Happy Friday! I hope you’re gearing up for a great hockey weekend — let’s get into this week’s Playbook.
A quick definition of the 80 / 20 rule is that in many situations a small number of causes (about 20%) generate a large share of the results (about 80%).
Applying this to field hockey, a sport with so many different skills and techniques to master, is, I think, a valuable exercise. It is likely to be true that just a small number of these (maybe around five) will have an outsized effect on the quality of your play.
At Leap Hockey, we believe this. Here are the five skills I think make up the 20%.
In our view, it’s the most important skill in the game, simply because if you cannot at first control the ball, you cannot make a significant impact on the game.
Being comfortable receiving the ball; on the run, from the right, from the left, in front of you, behind you, in the air, bouncy or at high speed are all extremely important.
Now this is a bit of a cheat answer, because you can argue all these different traps are different skills in themselves and don't count as just one. But nevertheless, you should prioritize working on your forehand, reverse and bouncy pass receiving.
You simply cannot spend too much time working on your trapping. Adopt a mantra of “Trap everything”. You will become the most trusted teammate on your team if you prove that you consistently control all types of passes. On the flip side, miss-trapping a lot of balls will make teammates hesitate to give you the ball.
Trapping is the absolute cornerstone, the most fundamental building block of a good hockey player.
Despite all the growth and evolution of skills on the reverse in our sport, defensively the left side of a defender is still a very large weakness — in comparison to their right side. A good right drag exploits this weakness. So despite other newer and maybe visually more impressive skills, this is the best elimination technique.
Most hockey players will be able to execute a right drag but as with everything, it’s about the quality of it.
How fast are your hands?
How far do you move the ball?
How do you manipulate the defender with your body angle before making the pull?
How large is your change of pace when moving left to right?
These are all factors in developing a world-class right drag. And once you have one, you can use it over and over again and get excellent results.
Never get bored of exploiting a defender’s consistent weakness.
The push pass is the most flexible of the passing techniques which in my mind makes it the most valuable.
It is the fastest passing technique to execute, you can add great disguise, you can play it flat or in the air, and with training it can be used effectively over both short and long distances.
But for me, the biggest benefit is that it can be used while running and without taking your stick off the ball.
Connecting with teammates becomes more and more essential the higher the level you play at. Eliminating top defenders can be a low percentage option and so being able to pass accurately and then moving into space is often a much better option.
Also, some of the most timeless hockey wisdom passed down through the ages is still very true — the ball moves much faster than the player. You can eliminate 3 or 4 players with one fast, accurate push pass, this ability will make you invaluable to your team.
This is the 2nd elimination skill on this list and is closely related to a right drag, but different in one important way.
With the V Drag you are moving the ball diagonally away from the defender before moving forward and away into space.
This is so valuable for two reasons:
For these reasons, developing fast and smooth V Drags is very important and combined with Right Drags will make you an elite ball carrier.
This may surprise a few people, especially ahead of the reverse hit or the sweep and there are a few reasons.
Firstly, a good forehand hit can be used for both long passing and goal scoring and therefore has great leverage.
Secondly, it’s hard. Developing a consistent flat and powerful hitting swing is not a simple body movement. It takes good coaching and a lot of practice to get the technique right, which means if you can do it, you’ll have an advantage over many players. In addition, if you can hit the ball well, you’ll be able to sweep it without much problem.
As a young player, I’d advise that it is much more important to spend time practicing your hitting first and then sweeping can be added quickly and easily later on, when you need it.
Lastly, hitting still generates more ball speed than any other skill and in my opinion ball speed is everything, especially at the highest levels of the game.
So there are my top five, I truly believe that if all you did was practice and master these 5 skills you could become a world-class player, without becoming distracted by everything else.
In today’s culture everyone wants to do everything. However that ignores the very real and important concept of opportunity cost. Time is limited. That’s a universal truth. So when you practice one thing, you are also choosing not to practice another.
I think there are huge advantages available for players and coaches who are mindful of this, and set their priorities accordingly.
Hi Adam,
It’s working!!!! Thanks for doing what you do. To Ross, too. Our girls are beginning to really apply their skills to the game & it was really evident this weekend. Everyone comments on their skills and I tell them it happens thanks to Leap & in our basement or messy toy room.
Just so grateful for this service that Leap provides as it makes field hockey much more fun for them!!