat this drill at the opposite end of the ice until everyone is equally adept at this exercise. This drill can also be adapted to any level.

3- Basic stick handling

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Stick handling is a primary skill in field hockey. You have two options for practicing it: on ice or off ice. If you have the ability to go to an ice rink frequently, then practice your stick skills while making small movements.

If you can't go to an ice rink, you can practice stick handling at home. To do this, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the field hockey stick in front of you. Then, with a puck or ball, move it from side to side, but try to hold it in one position for ten seconds; that is, move the puck to the right along with the stick and wait ten seconds before moving it to the left side.  

4 - Obstacle course with stick

Just like the first exercise, you will do exactly the same, but you must keep the stick with you on the journey. That way, you will not only be working on the agility of your skates, but also the agility to move better with the stick and control the puck while you are moving from one place to another. It's one of the best field hockey drills you'll love to practice. 

5 - Hockey passing drills: Figure 8

One of the most popular field hockey passing drills for beginners is the figure eight. It focuses on improving passing and skating skills. Players pass and receive the puck back and forth while skating as fast as possible. You can also add levels of difficulty such as jumping over sticks and sliding under objects to better develop your agility and accuracy in the ice rink..

6- Accurate shooting

What fieldhockey shooting drills can a beginner practice? Easy, you can start with precision shots. For this exercise, you must first place many pucks on the ice rink and stand in front of the goal. Then, divide the mouth of the goal into five holes to practice the position of each one. When you are more confident in the shots, you can put the pucks in the neutral shooting circle to the right of the goal and take the shots. Finally, just repeat the procedure, but alternate positions.

7- Hockey drills: Skating and shooting

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Finally, it is important to be able to shoot while in motion. To perform one of the field hockey shooting drills,you just need to skate along the wall, go through the face-off circle and back to the net. Find the spot or position where you want to take the shot and shoot until you get it.  

If you want to add difficulty, with another partner, you can make passes as you go around the circle and shoot. Try to practice this exercise on both sides of the goal until you have mastered it.