Field hockeyplaybookhitting

Field Hockey Playbook
The Hit
Derek E. Pappas

Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2010
Objectives
Hit a pass that your teammate can receive-make your
teammates job easier
Hit the ball at a target-goal, teammate, gap between
the defense-direction
Hit the ball so that it arrives at a point on the field at
the right time-space and time

The analysis of the golf swing is much more advanced than the analysis
of field hockey hitting.
I have been studying the golf swing
for 40+ years and the hockey hit for
33.
The fundamentals in golf are well
understood. Not so in hockey.

Al Pacino said in the movie Any Given Sunday "it is a game of inches".
Bad technique results in bad hits. I have watched a lot of games and I
think that hitting can determine the outcome of some games.
Missed shots on goal
Raised crosses that result in a foul
Bad outlet passes that are intercepted
Bad passes directly into the top of the D that are off target that would
have resulted in goal scoring chances

Why hit the ball
Shoot on goal
Make a long pass across the field at speed
Relieve pressure by hitting the ball through the
defense up the field

Objectives
Hit the ball smoothly on the ground
Hit the ball at the target
Hit the ball at the right pace
Hit the ball without any spin
Hit the ball at the right time

Ever wonder about your hit?
Ball is 1 foot off of the
ground
WHY?????

“Good Technique is Not
Enough” Lang Wedemeye
The coach’s responsibility is to create the
environment in which players are placed under
immediate pressure. The role of the coach is to
help players understand the cues that allow them
to apply the proper technique in game-like
situations. We always hear there are no tactics
without technique. Well, there is no technique
without tactics. The use of the proper technique
comes from decision-making ability in pressure
situations.

Playing under pressure
Lang Wedemeye
On several occasions I have heard U.S. National
Team coaches Bruce Arena and April Heinrichs
mention that one of the biggest problems with our
rising youth players, boys and girls alike, is that
they do not have the ability to play effectively under
pressure. The players’ technique breaks down
when under pressure and their speed of play is not
fast or accurate enough to create a flow in high-
level games.

Defining technique and skill
Lang Wedemeye
Technique is the mechanism with which
the body maneuvers itself to be able to
complete an objective. If the objective is
to pass the ball 15 yards to a teammate,
the brain informs the body to maneuver
itself in order to kick the ball in that
direction.

Defining technique and skill
(cont.) Lang Wedemeye
(cont.)
How well the body adjusts to the demand
determines how good the technique is,
while how quickly the brain interprets the
cues and the message sent to the
muscles determines the speed of play.
The better the technique, the greater the
likelihood that the ball will go where we
want it and how we want it played.

What is the difference between
technique and skill?
Lang Wedemeye
As taught to me by the late Mike Berticelli in
my first NSCAA National Course, technique
is the mechanics behind solving a problem
and skill is being able to solve the problem
regardless of the mechanics. Skill is basically
getting the job done no matter how it looks.
But with better technique, the player’s
success rate is heightened.

Hitting “Do not’s”
Under normal situations
Do not hit a bouncing ball
Do not hit an off target pass/shot
Do not hit the ball too fast or slowly
Do not hit the ball with side spin

Hitting “Do’s”
Hit the back of the back
Position the ball in the correct position relative to your
feet
Release/Sweep the stick through the ball

Don’ts-under normal
situations
Do not hit the top or bottom of the ball
Do not get the ball outside of your shoulders
Do not chop down on the ball uless it is deliberate to
raise the ball for a shot on goal

Fundamentals and pressure
The relative orientation of the stick should be
maintained throughout the swing.
If the relative position of the stick is changed during
the swing then the player will have to make a
correction during the swing
Corrections are easier to make when there is no
pressure on the player

Fundamentals hold up under pressure
Bad fundamentals cause bad hits under pressure
If you have good fundamentals then under pressure
when the adrenalin is flowing you will hit the ball better
Under pressure bad fundamentals result in hits which
are bouncing, miss the target, have side spin, are the
incorrect speed

(cont.)
Corrections are not easy to make when the match is
on the line and a smooth hit is required
The orientation will be changed if any of the following
occurs
Rolling the hands
Swaying the body
Lifting the head up
Many other causes (see later slides)

Players with good fundamentals can deliver a proper
hit under extreme pressure in match situations
on the ground, at the target, no/top spin, correct
speed
Players with poor fundamentals will miss hit the ball
under extreme pressure in match situations

