I want to walk through a few of the observations that stood out to me, leaning heavily on insights from Todd Williams, the former Australian international and current Reading head coach, who reviewed the tournament with a defender’s eye and a coach’s curiosity. As he put it himself, “these are observations and insights. By no means am I stating rules. Quite the opposite. One of the great things about coaching are the conversations you have.”

So consider this an invitation to that conversation.

Bridging the Gap: What Watsonians Can Teach Us All

One of the most interesting storylines of the tournament came right at the beginning. Watsonians opened with a convincing 6-1 win over Railway Union, showing excellent circle entries, strong numbers around the ball, and clinical finishing. Then, as they moved up through the bracket and met Gantois, the script flipped. The same patterns they had used to dominate Railway Union were now being used against them.

This is a scenario most of us have faced. Your team can beat teams at a certain level comfortably, but when you step up, the same things happen to you that you just did to someone else. So the question becomes: how do you bridge that gap?

Williams zeroed in on something specific. In several of Watsonians’ attacking opportunities against Gantois, they had genuine numerical overloads, four on two and three on two situations, but failed to convert them into clear-cut chances. The issue was not a lack of opportunity. It was what happened with the opportunity.

“In a four on two, is the type of shot we want to create something where we end up on the outside of the circle, smashing it across and getting it more of a speculative deflection?” Williams asked. “My point is this: if we go back into the play, as we start to recognize that we have four on two, do we actually need to now start looking at an elimination of one of the last two, which is then going to create a much easier shot?”

The takeaway is clear. At the highest level, recognising the overload is not enough. You have to act on it earlier, commit to the elimination further from goal, and trust the interplay to create something more concrete than a speculative cross. Without that recognition and early action, the defenders simply recover, and the moment passes.

The Men’s Final: When Stats Tell One Story and the Game Tells Another

The men’s final between Gantoise and Kampong was a masterclass in why coaches cannot rely on dashboards alone. Thanks to data shared by The Secret Analyst, we could see that Gantoise dominated possession, created 21 circle entries to Kampong’s 10, and generated an expected goals figure of 4.8 compared to Kampong’s 0.4. On paper, that should have been a comfortable Gantoise win.

Kampong won 3-2. Shot conversion: 67%.

Williams made the point perfectly. “You can look at all of this from a coaching and team perspective and go, well, on that data sheet, on that dashboard, it is the game we wanted. On any other day that could look like a comfortable win. So at that point you can say, maybe it’s just bad luck, maybe it wasn’t our day. But that’s where I think, from a coaching perspective, am I going to take that as being the definitive story of the match, or am I going to look in more detail at some video?”

And when you do look at the video, the cracks appear. What Williams identified was a recurring theme in Gantoise’s defensive structure: a lack of cohesion around who should be pressuring the ball carrier, and when.

In several sequences, the nearest defender hesitated while a teammate further away committed. This left passing lanes open and allowed Kampong players, even from limited chances, to find just enough space to finish. And at this level, that is all it takes.

“At this level of hockey, you can’t be giving people uncontested or relatively uncontested passes in,” Williams warned. “What you see at this level is very, very little opportunity needed for people to finish extraordinarily well.”

One goal came from what Williams described as little more than a slight error from Alexander Hendrickx. “The trouble is, he’s giving it to someone of equal quality, Telgenkamp. And that’s as much as a sniff as people at this level need.”

Pressure on the Ball: Decision-Making Over Structure

This became the thread running through the entire review. Whether it was a free hit, an outlet, or a transition moment, the question kept coming back to the same place: who is responsible for putting pressure on the ball, and are they doing it quickly enough?

Williams was careful to point out that this is not about man-to-man versus zonal defending.

“It’s all still about decision making,” he said. “The biggest problem I have is when someone goes, ‘well, yeah, I’m doing my job, I’m where I’m meant to be.’ But actually, if someone’s running in and making a pass into the circle, we need that pressure put on the ball. And that’s about decision making, not structure.”

He even made the slightly provocative observation that teams playing with 10 players can sometimes defend better than with 11. “The great thing about being down to 10 is that it takes the pressures of structure and responsibility away and just says, deal with the danger. And that’s quite often why it’s so very, very difficult to break down a team that’s down a player, because they are using instinct and decision making and scrambling, which is very different to the more organized and structured type of defence.”

Training Overloads and the Counter-Attack Problem

A question from the audience about training these overload situations drew a practical response. Williams pointed out that small-sided games, while valuable, often lack the geography and speed needed to replicate real match scenarios.

“What makes those examples interesting is that the elimination needs to happen earlier. One of them is probably around 40 meters from goal, one about 30 meters. But if you can do that, and that’s where the technical risk is, the defenders get back. So what happens in a small-sided game is that you can’t replicate either the range of the play or the speed of it.”

The implication for training design is significant. If we want our attackers to recognise and exploit overloads on the counter, we need to set up sessions that mirror the distances, speeds, and decision windows of the real thing, not just the principles.

Williams also addressed the issue of depth in counter-attacks. When attackers run level with the ball carrier, defenders are happy to simply sprint back and reset. “Without actually making a pass, nothing’s going to change the defenders from what their current thinking is, just get back, get numbers around it and then see what we can get on it.” The solution? Engage defenders through early passes, force them to commit, and create the two-on-one situations that actually lead to goals.

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The Basics Still Win

When asked what a club coach training twice a week should take from the EHL, Williams brought it back to fundamentals.

“You can’t do any of this top end stuff without having the platform of the basics. You’ve got to be able to pass it.”

And then the patience piece.

“Everything takes time. You can’t just say it and expect it to be done. You’re going to have to walk through it. You’re going to have to do it over and over again to develop mind maps of players. And as a coach, you need to be patient with that. Definitely take away the good stuff, but just recognize the length of the road that you’ve got to walk to get there.”

That is perhaps the most honest and important message from the entire review.

Three Takeaways for Your Coaching

1. Recognise overloads earlier and act on them further from goal. Whether it is a four-on-two or a three-on-two, the elimination needs to happen before the defenders recover. Train your players to read the numbers and commit to interplay at 30 to 40 meters out, not just inside the circle.

2. Pressure on the ball is a decision, not a position. Regardless of your defensive structure, someone must take responsibility for closing down the ball carrier. When that does not happen, even the best-organised defence can be undone by a single well-placed pass. Coach your players to prioritise danger over role.

