Find hockey coaches near me in Pretoria

Field Hockey Lessons to Help You Become Your Best

 So, what can a field hockey coach teach you?

A good and experienced field hockey coach will start your training with an assessment to determine your level of skills. They will then create a customised training programme to ensure you develop the basic skills before working on more complex techniques like game strategy.

Here are some of the basic techniques a player might learn during field hockey lessons:

- Learning the basic hockey stance, ensuring the stick grip is good and the body position is correct to aid your play and protect your body

- Basic dribbling techniques to develop ball control and coordination. This could include Indian dribble where you move the ball left and right and keep possession of it while moving past opponents

- Strapping or stopping balls

- Hitting balls with accuracy and the right amount of force, while learning about rules like not lifting your stick too high for the swing

- Sweep passes where you can control the ball better and quickly sweep it to another player. This is where your ball gets pushed by the stick in a swift and smooth way

- Developing great fitness and cardiovascular health through playing hockey

Once you grasp the basics, and even national hockey players will continue to work on these skills weekly, the coach will introduce more complex techniques and skills into the mix.

Player Positions to Become Familiar With

As you know by now, hockey is not just about running around and hitting the ball. Every player has a specific purpose and a good team selection will ensure that players are placed in the right position on the field to create a strong team. A field hockey coach will thus strategically select the 11 players for their team based on each individual players’ strengths. 

The formation and positioning of players might change dependent on the coach’s strategic motivation, but there are generally forwards, midfielders, defenders and a goalkeeper for each team on the field. The role of these players are generally the following:

- Forwards: Positioned on the front line and their focus is to move the game and score

- Midfielders: Positioned in the middle these players should be good at both defending and attacking

- Defenders: Stationed closer to the back, defenders are there to block goals and opportunities for the opposition to score

You will have to eventually pick a position you’d like to play, but while you are learning we recommend you focus on building the fundamental skills first and learn as much as possible before deciding. Many times a player also thinks they are best for a specific position and with time, experience and the guidance of a coach, they realise they are actually better at something completely different.

Field Hockey Lessons With a Superprof Tutor

Your personal ambitions around playing hockey will very much determine the level of investment you’ll make in your training. If you want to play for a national team or go professional, you obviously need to invest more time and money than someone who is playing socially or for fun.

Whether you want to play with the best, or plan to put your own team of players together in your community, your search for ‘hockey lessons near me’ is over. Superprof lists a range of coaches to make your search for field hockey lessons easy and effortless.

You can also benefit in the following ways by choosing one of our Superprof hockey tutors:

- It’s convenient and you can browse, compare, see their rates and contact them all directly from the Superprof platform with a couple of clicks. We have tutors across South Africa and the search will display coaches in the Pretoria area where you live. This also means you won’t have to travel too far to get the training you need, saving you travel time and money.

- It’s more affordable than professional coaches and thus an ideal way to supplement your current training. Their rates are displayed on our site, and you can split the costs with other players if you manage to get a little team together, that’s if you don’t prefer to get all the focus and attention of the coach yourself. Most of our coaches also offer a free trial class and you don’t have to commit to many classes until you feel comfortable to do so.

- It provides choice and customisation. You can choose the coach you think is right, try them out and they will customise the training sessions based on your needs. In an ordinary team set-up there are many players with varied skills, but with a private coach the focus is all on improving on your weaknesses and building your strengths to super-player level. With the coordination and organisation of the coach you can also do as many lessons as you’d like, and they are generally more flexible when it comes to scheduling than lessons at hockey clubs tend to be.

Getting Ready for Your Lesson

You probably know that you’ll require some sports equipment to set you up for a proper hockey match. With time you’ll learn which options are best suited to you, but a sales rep at a sports shop will be able to guide you around the right sized stick and gear required.

Usually players require the following gear to play a hockey game:

- A hockey stick

- A hockey ball

- Shin guards

- Mouthguard

- Cleats / Hockey Shoes

Most beginners cannot afford to spend too much money on new gear. You can check for second hand gear online and if you are brand new you don’t have to buy hockey shoes yet. Be sure you wear comfortable clothing for your first lesson and bring water as hockey will make you run around that field like a fitness freak.

Why do you want to play hockey and where do you think you can be better?  Knowing your personal ambitions around your hockey will guide your potential new field hockey coach into preparing the perfect first class for you.

So what are you waiting for? 

Find ‘hockey lessons near me’. Conveniently online and right here on Superprof.