The orientation in one or more axis will be changed if
any of the following occurs
If the stick rotated around the axis of the stick
If the end of the stick is pulled in or pushed away
from the player
If the stick moves above or below the plane at
address

Fundamentals
Head moves towards ground for hard hits
Shoulders parallel to target and ball between
shoulders
Take away-stick behind ball, sweep stick back along
the ground and don’t change wrist position
Turn stick back with shoulders not the arms
Hips lead pulling torso and arms
Stay on plane and watch the spot where the ball was
after the shot with a limited follow through

Fundamentals
Grip
Footwork/body posture
Take away
turn
Pivot point/plane
weight shift
release

Grip
2 v’s formed by thumb and for finger face right chin
Hands facing each other to work together
Right Hand coves top of grip
Hands are two fists holding the stick
Relax the hands when holding the stick
Right hand faces down the line towards the target

Grip- don’t do this
Do not use a baseball grip where the hands are not
facing each other
Do not hold the stick in fingers only
Do not wrap fingers aginst palm-wrap the fingers
around the stick

Triangle
Hands and shoulders form a triangle
The triangle is maintained at the take away to waist
high
The triangle compacts above the waist on the back
swing, impact and follow through
If the triangle shape is maintained and the orientation
of the triangle is not changed then the toe of the stick
will point up at address, when the stick is pointing
away from the target on the back swing

Triangle (cont.)
If the triangle shape is maintained and the orientation
of the triangle is not changed then the toe of the stick
will:
point up at address
when the stick is pointing away from the target on
the back swing
at impact
on the follow through when the stick is pointing at
the target

Toe of stick
The toe of the stick stays up the entire time
The toe of the stick should not change its orientation
Do not twist the stick around the handle

Angles
End of stick is a pivot point-this is the point that should
form the angle between the wrists and stick.
Do not use the point between the hands or the right
for finger to form the angle. You will push the stick
down and change the plane of attack

Ball position relative to the
feet
The ball is positioned somewhere between the middle
of the feet and the left foot

Shoulder turn
The shoulders rotate around the spinal column
The shoulders should turn as far as is possible
physically and given the amount of time/space that the
player has

Hands
Hands stay a constant distance away from the body
on take away because the triangle is maintained
Do not
pull hands towards the body
push hands away from the body
push hands down/up
twist hands

Stick position
Toe up
Address-between feet
Back swing pointing away from target
Follow through-pointing towards the target

Feet
In a natural position-same as when you are running

Footwork
Stationary hit
step into ball off of the right foot
pivot off of left foot and hit left
pivot off of left foot and pull ball to the right
Cross over moving left to right
Hit on the run off of left, right feet, optionally turning
shoulders

Footwork
Footwork really refers to the relative position of the
feet and ball
You adjust your feet and the ball to move your body
into the correct position relative to the ball

Footwork
The body can be in motion running in a straight line,
curl, forwards, backwards, cross over step, and in this
case the player probably has to position the ball by
placing the stick on the side of the ball opposite from
the player to slow the ball down/”tee it up” or the
player has to carry the ball by their right foot to allow
the ball to travel forwards to the correct position at
impact

Footwork
You do not want to position the ball outside your feet
in normal sitations
This means when running down the field position the
ball relative to your right foot so that at impact the ball
is between your feet

Cross over
step
Used for moving
sideways and hitting the
ball

Footwork-exceptions
If you are running with the ball and want to hit it
backwards to the left the ball will be outside your left
foot and your shoulders will face to the left and you
will hit to right center of the ball ont he equator
If you want to hit the ball to the right relative to the
orientation of your feet you must rotate your shoulders
and hands to hit the left center of the ball on the
equator

Hips and right elbow
Hips turn to generate power on the down swing
Right elbow is touching right side on down swing
Players who used this technique:
Berman. Delme, Michael Peters, Fabragas

Hitting basics
Grip
pads of right hand on top of stick (cover the grip so you
cannot see it)
bottom of left hand on top of right hand
stick at less than 45 degrees to ground
bend back into ground as flat as possible as you hit
bend left knee 90 degrees

Hitting basics (cont.)
Angle of attack of stick
sweep the stick back and though
point the stick at the target on the follow through
the end of the stick points at the center of your body
at address, back swing prior to cocking wrists, and
at follow through
Clip the ground-do not “chop wood”