3. Trust the process and invest in the basics. The best teams in the EHL did not get there by copying highlight reels. They got there through relentless repetition of fundamental skills and game understanding. Take the inspiration, but be honest about the road ahead, and be patient enough to walk it.

Some bonus stuff here ↓

Why the Upright Hit Still Matters

Today’s field hockey is heavily dominated by push passes, sweeps, flicks, and overheads. This has led to the near-extinction of the upright hit as a primary skill in pivotal moments. Especially post build-up, breaking lines, and structured counterattacks. Despite statistics showing 70% of passes are pushes and only a handful of hit passes outside shooting or corners, the upright hit offers solutions no other technique can provide at speed when executed correctly.

The hit pass, done well, is more than nostalgia. It’s a tactical weapon. It allows teams to skip defensive lines, introduce variety, and add unpredictability, particularly against compact or well-drilled zonal blocks. Modern teams that embrace this, like the Indian women’s team, manage to manipulate opposition defensive structures not by chance, but by intent.

How to Implement This in Day-to-Day Training

• Include It in Your Drills: Integrate upright hit passes into warm-ups and small-sided games. Let athletes play ‘mini-golf’ style hitting games, or only award points for hits that reach a target zone. This introduces the skill in a “no-pressure” context.

• Purposeful Scenario Training: Specifically coach hit passes in build-up phases, counterattacks, and ball entries into the circle. Start with low-pressure scenarios, as “if you use that, we have big chances to get successful,” as Fede Tanuscio highlights.

• Emphasize the Short Grip: The modern evolution of the technique, the short grip upright hit, is faster and doesn’t force players to break their stride, making it more compatible with present-day hockey tempo. “If I have to pick one, I will take one of that,” Tanuscio said regarding technique selection.

• Decision-Making Cues: Teach your ball carrier to assess time, space, and numbers before opting for a hit. Ask, is there a link or ‘chest’ player available, and what’s the defensive structure ahead?

This “missing chest,” or link pass, is the essence of the upright hit. Using it to break lines when opportunities present, not just as a relic of slower tempos.

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“Aerials are at the moment right now, in my opinion, like a normal passing skill. In the future, I think that this should be done already with under-12s, 14s, with a normal passing. Like, we learn how to hit as soon as possible. As soon as we have an individual capable of doing a high ball, that’s the soonest that we can play on.”

That quote from Tin Matkovic, currently coaching in Germany and working with the Polish national team, should probably make a few of us stop and think. Because if we are honest, most coaching programmes still treat the aerial as a specialist trick rather than a foundational skill. And yet here is a coach operating at a serious international level telling us that the high ball belongs in the same toolbox as the push pass and the hit. Not as a last resort, not as something you only let your strongest player attempt, but as a core part of how your team moves the ball.

The crucial lesson here is simple but maybe uncomfortable for many coaches: if you are not integrating aerials into your training from a young age, you are already behind. The game is evolving, players are getting smarter and more creative with how they use height, and the teams that treat the aerial as just another way to pass are the ones creating problems that defences simply cannot solve.

Why You Should Watch the Full Masterclass

This article captures the key insights from Tin Matkovic’s masterclass on The Hockey Site, but the full session goes much deeper. Tin walks through video clips from international matches, breaks down specific tactical scenarios in real time, and shares his screen to illustrate landing zones, defensive structures, and creative aerial execution in ways that are hard to do justice in written form. If you are a paid subscriber, the full video is available behind the paywall and it is well worth your time. Seeing the clips alongside Tin’s analysis gives you a completely different level of understanding compared to reading about it. The interactive Q&A with coaches watching live also adds a layer of practical discussion that you will not want to miss.

Takeaway 1: Know Your Landing Zones and Read the Opposition

“You imagine that you have an NFL match where every meter counts. So this is what we want. We want to sometimes skip the game.”

One of the most valuable parts of Tin’s presentation is how he breaks down the concept of landing zones. Rather than just lumping all aerials into one category, he explains how the choice of where to land the ball changes completely depending on what the opposition is doing defensively.

When playing against a zonal defence, Tin prefers landing zones on the outside of the field rather than through the middle. The reason is tactical and quite elegant. If the zonal team wants to intercept or contest the ball within the five-metre rule, they have to shift and stretch their shape. That movement opens up space through the middle of the field for a flat pass, a “Flach” as Tin calls it. So the aerial to the side is not the end goal, it is the trigger that forces the defence to react, and that reaction creates the real opportunity.

Against man-marking systems, the game changes. Here it is about momentum and speed into empty space. You are trying to manipulate your marker and then exploit the gap that opens when they cannot keep up. The landing zone is less about fixed positioning and more about timing your run to arrive in space before the defender can recover.

The takeaway for coaches is that aerials are not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to prepare your team to read the defensive structure they are facing and adjust their aerial targets accordingly. Training sessions should include scenarios against both zonal and man-marking setups so players learn to recognise which landing zones to target in the moment.

One practical way to build this recognition is through freeze-play scenarios. Stop the game just before an aerial might be an option and ask your players: what is the defence offering? Where would the ball land? What would the next action be? Then, after matches, map your aerials onto a simple field grid with your players, marking where successful deliveries landed versus where turnovers happened. When the team builds that picture together over time, the landing zone concept stops being the coach’s idea and becomes the team’s shared language.

Takeaway: Train your players to identify the opposition’s defensive system and choose their aerial landing zones accordingly. The aerial itself is only the first action in a chain, what matters is the space it creates and how your team exploits it.

Read on for the full breakdown: how to manage the player who overuses the aerial, why there is no “golden technique” for teaching it, and what to bring to training on Monday. Exclusive for paid subscribers.

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Too often, coaches in all sports (including hockey) assume that players coming off the bench will naturally bring energy, intensity, or clarity to the game. But as Sammy Lander makes clear, impact is not something to be passively expected—it has to be systematically coached, reinforced, and reflected.

Lander’s methodology starts with a challenge:

“Are you coaching impact or are you expecting it?”

This question should be at the core of how we prepare our squads, especially those players who aren’t starting but are called upon to change a game’s trajectory. According to Sammy Lander, “I don’t think we coach impact. I don’t think we have any process that allows us to coach it, but there is a real high expectancy of having an impact.” That disconnect cuts straight to the heart of our practice as coaches.

