Gladiator
Bucket goes in the middle of the crease. One player starts with the ball ~10 yards away from the bucket. One player starts on the crease. The player with the ball is trying to put the ball in the bucket while the other player is looking to prevent it. This should be competitive and physical.
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Diamond 1v1s
Set up cones in a diamond around half the field. Set up 1 cone and another cone 5-7 yards inside. Offensive and defensive players line up at each cone with balls. The defensive player starts on the outside, offensive player on the outside. On the whistle, players exchange, coach throws a ball to offensive player and offensive player dodges to the goal against defensive player. Focus on good approaches for defense and hard dodges & separation for offense.
Bump and Run Coverage
Set up the drill like a football pass play with an offensive player lined up across from a defender who does not have a stick. On the whistle, the offense makes one hard move and goes, while the defender bumps, runs, and stays tight in coverage to prevent the offensive player from catching an outlet pass from the coach.
Knock Down Drill
Two players or coaches are passing back and forth. The defensive line cuts through the pass at a 90 degree angle. They sprint to the cone and come back to the middle/crease leading with their stick to knock down the next pass.
Foot Work (Ladder)
2 in 2 out 1 in 1 out Icky shuffle Hop scotch One foot jumps
4 corner 1v1
-4 lines, 2 top 2 bottom both sides of court. -1v1 at each corner in order L1, L2, R2, R1 -each corner has 5 seconds to get shot off or strip ball -1v1 does not start until D1 has touched Offender glove with stick -remind players of defensive positioning, push away from center -Progression depending on skill: allow starting position for offence to have topside option and defender has to regain that control.
Cover the Crease
Teach off-ball defensive positioning and recovery based on ball location. X1 starts with the ball and passes around the perimeter (X2, X3, X4). As the ball moves, the on-ball defender extends to cover the receiver while off-ball defenders recover inside to help guard X5 on the crease. Maintain man-you-ball triangle positioning at all times. Variation: Initially don't allow passes to X5 until recovery technique is mastered. Then open it up as a live 5v4 — offense scores if they move the ball fast enough to find X5.
Holman Drill
Set three offensive players (Player 1–3) behind the goal with balls and two defensive players (Player 4–5) up top. On the whistle, Player 1–3 attack the 3v2. On a goal, save, or stoppage, the next two defenders (Player 6–7) enter with a ball to create a 4v3, while the first two defenders stay. Offense rotates out and three new players enter to start a new 3v2. Continue rotations, switching players from bottom to top every 4–5 minutes.
Defensive Transition Retreat
Teach defensive players to retreat into the zone ahead of the ball and prevent fast breaks. Set up 4 cones above the attack zone (2 offense, 2 defense) and 2 cones off to the side (1 each). X1 and X2 attack from the top with the ball. D1 and D4 rush to slow the ball. D2 and D3 protect the middle, sliding to the ball or pass as needed. Defense focuses on retreating, slowing the break, and forcing an even-numbers situation. Play it out to a shot, goal, or clear. Variation: Change where the ball enters from — point or sides.