Drag flickers get their groin strength monitored more closely than anyone else in Eyles’s squads, along with extra rotational work in the gym, hip and groin maintenance exercises on Fridays and plenty of hip mobility work. For goalkeepers he keeps the Nordic hamstring extension in the programme, because throwing a leg out to the side is a rapid eccentric action for the hamstring, exactly what that exercise trains. Watch the full masterclass: Injury Reduction Training Methods.
India sometimes hold corners out of practice matches entirely, running a block of five or ten at the end so kit and time are used efficiently, and at other times stop play mid-session so flickers execute under fatigue. Chris Ciriello works one on one with each of them, supported by a full-time video analyst, and the aim is not to make every flicker identical but to bring different techniques within common guidelines. Watch the full masterclass: Field Hockey Tactics, Trust and Team Dynamics: Insights from Indian Men’s Coach Graham Reid.