The game of field hockey requires a lot of skills. Many, if not all of these skills, can be learned by attending a field hockey camp.
8 Skills You Can Learn at Field Hockey Camp
While this is not a complete list, here are eight of the skills field hockey camps teach.
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Controlling the Ball.
You cannot be a good player if you do not know how to control the ball. You need to learn this before you can learn any other skill that you need properly.
You have to be able to move the ball in order to get it to where it needs to go. At camp, you will learn how to do things like dribble or carry the ball. You also might learn control exercises that will help you perfect these skills.
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Shooting the Ball.
M.L. Rose points out on Livestrong.com the seemingly obvious fact that you cannot score if you do not shoot. Despite the fact that this seems like it does not need to be said, it is in fact a very important statement. Players often seem to get scared and prefer to pass. But you cannot score if you do not shoot.
At field hockey camp, you will be taught how, where, and when to shoot the ball. However, you will also learn to be a more confident player, which will make you much more willing to shoot. Remember that if you think you can do it, you are much more likely to actually attempt to do it. And trying is the only way to succeed.
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Positioning Yourself on the Field.
Where you stand on the field is important. You need to be in one place to shoot, another to defend, and yet another to catch a pass. All of the skills that you learn at camp do not matter much if you are not in the right place when you do them.
For example, let’s say that you shoot the ball, and it is perfect. You are at the right angle, you fool the goalie, and you do everything you are supposed to do but be in the right spot. If you are outside of the shooting circle, the goal does not count.
At camp, you will learn positioning so that you always know where to stand.
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Passing to Teammates and Receiving.
In order to be a good field hockey player, you have to be able to pass the ball. Despite the fact that you cannot score if you do not shoot, sometimes you need to be a team player. If all you ever do is shoot, even when an open teammate has a better shot, then you are not being a team player.
In order to improve your game, you need to know how to get the ball to the rest of your team. However, beyond passing, you also need to learn how to receive the ball when a teammate passes it to you.
Once you have learned how to pass and receive, you will also learn when to do so. You have to pass at the right time if you do not want the ball intercepted by the other team. You also need to know how to watch and listen to your teammates so that you know when they are going to pass to you.
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Strategies of the Game.
Knowing how to play game situations is just as important as knowing any specific skill. At camp, you will learn more than offensive and defensive techniques – you will actually learn how to play in a game.
Knowing when to shoot and when to pass will make you a much better offensive player. Similarly, learning different plays and learning how to predict what the other team is going to do make you a better all-around player.
At field hockey camp, you are going to learn game strategies and how to play in special situations so that not only will you improve individual skills, you will improve as a player.
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Communicating with Teammates.
Field hockey is a team sport, which means you need to play like a team. An important part of playing like a team is properly communicating.
Some of the things you need to communicate with your teammates include
- Where you are on the field
- If you are open or blocked
- Whether they should pass or shoot
- If an opposing player is in their vicinity
Knowing what to communicate and when and how it should be communicated takes time to learn. However, with a few lessons, it will become much easier.
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3D Skills.
In field hockey, the 3D skills are the fancy, advanced skills that the best players all do. When you have gotten better at all the other skills, you may be able to learn a little about this important part of the game as well.
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Goalie Skills.
The goalie position is not only one of the most important positions on the team, it is also a position that has many required skills to perfect. Field hockey camps will often teach goalies and potential goalies skills in lessons set apart from the regular lessons being learned by everyone else.
Goalie skills most likely include
- Clearing the ball
- Diving
- Angles
- Foot and glove work
- Recovery
- Communication – the goalie communication requirements are different than the other positions
- Recovery
- Kicking and jabbing
These are just some of the skills. There are many more as well.
Because the goalie position is a lot different than the other positions and because it is so important, the skills learned by the goalies are taught separately than the other skills and are most likely not learned by all of the players.
Have the Right Attitude
As with anything, how much you learn depends a lot on you. When you are trying to learn anything, you need to have a good attitude, patience, and a desire to learn. If you have that, the rest will likely follow.
With the right attitude, you will learn a lot at field hockey camp.