Learning Hockey:
Perfect your passing game in a fast-moving group of four

While passing going forward in twos and threes follows a set pattern, the passing going forward in fours is a lot more random in terms of the relative position of participating players on the field. And that is probably why this hockey training drill could be considered more difficult than the other two.

The group of four gets split into a 3 + 1 formation with three players in front and one player slightly behind. To begin the exercise, the player at the back with possession of the ball passes to any of the three players in front, and immediately runs to take up a forward position. The one who receives the ball follows suit by passing forward and taking up another position ahead.

Basically, at any point in time, the 3 players without the ball would be constantly changing positions while running forward and asking for the ball. As they get better at this training, the distance between all four players can be further increased to enhance the difficulty level. In order to mirror a real game and make this particular field hockey training more difficult, 2 defenders could be added, making it a 4v2 exercise – trying to eliminate the defenders while moving forward.

We’ve now covered three exercises related to passing going forward in groups. Practice is all that remains to elevate your passing game. Of course, it’s not enough to reach the opposite end of the pitch without losing possession of the ball; you need to be able to score a goal as well. Read on to know more about hockey skills pertaining to goal scoring.