Find a hockey coach in Newcastle

A Hockey Tutorial Can Improve Your Game 

It’s no wonder that Hockey is an Olympic sport because it is exciting to play, but also, exciting to watch! As one of the world’s most loved team sports, it is fortunate that you can be introduced to it from a young age in South Africa.

Whether you want to make it into your high school first team or hope to improve your skills as a beginner, taking private hockey lessons will get you off to a head start.  

While the game basics are not too difficult to grasp, it can take much longer to truly master advanced skills. 

The Basic Rules of Hockey

During your beginner hockey lessons, you will no doubt be introduced to the theories of the game. In a nutshell, you will find out that every team consists of 11 players and one of these is the all-important goalie. The goalie’s main job is to act as the final line of defence against the opposition.   

The field, which is marked is divided into quarters and halves and has a semi-circle-shaped scoring or shooting circle. These semi-circles are positioned at each end of the field near the goals.   

Positions, Positions, Positions 

Each team member’s position in hockey has a unique job that works together with the rest of the team. Private hockey lessons are the ideal way to learn the important nuances of your position.   

Through a hockey tutorial you can expect to find out about: 

- Forward and their role in goal scoring

- Midfielders and their dual defence and offence

- Defenders who are positioned near their own goals 

- The sweeper who is located closest to opposition goals 

- The goalie who is trained to face balls head on   

Understand Rules and Penalties in a Hockey Tutorial  

You may have heaps of talent but without the knowledge of the rules, you will never advance as a player. Sometimes the best way to understand how penalties and other rules work is to take a few hockey lessons in a classroom! 

It may sound crazy, but a few private hockey lessons that include diagrams will help you understand everything you need to do and avoid to play at your very best. For instance:    

- The Free Hit: goes to the opposing team if you commit an offence outside of the scoring circle.  

- A Corner:  is awarded to your opposition if you commit an offence inside the scoring circle. 

- Penalty Stroke: awarded to your opposition if they are prevented because of a foul from achieving a goal. 

If you want to avoid penalties and not let your side down unnecessarily, private hockey tutorials are an excellent start. 

There’s a lot more you can glean from private hockey lessons when it comes to technique and learning what to avoid. 

Firstly, you will find out how to use your body or your stick to prevent an opponent from reaching the ball. Also, there’s a lot to know about dangerous play and other fouls that could get you into hot water. 

The Job of Umpires

Good hockey players try to imagine how an umpire thinks! Two players oversee the game and implement rules. They use hand signals, a whistle, and penalty cards. Understanding hand signals will be an important part of your hockey lessons, but you will also want to know what these penalty cards mean: 

- Green card: a warning

- Yellow card: removal of a player for five minutes

- Red card: disqualification and a serious offence 

Whether you want to understand the rules because you are a new player, or want to improve your scoring, stickhandling, dribbling, or hitting, private hockey lessons will help you to advance quickly. 

One-on-One Coaching

Even though hockey is a team sport, one-on-one coaching of players is extremely effective. You could search for a hockey tutorial on the internet or go straight to Superprof where you can be assured of several benefits: 

- The credentials of tutors are verified for your peace of mind. 

- Using the location tool could help you to find in-person lessons near you. 

- If no one is located near to you, you can sign up for online lessons via webcam with a coach from just about anywhere!   

- Make use of a free starter lesson to find out more about the coach’s teaching style and personality!   

- Private coaching in any sport is an excellent opportunity to develop skills. 

So whether you want to make the most of school hockey or aim to play in South Africa’s Premier Hockey League, Superprof has lessons for every budget and level of ability.   

At only an average of R183 for private hockey lessons, you could increase your confidence, and make all the difference to your team while you have more fun too.