Why this matters for field hockey coaches:

Unlike football, field hockey runs on rolling substitutions. Everyone (or almost everyone) gets minutes, and the nature of rotation means any player might start, finish, or be called into a high-pressure situation late in the game. That fluidity gives coaches enormous tactical flexibility—but only if we’re deliberate in how we manage it. If we just throw players into the mix and expect them to “bring impact,” we risk missed opportunities, lost momentum, and reduced clarity.

So, how should you use this insight in your week-to-week coaching?

1. Coach ‘impact actions’ specifically.
   Design sessions where players are regularly thrown into game scenarios after a spell on the sideline—simulate them entering play cold, and coach their first two actions. Field hockey’s fast transitions mean impact must be immediate, not something players ease into.

2. Define roles for each substitute.
   Before every match, be clear: who is your energizer, closer, exciter, or game-changer? Sammy Lander applies tactical identity labels to bench players (“your ability to bring intensity and freshen our energy, our physical energy on the pitch up…”) and tracks their KPIs. Apply that to hockey—identify for each rotation what your tactical goal is, then give individualized feedback.

3. Gather feedback and data.
   Don’t just review your best players. Develop reflection forms for your subs too. Use simple stats or even video if possible. Compare them to the “average” for their role. Did your closer help defend a lead? Did your energizer maintain intensity in the fourth quarter?

4. Build a ‘substitutes union’.
   Avoid isolating bench players. Make your subs a collective, responsible for values like ownership of specific tasks, energy, and readiness. Check the warm-up routines: are you coaching the bench to stay ready, or are they passively waiting? As Lander puts it: “You have to help us become part of this process.”

By coaching impact, rather than expecting it, you’ll turn every rotation or substitution into a deliberate tactical tool. If you build your week around this process, matchday becomes the culmination of a plan, not a random gamble.

Three Key Takeaways for Field Hockey Coaches ↓

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Why is this so crucial, and why does it need to be renewed focus?

Because field hockey today is played at even greater transition speeds, and modern teams thrive on turning your errors into their scoring opportunities. We’ve all been there: lose the ball in a moment of over-ambition, and suddenly your entire defensive structure is broken apart by a well-drilled or instinctively direct opposition. It’s in these two-to-three seconds after losing the ball—the “rule of two seconds”—where games are often won or lost. As Fede Tanuscio puts it, “For me, it’s very important to identify the player who recovers the ball and if they want to play forward. If they want to play forward, maybe it’s cutting the vertical lines. If they want to do ball possession, we leave, make the pass on the lateral, and after we put pressure over there again.”

Why intentions over positions?

Because when players lock in on simply running to fill pre-determined spaces, they ignore the actual intention of the opponent carrying the ball. The real-world consequence: defenders repeatedly fill “the right spot” just as a clever attacker bypasses them with a pass or a run they didn’t predict. By coaching our teams to “read the play”—to see what the opposition wants to do next—we fundamentally increase our chances of cutting out the highest-risk options. We force the attacking team into their less dangerous alternatives or into prolonged possession, with our structure already reset.

Practical Application in Day-to-Day Coaching:

1. Coach Intentions During Conditioned Games: Add constraints in small-sided games that require the defending team to intercept not just the ball, but the likely next pass. Pause the drill and ask: “What did you read from their first touch or body position?”

2. Make the ‘Rule of Two Seconds’ Explicit: After each turnover in training, run a 2-second count. Train your players to act without hesitation, focusing on the immediate intention of the ball-winner.

3. Video Feedback: Use match video to pause after loss of possession. Ask: did we defend the intention, or just spaces?

4. Communication: Demand that your free defender (or central cover player) leads with verbal cues about intentions, not just positions. This aligns with Fede Tanuscio‘s emphasis: “For me, it’s the key player who has the signals and the communications to read…for me, again, it’s about intentions and not position—what they will do. When they recover.”

By embedding this principle into every drill and match preparation this week, your team will become dramatically better at choking off dangerous attacks before they fully ignite. Don’t let this become another buzzword—operationalize it in your core sessions.

Why Watch the Whole Masterclass?

The step-by-step breakdown in the video takes you well beyond theory. There’s a brutal honesty about the practicalities—where coaches go wrong, how international teams structure their rest defense, and why subtle shifts in principles change outcomes. If you want real field examples, session designs you can run this weekend, and detail on everything from recycling press to coaching creative attack without sacrificing defensive balance, you want to see the full picture. The Q&A dives into exactly the sorts of scenarios you face on a weekly basis. For those who want to challenge and evolve their own rest defense setups, reading and viewing the whole session is essential.

3 Take-Aways ↓

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Simplicity and consistency in hockey conditioning beat complexity and sporadic intensity—every time - Glenn Turner

Field hockey, at all levels, is prone to overcomplicated physical training. Coaches often default to introducing heavy lifts, complicated gym routines, or endless shuttle runs because these seem “elite” or simply because that’s what they see at the highest levels. Yet, as highlighted throughout this masterclass, the real key is building an aerobic and movement foundation—one that players can execute consistently, without requiring elite-level facilities or risking unnecessary injury.

As Turner explains, “I think it’s a lot simpler than it can be made out to be...I think we overcomplicate things through the strength and conditioning world.” Instead of rushing players into advanced strength work or technical gym lifts, coaches of all levels should double down on fundamental bodyweight movements—squats, lunges, push-ups, simple chin-ups—done well and done often. These should be embedded regularly, before or during training, setting a physical baseline that both minimizes injury and directly translates to hockey.

Why simplicity works:

• Accessibility: You don’t need a full-time S&C coach, fancy equipment, or gym access.

• Relevance: The nature of hockey is aerobic with intervals of high intensity. No exercise will replace the need for field-based running, but building strength for movement and basic aerobic capacity is non-negotiable.

• Longevity: Turner is candid about injury pitfalls from poorly tailored programs: “I’ve seen too many injuries in hockey...ruining careers as well by programs that are designed for different things. Not designed to run around a hockey field for 60 or 70 minutes...” The logic is simple: master movement first, then layer on complexity later—if it’s even needed.

How to apply this, daily:

• Incorporate bodyweight squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks in your warmup, regardless of age or level.

• Make aerobic base (think simple continuous runs or steady intervals) part of players’ weekly homework, not just shuttle sprints on the field.

