Visual Focus Passing Pairs
Focus
Legend
- player
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Develop sustained focus by completing a passing sequence that requires alternating between focus on the ball and focus on the receiver.
What you need
- field hockey sticks
- field hockey ball
- cones
Your focus
Field hockey requires players to shift focus rapidly between ball and teammate. Training this dual-focus mechanism builds the visual scanning skills central to field hockey. Players who focus on the right thing at the right time make fewer errors.
Pairs pass 15 yards apart; when receiving, player focuses solely on the incoming ball.
After controlling, player switches focus to the partner (eyes up) before passing.
Coach calls 'focus check', players must identify which phase (receive vs pass) they're in.
Complete 20 passes each; coach checks for focus lapses.
Goal
You've got it when you look up to find your partner between passes, not staring at the ball the whole time.
Helpful cues
- Eyes on the ball coming in; eyes on your partner going out
- No looking away mid-pass, commit your focus
- Two things to focus on: the ball and the target
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Use a larger ball (soccer ball) to make tracking easier.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Add a third player who moves around to distract the focus of passing pairs.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.