Hockey drill: overtalking when taking the ball

Purpose:The purpose is to teach you how to make space for your teammates by claiming a defender to you.

Set-up:

1. It looks like the player at point A is going to take the ball out, but instead of doing so he leaves the ball and runs to point C.
2. At the moment that the player at A runs away, the player at point B takes over his position.
3. The player with the defender at point C runs in as soon as he sees the player at point A leave the ball and run towards him.
4. The ball is taken out towards point D.
5. At point D the ball is taken out and played to point C. After playing the ball this player walks to point E.
6. The player now at point C plays the ball to the player running to point E.

Variations:

• You can also mirror the exercise on the other side.
• When D can bounce the ball instead of taking it and playing it, the speed increases significantly.
• When C can also rebound, this increases the speed and effectiveness
• You can also give the C defender a more active role by having him try to get in front of his man.

Points of attention

• The smoother the exercise runs, the harder it is to defend it.
• Passes must be accurate for the exercise to be successful.
• Because there are many changes of position, it is important that you explain the exercise step by step.