Breathe and Dribble
Composure
Legend
- player
- cones
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Introduce composure by teaching young players a breathing technique they practice while dribbling through a simple course.
What you need
- field hockey stick
- field hockey ball
- cones
Your focus
Regulated breathing is the foundation of composure at any age. Teaching a simple inhale-exhale pattern during dribbling pairs the physical skill with the mental one. Young athletes who learn to breathe under mild physical exertion build a tool they can use in game pressure.
Set up a 15-yard cone course.
Coach teaches a 4-count inhale and 4-count exhale breathing pattern.
Players dribble through the course while maintaining the breathing pattern, no holding breath.
After the course, players sit for 10 seconds and use the same breath before standing up to go again.
Goal
You've got it when you take a breath when the coach says to and feel your body actually slow down, not just going through the motion.
Helpful cues
- Breathe in through the nose for 4, out through the mouth for 4
- Soft shoulders, tension leaves when you breathe
- Stay slow on the inside even when moving fast outside
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Practice the breathing sitting down before adding dribbling.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Add a light time pressure to see if breathing stays controlled under stress.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.