Practice sweeping the stick back and forth across the
same spot between your feet.
position the ball between your feet to hit it
if the ball is outside of your left foot you should hit it
left not straight with a block out (no wrist release)

Hitting footwork
free hit step past ball and hit it
side ways cross over and hit
run around ball and hit (Craig Davies)
pull to right across body, rotate 90 degrees and hit
hit off of right foot

Keep left arm against rib cage (put a sock underneath
your left arm and hold it in place during the swing)
do not roll hands on the back swing (end of stick will
point at target after a 1/4 swing which is wrong)
Little finger on left hand is a pivot point (not the index
finger on the right hand)

Toe of stick is always pointing up
Right hand is always vertical
Angle of wrists does not drop down on back swing
Hit against the left tricept
Hit the ball on the straight part of the stick

Hitting
Grip
Footwork
Posture
Weight shift
Sweep
Half way
Upright

Hitting-cont.
Stationary
Normal
Off of right foot
On the run
Left foot
Right foot
Choke up on Stick
Argie reverse stick hit

Stationary hits

Hitting fundamentals
turn shoulders on back swing
maintain triangle between shoulders and hands
hands face each other
top of left wrist touches bottom of right wrist
right elbow into side
hands by knees

cover the top of the stick with the pad of your right
hand
shoulders, hips, feet square
ball between feet-not outside left foot
back is flat not arched
right wrist is cupped
sweep stick back-don’t pick it up

Left arm straight
Hands close to body

Do’s
Smeets has the ball
behind/even with the
right foot-knees bent
Hands are close to the
body-eyes on the ball

Footwork
Footwork adjusted to
the position of the ball
Ball even with the right
foot
Ball will roll forward to
the correct position on
the downswing

Right elbow
Right elbow touching
the right side of the
body

Downswing
Right elbow still
touching right side
Toe up
Wrist angle maintained
Left knee bent
Left arm straight
Push off of right foot!
Right knee bent
Hips turning

Follow
through
What happened?

Dont’s
Helicopter
swing
Elbow points straight
back-flying elbow
Player has to loop stick
Ball outside of feet
Right hand in baseball
position

Right elbow
faces target
Right elbow is facing 90
degrees to the target line
because of the grip and
helicopter swing
Right elbow is too close to
left elbow
Hands roll over through the
ball to release the stick

Analysis
Good: Elbow in side,
hips turing, ball between
feet, left arm straight,
wrist flat.
Bad: stick off plane
(dropped), left knee
straightening, where is
the weight (left or right
foot)?

World class
player
Good: Low position,
right knee very close to
the ground-lunge
postion, eye on spot
where ball was hit.
Ball position at impact?
Baseball grip?
Weight on toes?

Right hand seems to
stay under the stick
Not pointing at the
target line on release

Compensation
Toe of stick at 45 degrees
on follow through
Right side of body twisting
down towards the ball
instead of releasing
through it-right hip should
follow through towards the
target
Hands roll over the ball.

Don’t lift the
stick up on the
backswing
Everything bent
Eyes on the ball
Why pull the stick in towards the
body. Requires an adjustment on
the downswing
Ball to far forward towards outside
of left foot. Player will compensate
in the next photo.

Compensation
Too upright-hands far away from
body
Right foot swings in the opposite
direction of the hips/stick to
compensate for the ball being
outside of the left foot.
Leaning back away from the ball.
Right leg twisting in the opposite
direction NOT good for your left
hipit band/knee in the long run
Left foot facing target-not 45
degress or less

Hitting
Elbow in side
But shoulders have
rotated faster than the
arms

Toe pointing to the left
of the target.

As a consequence the
hands roll over the ball.

Hitting follow
through
Point the stick at the
target
Key arms straight
Keep the triangle intact
Let the arms overlap
Weight on left knee/foot
(not your toes)

Common hitting mistakes
moving head, body, left wrist left/right or up/down
back curved-no vision-can see ground-not field
curve on ball
rotating wrists instead of maintaining triangle between
shoulders and hands
right hand rotated counter clockwise-can see top of
stick
Hit ground not back of ball

Common hitting mistakes-
rotating wrists on back swing
picking stick up
pivot point is not left little finger
bottom of right wrist not connected to top of left wrist
ball to left of left foot and not between feet
no weight transfer
weight on right foot not left

Bad right
hand grip
Ball is bouncing

Out of plane
Flying right elbow causes
the stick to be out of plane
(pointing straight up
instead of at the ball)
Player must make an
adjustment on the
downswing

Baseball grip

Flying elbow
Stick pointing up and
away from body.