• Focus on technical proficiency and volume with each movement before adding resistance.

• Mix short “movement blocks” between hockey drills—turn bodyweight strength & mobility into a team routine, rather than a chore.

For all the talk about tailoring conditioning to playing position or individual needs, the biggest return comes from simply having every athlete move and run well—week in, week out. That’s where you keep players on the pitch and get the best from their skills, not just their fitness test scores.

“Fifty body weight reps at a good depth is way more beneficial for your hockey than three big reps of squats...you have to start on the foundation and the movement first.” – Glenn Turner

Get the 6 week program by Glenn

Why watch this session?
This workshop breaks down common misconceptions about hockey conditioning with real-world advice you can use straight away. Turner doesn’t just talk theory—he brings specific, actionable detail on how to balance technical and physical demands, adjust workloads over a long European season, and keep players motivated (even when they’re juggling work, study, or multiple teams). You’ll get practical tips on running warm-ups, simple testing and progression, and—crucially—the best, lowest-risk way to actually get your players fitter.

If you coach field hockey, at any level, and want an honest look at what works (and what doesn’t) in player conditioning—this is essential viewing.

Paid subscribers—read on for an extended breakdown of the top 3 actionable takeaways from this masterclass, plus detailed guidance on how to build a conditioning approach that actually works in the chaotic day-to-day of club hockey.

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Effectiveness is very often tied to clarity, execution, and understanding your own team’s strengths.

Why Simplicity?

Penalty corners are a unique moment in field hockey—predictable in numbers and structure, yet a fertile ground for creativity and tactical subtlety. The variety of PCA routines seen at the highest levels can be dazzling, from triple castles to intricate, multi-touch maneuvers. But the statistical reality is that more touches mean more potential points of failure. As Tin Matkovic puts it:

“If you have the best variation in the world executed and it needs seven touches, you also have a bigger rate of people making an error.

Most teams, aside from those with a world-class drag-flicker, will need to rely on clever variations. However, these need to be built around what your group can realistically deliver under pressure—and on imperfect pitches, or with different runner speeds. Don’t simply copy what you see from the top level hockey unless your players are comfortable doing so at full speed.

How to Apply This in Day-to-Day Coaching

• Assess Your Tools: Start with a candid look at your team. Who are your injectors, stoppers, flickers, and runners? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Build your options based on what consistently works on your training pitch, not in someone else’s highlight reel.

• Prioritise a High-Percentage Option: Your “Plan A” should always be one you trust under stress and can execute with a high success rate. Drill this relentlessly, and make adaptations for bad pitches or fast opposition runners.

• Develop a Realistic Plan B: You need a second option for when your main flicker is injured, misfiring, or benched. This variation shouldn’t add three passes and extra runners—think: slip left, direct slap to goal, controlled tip-ins, or rebound focus. “If we can have it easier and score a goal, why not?” Tin Matkovic asks.

• Test Under Pressure: Use game-realistic scenarios in training. Simulate match adrenaline, variable pitch quality, and defenders who know what’s coming. Gather feedback, then refine.

• Make It Player-Led: Foster ownership. Let your PCA unit give input on which routines they feel most confident in, especially under match pressure.

Above all, strive for a system where every player understands why each role exists, and where routines are robust enough to survive the chaos of real matches.

Why Watch the Full Masterclass?

A written summary can only scratch the surface. Tin Matkovic covers nuanced details, from how pitch quality and injection speed dictate your options, to real-world examples of both successful and catastrophic variations seen at the European and Asian levels. The masterclass brings routines to life with video, explores PCA/PCD structural battles, and invites questions on specific problems coaches face week-to-week.

If you want your penalty corner routines to go beyond imitation—to be grounded in your team’s reality, adaptable, and executed with high confidence—watching the session and diving into the full discussion will be well worth your time.

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In this insightful masterclass, Henk Verschuur, a grandmaster in the classical martial arts, sports administrator, university lecturer, and a well-travelled coach, shares his cross-disciplinary expertise. While not a field hockey specialist by training, his recent collaborations with some of Europe’s leading national teams, both women and men, offer rare vantage points. By partnering with coaches such as Jamilon Mülders (Dutch women’s team) and André Henning (German men’s team), Henk Verschuur has embedded himself at the frontier of elite performance, focusing on the “who” and “how” behind coaching under pressure.

This session, hosted by Ernst Baart of The Hockey Site, foregoes the slide decks and highlight reels, instead offering a conversational deep dive with direct applications for the experienced field hockey coach.

The Roots and Breadth of Cognitive Coaching

Henk Verschuur opens by establishing a critical but often-overlooked axis for coaches: self-awareness. With decades of experience as both athlete and sports executive, he has studied under the likes of Henry Mintzberg, examining “human intrinsic strategy”—the intersection of personality, motive, and function within high-performance settings. Contrasting his martial arts and football backgrounds with his more recent field hockey collaboration, Henk Verschuur notes a striking difference—field hockey players display an extraordinary intrinsic motivation and athleticism, unmatched even by some “professionalized” sports environments where monetary motives muddy the waters.

However, despite this mental edge among athletes, Henk Verschuur cautions that field hockey culture—as in many sports—remains conservative regarding the mind. Coaching certificates often emphasize technical and physical prowess, nearly ignoring the “vessel” of it all: the coach’s own mind. Technical directors and federations may enforce tactical fluency but provide scant education into the cognitive subtleties required to manage minds—athletes’ and coaches’ alike—under real stress.

Who Coaches the Coach? A Flaw in the System

A major thread in the conversation is the glaring gap: while elite athletes now routinely benefit from sports psychology, coaches themselves are often left unsupported. Ernst Baart confirms this with examples: football coaches often travel with their own “coach of coaches” over decades, but hockey rarely invests in such ongoing mentorship.

Henk Verschuur outlines how the coach’s mental state—whether under-threat by results-oriented boards or the weight of legacy—directly bleeds into team dynamics. Even the most professional, technically-brilliant coaches cannot escape the psychological “spoon of petroleum” that can sabotage a “good pan of soup.” He works directly with coaches not only on personal balance but on strategy, staff management, and emotional alignment, noting that the national program setting (where teams are transitory and staff transient) requires even more nuanced support.

