1. Drills
  2. Field Hockey
  3. Tackling

Block Position Holds

Get low and lay the stick flat on the floor in a block position, the shape you win the ball back with. No partner and no contact.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Get low with your knees bent and your back flat.

Core: Jogs. Beat your own run of steady shadows.

Ages
7 and up
Time
8 min
Players
Just you
Space
Small room
Bring
Stick or broom handle
Level · skill
Beginner · Tackling

The steps

How it works

  1. Get low with your knees bent and your back flat.
  2. Lay the stick flat on the floor in front of you.
  3. Hold 5 seconds, then shuffle one step and set again.
  4. Do 10 each side.

Coaching point

Low and patient, stick flat.

Safety: Land softly with knees over toes on a non-slip floor. Stop if your knees or ankles hurt.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Shadow-stick game: stay in front of your partner with your stick low and ready, and with no stick or body contact. Swap.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (partner walks), Core (jogs), More (changes direction). Beat your own run of steady shadows.

Story

You are a castle guard holding the bridge.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own run of steady shadows. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

Free for families and teams

Save this drill to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free field hockey week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.

14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free

Does your child's coach know about this?

An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.