Week 4 - Hockey
Skill focus: Defending and hitting
Session equipment:
Markers or cones
1 x Hockey stick per player
Hockey balls (or similar)
Download Hockey - Week 4 activity card to support teaching before and during the sport session.
Fast start - Capture
Equipment: 8 markers (to set out playing area), 4 sets of 8 braids or similar (4 different colours).
How to play:
4 students are designated taggers who each wear a different coloured braid. The rest of the students are 'free'.
The taggers chase the students who are free and attempt to tag them.
When a free student is tagged they then put on a braid of the same colour worn by the student who has tagged them and become a tagger.
The aim is to tag the most students and create the biggest team.
CHANGE IT!
Vary the size of the playing area.
Use equipment while moving around the playing area (eg bouncing a ball)
Skill development games
Activity 1 - 5 - Point player
Equipment: 1 hockey ball (or similar) per game
How to play: Attackers score points by rolling the ball to each other for 30 seconds. For bonus points, the ball is rolled to a teammate in one of the 2 end zones. Defenders try to intercept the ball. (Play with 2 teams of 4 or more.)
Add an extra sideline attacking player (one on each side).
Sideline attackers may move up and down the line to receive the ball, but may not run with the ball.
Sideline attackers may not pass the ball into the end zone.
On-field attacking players should lead strongly to get free of defenders.
Activity 2 - Speed gate
Equipment: 1 hockey stick per player, 1 tennis ball or soft ball per player
How to play: Players in teams hit a ball through a gate to an end line. The first ball that passes through the gate and reaches the end line wins the point for that round. (Play with teams of 4.)
Players try to hit the ball through the gate.
Activity 3 - 4 Square
Equipment: 1 hockey stick per player, 1 hockey ball per group
How to play: A playing area is divided into 4 squares and a player from each team goes into a square. The team in possession of the ball rolls it to a team-mate in any of the 4 squares, trying to avoid interception. Players remain in that square. (Play in 2 teams of 4.)
After 5 minutes of players rolling the ball, introduce hockey sticks and balls.
Activity 4 - Snakes alive
Equipment: 1 hockey stick per player, 1 hockey ball per group
How to play: The first ball hit becomes the head of the snake. Players deliver one ball at a time, aiming to place each ball behind the previous one. The aim is to form the longest snake. 4 or more per team.
Each team plays the first ball on a signal.
If the first ball strays to another team’s area, the ball is played again.
The second ball is played on a signal, and so on for the remainder of the balls.
To ensure the last ball is a meaningful throw, a line is placed in front of each team and the ball must go beyond the line for the ball to count – otherwise every team will finish with a python!
Modified small-sided games
It's time for competition!
Teams compete against each other in the game outlined below. You can use the 'Hockey draw' as a guide to organise the competition, across the 4 sessions try to ensure each team has a fair number of games.
Allocate 3 points for a win, 2 points for a draw and 1 point for a loss for each game played. Record results and points in the School sport program results spreadsheet.
Remember, to give students an update of the leader board each week.
End to end
Equipment: Hockey goals (or similar) at each end, 1 hockey stick per player, 1 hockey ball per group
How to play: Players from 2 opposing teams are paired off and spread the length of the pitch. On your signal, the player with the ball at one end passes the ball to a team-mate in the next zone. This continues until a goal is scored at the other end. (Play in teams of 6 or more.)
The area is divided into 3 zones, with hockey goals at each end.
Players pair up with a member of the opposing team.
Players distribute themselves in pairs – one pair in each goal area and the other pairs evenly distributed across the zones.
Introduce and use modified hockey rules.
Scoring
1 point per goal.
Reflection
TAG
Ask students to form pairs with a student from their team.
Inform students they are going to give feedback to their partner using 'TAG'.
Tell your partner something they did well in today's session.
Ask your partner a question.
Give your partner some feedback on a skill or tactic they could focus on during next weeks session.
