The archive is 16 years of recorded sessions with coaches who work at the top of the game, turned into written articles and on demand video. It is large enough that “we cover field hockey coaching” is not a useful description. So this page sets out what it covers, subject by subject, with the real numbers.
If you are working out whether there is anything here for the problem in front of you, start with the subject areas below. Each one says what it covers and how many sessions sit behind it.
The archive in numbers
Coverage by subject
Every session is tagged by subject. The counts below are live, and each subject links to everything filed under it.
How the game is played
Tactical (61)
Systems, principles and game understanding. Pressing, defensive structures, building out from the back, choosing a shape that fits your squad.
Off ball (27)
What the other ten players are doing. Positioning, support, defending as a unit, creating space for someone else.
Transition (15)
The moments either side of a turnover, which is where most goals are decided.
Game intelligence (15)
Decision making on the pitch. Scanning, reading pressure, and how to coach players to think rather than follow instructions.
Skills and execution
On ball (48)
Receiving, carrying, passing, eliminating a defender. The skills every session touches.
Technical (27)
Execution in detail. Grip, body shape, the hit, the Indian dribble, and why a skill holds up or falls apart under pressure.
Penalty corner (11)
Attacking and defending routines, the drag flick, and how to train a corner battery that works at your level.
Goalkeeping (10)
Positioning, one on ones, and coaching a keeper when you are not a keeper yourself.
Scoring (9)
Circle entries, finishing, and turning territory into goals.
Set pieces (6)
Free hits, long corners and the 16, where a rehearsed answer beats an improvised one.
Coaching the person
Mental (43)
Confidence, pressure, motivation, resetting after a mistake, team culture and the conversations that decide whether any of the tactical work shows up on a Saturday.
Development (35)
Age group coaching, talent pathways, and what to ask of a player at each stage rather than shrinking the adult game.
Running your programme
Practice (35)
Session design, small sided games, and building a training week that transfers to a match.
Physical (13)
Conditioning, pre-season, warm-ups and injury reduction, built around what a match actually asks of a player.
Analytics (12)
Video analysis and using data at club level without a performance department behind you.
Indoor (2)
The indoor game and what it teaches that the outdoor game does not.
The questions coaches ask most
Twenty-one of them are answered in full here, free to read, each one built from named coaches in the archive above. They are grouped the same way the archive is.
Technical
How do I coach a soft first touch in field hockey?
How do I coach the hit so players get power without lifting or fouling?
How do I teach the Indian dribble properly in field hockey?
How do I stop my defenders diving in and giving away free hits?
Why do my passes keep getting intercepted under pressure?
How do I coach players who can’t beat a defender one on one?
We’ve got no drag flicker. How do I develop one safely?
Tactical
How do I get my team building out from the back without turning it over?
How do we beat a press in field hockey, especially off free hits and 16s?
What formation should I play in field hockey, and how do I pick the right system?
Zonal or man-to-man: which do I pick when my team keeps getting pulled apart?
Physical
How do I get field hockey players fit for the real demands of a game?
How do I build field hockey fitness without taking players off the ball?
What is the best field hockey warm-up to get game-ready and cut injuries?
How do I know if my players are actually fit, and what’s a good score?
How often should my players train before I’m overcooking them?
My players are fit but slow to turn. How do I train change of direction?
Mental
How do I build confidence in field hockey players that survives mistakes?
How do I help a field hockey player let go of a mistake and reset?
How do I motivate field hockey players who have checked out?
How do I keep juniors coming back without letting the standards slide?
They all sit together on the Field Hockey Coaching Questions hub, and each answer links on to the masterclasses and articles behind it.
The coaches
Everything in the archive is attributed to the coach who said it. 48 named coaches have given sessions, including national team head coaches past and present, former internationals, club coaches, goalkeeping specialists, strength and conditioning specialists and video analysts.
Among them: Adam Commens, Alyson Annan, Andreu Enrich, Andrew Wilson, Ben Bishop, Carlos Retegui, Cody Royle, Danny Kerry, Darren Cheesman, David Harte, David Passmore, Emily Calderon, Fede Tanuscio, Glenn Simpson, Glenn Turner, Graham Reid, Jamilon Mülders, Jude Menezes, Katie Warriner, Kwan Browne, Lisa Letchford, Mark Hager, Matthew Eyles, Max Caldas, Robert Noall, Russell Coates, Shea McAleese, Siegfried Aikman, Tin Matkovic, Todd Williams, Tsoanelo Pholo and Wouter Blondeel.
Every coach has a page collecting their sessions and articles, with their playing and coaching background.
What is free and what is not
The written articles are largely free to read. The full video masterclasses are included with a Coach subscription. Though even some of these will always be free.
You can see exactly what is in the archive before deciding whether it is worth paying for. The counts on this page are real, and every subject links straight to what is filed under it.
Where to start
Field Hockey Coaching Questions
Direct answers to common coaching questions, free to read, each drawing on named coaches from the archive.
The article archive
Written articles from every masterclass and panel talk.
Assistant.Hockey
An AI assistant built on this material. Ask it a coaching question and it answers from the archive.
Hockey calendar
Upcoming live masterclasses, workshops and panel talks. The archive grows every month.
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