Multidisciplinary Alignment: Staff and System

The conversation turns toward the architecture of successful staffs. Does diversity of temperament, experience, and background strengthen teams? Henk Verschuur asserts that success lies not in a simple formula, but in a chef’s precision—constructing a staff not by default, but through deep profiling of the team’s needs. Should an assistant coach be a challenger or a supporter? Novel systems fail if no one on the staff can identify or profile group and individual dynamics with rigor and open-mindedness.

Too often, top players-turned-coaches manage according to how they were once managed, neglecting that today’s athletes are a different breed cognitively, emotionally, and socially.

Cognitive Overload: Messaging Under Pressure

One of Henk Verschuur’s most practical contributions relates to the quarter-time or halftime team talk. Field hockey’s modern rhythms give coaches two to three minutes to deliver talking points, often after a period of high-intensity, emotionally-charged play. Yet studies show that in this window, players are often still mentally digesting what just happened; information overload at this point rarely sticks.

Henk Verschuur emphasizes the importance of brevity and relevance. At these junctures, a few well-placed cues—oft-rehearsed and emotionally “hooked” in prior preparation—are more effective than tactical lectures. Additionally, coaches must read the room: recognize states of agitation, fatigue, or motivational deficit, and tailor non-verbal communication accordingly.

Preparation, Alignment, and Training the Mind

Many coaches, Henk Verschuur acknowledges, lack deep training in sports psychology or cognitive science. Yet he contends that curiosity and “relentless reading” can elevate one’s practice. Technical mastery without mental insight too easily devolves into “monkey see, monkey do.”

Athletes—especially youth—are changing rapidly, both in learning style and psychological complexity. Coaches must leverage even basic understanding of developmental psychology to avoid mismatches in messaging and motivation, especially when dealing with parents who may unwittingly add pressure rather than provide safety.

The famous field hockey team circle during team talks, for example, is not just tradition but an emotional and cognitive “reset,” re-activating unity and prime attention in a high-stress situation.

Failure as Information: Resilience Under Duress

Of all the mental skills addressed, Henk Verschuur prizes the athlete’s (and coach’s) relationship to failure. He advocates for training both the coach and athlete away from the self-fulfilling prophecy of “it’s not my day” to embracing all setbacks as data—curiously, openly, and constructively. Drills that combine high heart rate (running) and cognitive overload (number games) can, over time, build an “expanded baseline,” allowing players to process disruption, recover composure, and make good decisions, even when the game’s at its most chaotic.

The Relationship Foundation: Trust, Communication, and Coaching Moments

Finally, the true core of cognitive coaching is relationship—of trust, reliability, and consistency.

Coaches cannot demand openness; they must earn it with authentic behavior, emotional regulation, and non-hierarchical engagement. Some of the best “coaching” takes place off the pitch or outside structured sessions—at the coffee machine, in the corridor—where status and pressure are minimized.

Q&A Summary

The session concludes with several pointed questions from the audience, each foregrounding the practical challenges faced by working coaches.

One coach asks about strategies for postmatch reviews. Henk Verschuur emphasizes timing and digestion: sometimes immediate feedback serves, especially for quick key points, while deeper reflection may be best saved for after rest and recovery.

Cognitive overload is a real risk; the coach’s job is not to say everything they want to, but to assess what the team can actually absorb.

A perennial issue concerns staff communication and player engagement in the critical team huddle. Some players may be distracted, emotionally disconnected, or physically absent. The response: preparation is key. Establishing the team circle as both an “emotional clue” and practical framework must be reinforced not only as a tradition but as a deliberate tool—a ritual that underpins unity and message retention. In moments of chaos, cueing techniques and conscious breathing can function as anchoring procedures to maximize group focus.

Another inquiry highlights how to help athletes balance external (game environment, opposition) and internal (self-monitoring, technique) focus, especially under stress. Henk Verschuur offers cognitive overload drills and the process of re-framing mistakes as fleeting, informational, and recoverable rather than as permanent failures.

Coaches also probe the boundaries between coaching and psychology—how to recognize when an athlete’s issue exceeds coaching remit and requires expert referral. Henk Verschuur is unequivocal: basic mental skills coaching requires a foundation of trust, psychological safety, and an honest assessment of whether the challenge at hand is within the coach’s competence.

Building trust, especially early in the coach-athlete relationship, was discussed as best achieved through consistency, reliability, and emotional regulation. Only through such behavioral credibility do opportunities emerge for authentic, open dialogue and deeper impact.

Conclusion and Practical Takeaways

This masterclass with Henk Verschuur offered a distinctly valuable lens for field hockey’s coaching community—a challenge and invitation to move beyond “just” tactical and physical frameworks towards a truly integrated cognitive approach.

Takeaway 1: Coaches Must Be Coached
The cognitive demands on a coach, especially at the highest levels, require routine support, reflection, and personal development. Seek feedback, mentorship, or even external coaching to maintain your own resilience, awareness, and innovation.

Takeaway 2: Refine Both the Message and the Moment
In high-pressure scenarios—quarter talks, halftime huddles—brevity, timing, and emotional intelligence trump information overload. Prepare cues in advance, read your group, and favor resonance over quantity.

Takeaway 3: Trust is the Foundation
Without psychological safety, both athlete and coach are limited in their capacity for growth and honest exchange. Consistent, reliable, emotionally-balanced behavior from the coach builds openness, engagement, and the foundations for successful mental and tactical coaching alike.

If you’re eager to apply these insights in your coaching journey, we highly encourage you to watch the full masterclass on demand.

Think you could benefit from some individual coaching by Henk Verschuur, reach out to him via email ↓

E-mail Henk Verschuur

So, we kicked off 2026 with an interesting one. Let me know what topics or coaches you would like to hear more about for the rest of 2026 ↓

Suggest a topic or a coach for new masterclasses

Best wishes for the new year and I hope to see all of you here often 😉

Before you speak, read the emotional state of your team and empathize with what they’re experiencing in that moment.

It’s a deceptively simple concept and, for many experienced coaches, perhaps not even new. But its importance—and the impact it has on performance and buy-in—cannot be overstated. In the high-pressure contexts we face in the Hoofdklasse, international fixtures, or at the youth level, emotional pulse sets the stage for whether your technical and tactical messages will land, or simply wash over distracted minds.

Why Does This Matter?

