Field Hockey Athletes - Find Ways To Train For Better Game Performance

Field Hockey Strength Training

Field hockey players need to be strong, stable and powerful so they can handle the complex demands of their sport. Here are a few areas they should focus on in their workouts.

Above all, the main focus should be on core stability. Your next greatest area of need is hip and leg strength. Combined, they will help you play faster, add power to their shots, and stay as injury-free as possible.

Building muscle mass is usually not a priority, unless there is a targeted need for a specific player. Programs should be set up to maximize strength and power at every opportunity, as opposed to training for adding muscle and bulk (which may slow you down if done similar to bodybuilding).

Upper body strength is often a need for female athletes, and it should be another main goal of training for most field hockey players. Grip work can further stabilize the shoulder joint and add snap power to your shots, so it would be wise to include drills that emphasize grip strength into your upper body training.

Hand-eye coordination and other vision training concepts would also improve game performance, as it would be with any other racquet or stick sport. An additional focus on balance training would also help with injury concerns, and for improved cutting skills.

Field Hockey Speed Training

Being a fast-paced sport, field hockey players need to develop superior speed, agility and quickness in order to excel at the highest levels.

Enhanced sprinting technique is important for open field running, but cutting ability is also key to react to changes in real time. Quick reaction skills are vitally important, too, as most of the time players will accelerate from a stationary stance or a slow jog up to full speed immediately. Any hesitation or delay can mean the difference between making the play, or not.

Once movement fundamentals are perfected, athletes should begin doing their speed and conditioning work carrying their stick to adapt to their sport environment. Holding a stick will alter the mechanics of the upper body, but these adjustments must be made to transition their basic movement skills over to playing conditions.

Field hockey demands a high level of stamina, as well. Specifically, though, they need high repetitions of short burst movement with little rest in between. Long distance running and other forms of aerobic conditioning are nice to sprinkle in sometimes, but definitely should not be the only focus of conditioning to achieve maximum results.

Injury Prevention for Field Hockey

Ankle sprains are the most common injury, but can be prevented through good training programs. Lower body stability and balance work are the best defenses.

Hip mobility and strength will help to prevent knee problems, another common problem for field hockey players. With ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus tears plus patellofemoral pain becoming increasingly common issues, flexible and powerful hip muscles have become even more important to take stress off the knee.. Female athletes, particularly at the high school level, are most susceptible to these problems.

Any time you are bending over and rotating your upper body at the same time, you are going to eventually run into lower back problems. With shooting posture often combining these two movements, building core stability in all 3 planes of motion becomes critical to minimizing pain in this region.

Facial injuries and cuts that come from being hit by the ball are seen quite a bit, as well. Other than improving your quickness to get out of the way, these are injuries that training can do little to avoid.

Youth Field Hockey Training Considerations

Girls who are just getting into the sport should consider supplementing their practices with a targeted sports training program that best fits their future needs.

Balance, coordination, and moderate core training will supply a great foundation to enhance performance while protecting the knees and back from future concerns.

Footwork is always best build at earlier ages, so any movement trainng done in a fun, game-based format would be an asset to youth field hockey players. Staying active will also help to build stamina and a passion for being active later in life.

Finally, simple drills to enhance hand-eye coordination will help their ability to strike the ball accurately and with maximum power.

Field Hockey Position-Specific Concerns

Goalies - You should adapt the suggestions given above slightly, and add more first-step quickness while reducing your time doing sprint work. Strength and power are still important, as they will make you a more explosive athlete which will help you cover more of the net.

Forwards - You need high doses of sprint speed, and planned agility drills at greater levels than other positions on the field. Don't forget that speed and agility can also be improved through strength training, and not just running drills.

Fullbacks -You also need speed, but a much bigger emphasis in your agility work should focus on reactive agility. Jump roping would help, along with many other advanced ways to develop quickness.

Midfielders - As you are alternating between assisting forwards and fullbacks, your movement training should combine a mix of the suggestions for those two positions. You may need more focus on conditioning compared to other positions for maximum performance.

Field Hockey Game Intelligence

Have you every wondered what makes some players play with more intelligence on the field?

Or why some athletes are team players, while others aren't?

We can shed new light on how to help all of your players to compete as a single unit, and guide them to play smarter on a regular basis.

Keep an eye out for the Fall 2010 launch of our groundbreaking Sports Axiology program to help maximize decision making in sport. This is truly going to be a game changer for those who take advantage. Power Source will be the exclusive provider of this service for athletes in Massachusetts.

Field Hockey Training at Power Source

Players in or near Central Massachusetts can take part in our elite strength and power development programs for field hockey. Workouts are designed with the individual in mind, factoring in your age, sport, position, development needs, and injury concerns

Kids age 10 and under are best suited for our Athlete Springboard Program, which provides a base of bodyweight strength while emphasizing agility, balance, and coordination.

Teams in Massachusetts and New Hampshire should consider looking at our Game Speed Development Clinics, which target 1st step quickness, agility, speed, and lateral movement. We also offer conditioning programs to help your group get in great shape for the upcoming season.