Falling away
from the ball
As a result the players
weight is on their right
side instead of the left
side at impact.

Making space
Put the ball in a position
away form the defender.
Here the ball is outside
of the players right foot.
He will lean to the right
to hit it.

Right hand
position
Slide the right hand up
the stick to get ready for
the hit

Problems
Keep eyes on ball even after follow through
Follow through is too long
Twisting hands
Pivoting off of the end of the right hand (picking it up)
Pushing the left hand down on the back swing or
follow through
Not bending ankles, back, knees

Problems (cont.)
Holding the stick with a baseball grip
Cannot release right hand through the ball
If the ball is between the feet the stick will hit the top
of the ball
If the ball is to the left of the body the sholders must
turn on the follow through.

Hitting drills
Hit the ball with one hand (left and right)
Hit the ball with feet together
Hit the ball off of left and right feet
Hit the ball and hit the ball left and right by changing
hand position on the down swing
Hit the ball on the run
Cross by wing, shot on goal, pass forward

Hitting drills
Swing stick backwards and forwards and sweep the
stick across the same spot on the ground-Bulbir Singh
4 Oympic gold medals
Wall hitting-cement is ideal
Stand 1,5,10.20 yards from the wall
Right hand only on stick (maintain angle between
stick and forearm)
Play tennis-hit ball against wall and stop it

Hitting drills (cont.)
Move left, right, forwards, backwards and hit ball
against wall
Hit off of left foot and right foot
Face wall
Stand 90 degrees to the wall

Excercise 1
Bulbir Singh 4 time Olympic gold medalist for India
Swing stick back and forth and sweep over the turf
on the same spot.

Excercise 2
Marshall Page Rhodesia-one of the best fullbacks in
the world in 1974
Position the ball half way between your feet and hit
it against the wall-repeat

Excercise 3
Moin Iqbal full back Pakistan 1952
Foot work-rotate right foot forwards and hit the ball
to the left. Popular in the Netherlands and Germany.
Stephan Blocher used this move.
Right hand pull and hit in one motion. Pul the ball to
the right and slide hand up as the body rotates to
the right, bend and hit the ball.

Excercise 4
Steven Davies Australia
Foot work-run around the left of the ball and hit it
laterally to the right. Choke up on the stick.

Excercise 5
Gavin Featherstone GB 1970’s
While carrying the ball forwards look one direction
and hit it in the other direction

Excercise 6
Toen De Noor Nederlands
While carrying the ball forwards look use a very
short quick hit with no follow through to pass the ball
to a team mate. Hands make the action.

Excercise 7
move the stick in a T
from address
to back swing pointing away from target
to impact position
to follow through pointing at target

Excercise 8
Neville Berman captain of South Africa 1974
put the ball 1 yard from the end line and shoot it in
the goal. repeat with 10 balls
Move the ball in 1 foot - repeat
Move the ball to 1 foot from the end line - repeat
Put the balls on the 10 yard line
run and shoot from 3 feet, 2 feet, 1 foot from the
end line

Excercise 9
Neville Berman
Put 10 balls on the 25 yard line.
Dribble one ball to the top of the D and shoot
run back to the 25 and repeat

Baseball grip
Ball is bouncing
Toe of stick is pointing sideways on follow through

Slap shot

Cross over step and hit

Forearms touch on follow
through

Curl to the right and hit

Preparation
Eyes on target
Feet close together so that adjustments in aligntment
to target can be made
Right hand is sliding up stick

Back swing
Toe straight up
left arm straight

Folow through problem
Left arm collapses
Stick is pointing way left of the target on the follow
through

Preparation
When moving forwards in preparation of hitting the
ball correct footwork is vital
Position the ball at or behind the right foot
The stick is angled over the ball

Back swing
Feet are positioned together ball is between feet and
rolling forwards
hands are close to the body
eyes on the ball

Down swing
On the down swing the upper right arm is parallel to
the upper body which is leaning forwards
The right arm against the right side retains the angle
of the stick and wrists which delays the release of the
stick
The delayed wrist release results in the maximum
stick speed when hitting the ball

Follow through
Left knee is still bent
hips turn
still bent-stay down

Leaning backwards

Leaning to the right
Right foot swinging behind left
The ball was outside of the shoulders and left foot.

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