Hockey is no longer a “one speech fits all” game. Since the introduction of the four quarters, matches themselves are a sequence of emotional arcs, requiring the coach to recalibrate and refocus at multiple moments. If you launch into instructions without connecting with your team’s state—whether they’re flat, anxious, angry, or already confident—there’s a high chance your message will miss the mark.

Players—senior or junior—bring the whole week with them to game day: stress, fatigue, excitement, nerves. Approaching team talks first as an exercise in emotional alignment is crucial for resonance. As Mati Vila shares, “If you are like in a too much different emotion than your team or you try to speak in a different emotion... you are not going to really connect with them.”

How To Use This – Your Practical Routine

1. Pause and Observe: Before you start talking, take 30 seconds to observe your players. Read body language; listen to what’s buzzing through the group. Are they scattered, focused, tense, or out of energy?

2. Acknowledge, Then Address: If your team is tense, acknowledge it. “I see we’re a little tense. Let’s use that—tighten up, but let’s keep our heads clear.” If they’re flat or distracted, name it and bring them back. “Eyes in, switch on—let’s reset for the next quarter.”

3. Adapt Your Tone and Message: Match your tone to the moment. Don’t overload detail if attention is low; keep things pointed and concrete. If the mood is flat, bring energy (without becoming a caricature). Empathy doesn’t mean coddling—sometimes, matching firmness to their state is what’s required.

4. Connect Individually, Even in Groups: Vila recommends occasional brief, personal messages—“find a moment to whisper a word just for them before play resumes.” That establishes trust and reminds everyone they’re seen, not just herded.

5. Make Every Talk Matter: Keep it short, clear, and always with an explicit sense of purpose. “Why does this half matter?” As Mati Vila says: “What are the stakes? Why do you care? Why should they care? Sometimes it’s about winning and sometimes it’s about pride, progress…”

Integrating Empathy: Day to Day

This isn’t a game-day-only strategy. Integrate emotional checks into your training week. When debriefing after practice, open the floor for a few observations—not just about tactics but about how the team felt about the session. Over time, this teaches your team that their emotional state matters and that you are attentive to it. Players become more likely to share what they’re experiencing, and you get better at reading what’s unspoken.

In summary, the finer points of team talk structure—who speaks when, how much detail, tactics vs. “let’s go!”—matter. But none of that matters if you aren’t tuned to the group in front of you, right now. Empathy before strategy is a force multiplier for everything you try to achieve in critical moments.

The 3 Main Takeaways for Field Hockey Coaches

Let’s dig deeper into the three most impactful lessons from Mati Vila’s approach to team talks—each one with practical frameworks you can use immediately in your coaching.

1. Team Talks Are Not Monologues—Active Engagement Unlocks Solutions

Many of us grew up with the image of the coach as a solo voice, dictating what happens next. But as Vila highlights, the modern team talk is far more about orchestration and dialogue, not lecture.

Practical Tactics:

• Brief & Focused: “Keep it short, brief and simple,” he insists. The modern player—especially at senior levels—“just wants to get back in the game or go and play. They aren’t really in a listening mode.”

• Clear and Consistent Directions: Don’t overload—stick to “one or two big themes or ideas,” always grounded in what you’ve worked on during the week, not on game-day inspiration.

• Open the Floor Intelligently: At crucial moments (especially halftime), invite opinions—“Better few relevant coaching points with also an opinion from players than monologue.” This isn’t group therapy, and it isn’t democracy, but it is engagement: ask “How did that first half feel?” to the right leaders, not everyone at once.

• Coaching Is Problem-Solving, Not Problem-Pointing: “We are there for giving solutions on the problems.” If emotions are high or attention is low, don’t just call it out—offer a clear way forward.

In Your Training:

Regularly build moments into practices where players diagnose issues or set priorities for a drill’s focus. Get them used to articulating, not just receiving. This not only raises their tactical IQ but establishes the habit of engagement, so when you need honest feedback on match day, you get it.

2. How You Deliver Is as Important as What You Deliver

Consider the “how”—your demeanor, tone, body language, the physical proximity of your squad during team talks. These “soft skills” are actually high-performance levers, and hockey teams—like all human groups—mirror the leader they see.

Key Insights from the Session:

• Emotional Calibration & Composure: “The team at the end is like a reflection of the coach. So the way you show, the way you act is what your team is going to also show.”

  • If you’re out of control, your team will reflect this.

  • Conversely, display composure and clarity, especially when the game turns chaotic or emotional.

• Energy Management – Not Volume for Volume’s Sake:

  • “Don’t confuse positive energy at certain moments with emotional outburst… One thing is to have a very positive energy; another is to be just on screaming and yelling.”

  • In tense moments (e.g., after a contentious umpire decision), add energy or calm as needed, but always intentionally—never habitually.

• Physical Closeness Matters:

  • Mati Vila: “Stay close, maintain physical proximity during team talks. Feel close to each other. This will foster a sense of teamwork… the human being is about this to get good connections…”

Implementation Tips:

• In matches, especially in the short two-minute breaks, call the group together (not some spread out semi-circle). You can even sit with backs to the stands so focus stays inward.

• Use silence strategically; a few seconds’ pause can sometimes command more attention than raising your voice.

• If you need to call out a player or give a “whispered word,” do it discreetly before the restart.

Apply this to your staff as well—avoid four people talking during breaks. Most points in-game should flow through the head coach. Keep the “one voice” principle to preserve clarity and impact.

3. Adaptation Over Dogmatism – Know When to Stick and When to Switch (with Player Buy-In)

Perhaps the most underrated—and least formulaic—element of Vila’s philosophy is the ability to pivot mid-game, and to do so in a way that brings players with you, not behind you.

The Decision Tree

After a poor quarter or first half, ask yourself:

• Was the game plan correct, but not executed?

  • If so, double down—reinforce positively, get team leaders to verify, and repeat the central messages from the week’s prep.

• Are there doubts?

  • Solicit quick, targeted feedback from experienced or influential players. Do they see what you see? “If you are not sure… let some experienced players also have an opinion to see.”

• Is it clearly failing?

  • “If definitely it’s a no… just change. But then convince the team that you have to switch and go immediately on a plan B…”

But this switch isn’t a surprise—“be a coach who likes to have at least a plan B which is already also talked and trained during the week.” Panicked, off-the-cuff tactical shifts usually create uncertainty and erode trust.

Practical In-Game Usage:

• At Quarters: Use the two-minute break to gauge, not micromanage. If things are simply off, focus on energy, attention, and a couple of cues for the next period—save wholesale changes for halftime.

• At Halftime: If a tactical change is required, use this longer window, with clear visual aids if possible, and make sure key players are on board before rolling it out.

• Player Involvement: Involve the right voices in confirming or adjusting the plan. This both disciplines your instruction (as impulsive new systems rarely thrive) and generates buy-in.

In Your Weekly Work:

Set up “if-then” scenarios in sessions. If we’re 0–2 down, what’s our adjustment? This makes switching plans second nature, rather than a shock.

Honorable Mention: The (Often Forgotten) Emotional Debrief

At the end of the game, don’t skip the immediate huddle—even (or especially) if emotions are raw. Vila notes, “if every player goes off the game with a different idea, then they go in an interview and one says one thing… or parents or public or whatever.” Use this quick meeting to:

• Acknowledge emotion (win or lose, anger, pride, frustration)

• Set the shared narrative (“Here’s what we learned, here’s what’s next…”)

• Reinforce continuous learning—“every match into a lesson and transforming mistakes into opportunities for growth.”

This not only solidifies your leadership but ensures the group moves forward together, with a unified sense of what matters.

Bringing It All Together for Training and Match Day

Empathy first—diagnosing where your players are, coaching the actual people in front of you, not the team you wish you had. Brevity and clarity over volume and detail, using dialogue and select key voices for input. Composure and energy management—setting the team’s collective emotional state by example, not just words. Flexibility, building tactical adjustments as part of the week, not as desperation. And finally, create shared meaning and closure right after the final whistle, every time.

If you internalize these three principles, you’ll find your messages land cleaner, your teams remain more responsive when under pressure, and your squad invests more deeply in your approach. This is what generates not just “performance,” but sustainable development and a true team identity—no matter what level you coach.

It’s a common refrain in field hockey coaching circles: “Get the basics right.” Still, as coaches, we tend to skip past the grip after our first few years on the pitch. However, as Adam and Ross emphasized throughout the workshop, grip, specifically how players position and transition their hands for different techniques, is the hidden engine behind so much of our sport’s ball control, passing consistency, defensive presence, and attacking creativity.

Why does this matter in daily training? First, correct grip habits accelerate technical development, especially for younger players. As Adam pointed out:

If we can get the hands in the right position for different techniques, then we’re off to a really good start in creating good hockey fundamentals.

What’s equally important is that grip isn’t just a ‘starting point’; it’s an ongoing focus, even with seasoned athletes or national-level squads. Habits change over time, muscle memory can drift, and subtle variations in hand positioning, whether catching, tackling, or drag flicking, can be the difference between a clean skill and an inconsistent result.

So, how should a coach leverage this insight? Here’s what the masterclass suggested:

Regularly Observe and Correct: Don’t just assume established players have a solid grip. Briefly observe grip during specific skill drills (receiving, ball carrying, aerials) and give direct feedback if you spot inefficiencies—even with older athletes. As Adam Falla explained:

Bad habits creep into the fundamentals all the time. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. And you’ve got to kind of have the confidence to say… your grip here is a few inches off.

Integrate Grip Variation into Drills: Use exercises where players are required to transition rapidly between different grips (e.g., frying pan to hammer during defense) to improve their adaptability. This is essential in defensive phases, as grip changes can make or break a seamless tackle sequence.

Focus on Grip for Power and Control, Not Just Technique: The masterclass provided actionable examples: moving the right hand down for receiving not only enhances trapping but gets players lower, in stronger body positions. Meanwhile, adjusting left-hand rotation for aerials or drag flicks can dramatically change ball flight or whip.

Normalize Grip Discussion With Advanced Players: Don’t shy away from ‘basic’ grip corrections with top-level athletes. Even the world’s best benefit from periodic checks—think of it as maintenance on an elite race car rather than fixing a problem with a learner. Grip tweaks in ball carrying, for example, allow vision and decision making to flourish. As Adam pointed out:

I think a good kind of example from another sport is the golf swing... Tiger Woods or whoever, they’re still getting a coach looking at very, very basic parts of their grip. The best player who’s ever played the world, his grip may shift over time because it’s just a tiny amount of detail. And he can’t tell that even as Tiger Woods, right, he still had a coach to guide him.

What Coaches Can Do Tomorrow

• Start every technical session by watching hand placement and challenging players to discuss or show their grip transitions.

• Build “grip review” periods into video analysis; use slow-motion clips on individual skills to spark conversation.

• Foster a culture where grip correction is seen as continual improvement, not criticism—coaches should aim for direct, clinical feedback.

• Above all, treat grip as a living detail of technical coaching. The moments spent coaching it are never wasted.

So if you’ve been fixated on drills, structures, and formations, take this as a moment to look down—not at your shoes, but at the players’ hands. Tomorrow’s improvements start there.

We encourage you to also sign up to Leap Hockey from the button below to get immediate free access to 4 more videos on the grip from Adam and Ross.

Sign up to Leap Hockey

But you will want to watch the full masterclass video here first 😉

Why You’ll Want to Watch the Full Masterclass Video

If you coach field hockey at any level, the nuances in grip and hand placement—demonstrated and debated in real time by the Leap Hockey team—will challenge your assumptions, improve your own observational skills, and provide immediate solutions to common technical problems. 

The video explores specific skills (receiving, defending, the aerial, drag flicking) in detail, with on-pitch demonstrations that bridge the gap between theory and practice. Watching the full video exposes you to subtle but powerful coaching points—many of which are impossible to capture in text alone. It arms you with a stronger visual and mental framework for your next session. For coaches committed to technical excellence, this is material you’ll want to digest, share, and revisit.

Ready to dig deeper? Below, for our paid subscribers, we’ll break down the three biggest coaching takeaways from the masterclass and offer practical guidance for applying these insights to your day-to-day work.

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Why is this critical? Most of us, whether we’re coaching adult social squads or development-oriented junior teams, have felt the conflict between high-achievers, casual players, and those somewhere in the middle. We try to set common goals, develop a consistent team culture, and run effective training sessions, but inevitably some people want more, others less. You cannot enforce a one-size-fits-all solution, or simply run things as you would with a homogeneous elite group. As Tin Matkovic put it:

“You have individuals in your teams that are all driven differently. I don’t think anybody wants to lose... but some of them find it super important, other people are finding it less important due to some defining it as their profession and some as their hobby.”

The actionable insight here is simple but often neglected: as coaches, it’s our job not only to observe technical and tactical strengths, but also to understand what drives each individual. From the blue-structured, detail-oriented types to the green harmony-seekers and orange result-driven competitors, if you can tailor your communication and feedback to their underlying motivations, you unlock a new layer of engagement—and from there, development.

How to Use This in Day-to-Day Coaching

1. Diagnostic: Incorporate a quick motivational test (or an honest conversation) with each player at the start of the season. Find out what drives them at a deeper level—not just what they say they want to achieve, but why they play.

2. Communication: Use the language that “lands” best for each player. For your blue-driven players, send clear training plans and objectives; for greens, highlight team harmony and feeling included; for oranges, focus on targets and opportunities to take responsibility. Tin Matkovic gave a great example: “With a blue-orientated person, I’d connect best just by sending an Excel sheet… for green, it’s all about being in harmony.”

3. Feedback & Goal Setting: Instead of generic feedback, tailor tasks and development objectives for each player, even within shared team sessions. This way, everyone feels their development is accounted for, and not just lost in the group.

4. Team Selection & Roles: When you have to select or deselect players, anchor those decisions not just in technical ability but also in role-fit—what drives them and how those drives serve the team engine.

This approach doesn’t mean splitting your squad into silos. On the contrary, it gives everyone a sense of belonging, maximises your retention, and helps you keep the team cohesive for longer, even if players’ skills or ambitions vary. You build trust, reduce conflict, and support a living, evolving team culture—crucial for mixed teams where change is constant.

“Getting them on board to understand their plusses and minuses gives you a bigger picture of success rate because then you can calculate your engine exactly... you’ll know how to communicate. Shout at one doesn’t mean that the second one will result in the same effect.” (Tin Matkovic)

Why Every Field Hockey Coach Should Watch the Full Masterclass

If you coach a squad anywhere on the spectrum from youth development to adult recreational, or you’re facing the challenge of making “mixed teams” work, this is the masterclass to dissect. It goes far deeper than simply splitting groups by ability or running a few extra reps. Tin Matkovic offers multiple, practical frameworks for balancing availability, ambition, experience, learning speeds, and role understanding—backed up by real, honest stories from inside the club environment. The session covers every major headache we all face in grassroots and club hockey: how to structure training, handle selection, communicate when ambitions clash, and keep everyone motivated without losing the plot.

Another interesting related masterclass for you to consider was the one about Team Dynamics by Theo ten Hagen.

Read on below (for paid subscribers)  ↓  for a detailed breakdown of the 3 biggest takeaways from this workshop—each one full of actionable advice and deeper commentary.

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Why is Compactness So Important?

When you lose a player, your defensive structure is compromised, but the solution isn’t to chase; it’s to tighten. “The most important principle, number one, is compactness,” says Fede Tanuscio. “Reduce the gaps between the lines.” It’s a simple concept: resist the urge for individuals to step out of shape or overcorrect. Your top priority must be to keep the space between defenders, midfielders and strikers crowded, denying the opposition the passing lanes and shooting angles they naturally hunt for.

In practical terms, that means coaches should routinely reinforce the habits of maintaining line integrity and teaching players to “slide” and “rotate” as a collective, not as individuals. During reduced-number scenarios in training, set your back line and midfield to always move together, keeping the distances tight. Drill zonal defence and work on communication—over-communicate, in fact—so that when a card comes, your team instinctively contracts instead of fracturing. To quote Fede Tanuscio:

“The job is not recovering the ball every time but delay, frustrate, and intercept. If your compactness breaks, you get mistakes, then cards, and you give away penalty corners, ...”

Translating This Into Everyday Training

It’s all too easy for coaches to focus solely on their preferred 11-a-side structure. Don’t fall into that trap. Instead, make underload scenarios a staple. At least once a week, run segments with a player missing, and alternate whom you “sacrifice” (striker, midfielder, etc) depending on the context you want the team to explore.

Run simple sessions that emphasize protecting the centre, sliding in blocks, and recovering backward instead of going for loose tackles. The approach isn’t purely defensive; training these principles also helps develop your players’ decision-making, patience, and collective confidence under pressure.

Critically, reinforce discipline when numbers are down. As Fede Tanuscio emphasized, “Avoid the second card.” The mental approach is what often leads to a second yellow or, worse, a red. Frustrated players who fly into tackles or lose patience with compact zonal marking aren’t just risking a goal against, but another numerical disadvantage.

Why This Is a Coach’s Priority

The lesson here isn’t just tactical—it’s psychological and cultural. Teams that are well-drilled in these principles weather tough spells with a sense of collective resilience. By embedding compactness and discipline into your weekly routine, your team will meet adverse moments with composure rather than panic.

“One player down is not defeat… You have to trust that even in bad moments you can pass through it in a good way.”

Why You’ll Want to Watch the Whole Masterclass

This workshop isn’t just about diagrams or theory—it’s packed with real-world analysis, practical session exercises, and video examples that show exactly how elite teams adapt when shorthanded. If you want your side to handle these pressure moments with the same poise as the very best, there’s no substitute for seeing the principles in action and digging deeper into how coaches can design sessions and communication structures around these game-defining situations.

Watch it in full and read on here  ↓ (only for our paid subscribers) for a breakdown of the three main takeaways that will shape your approach as a coach, complete with actionable advice and more insights.

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Many teams freeze or rush when they’re a player up. Sometimes, the pressure to “make something happen” causes rushed plays and unnecessary turnovers, wasting the numerical advantage. Tin’s key advice? Don’t confuse being one up with just “attacking harder.” Instead, focus systematically on how your team manipulates space, controls tempo, and stays disciplined. This means designing your training sessions so players instinctively recognize defensive structures and actively seek the right moments to overload, rather than defaulting to hopeful, chaotic plays.

Why this matters for daily coaching:

• Intentional Planning: Coaches must help players identify the opposition’s formation as quickly as possible when gaining an advantage. Is the opposition in man-to-man (Mandeckung), zonal, or a hybrid? Tin emphasized, “In tactical plan we first look at the oppositions, how they are standing...So in which known structure are they staying? So is it Zonal or Mandeku 1 vs 1 defense, is it zonal...with three strikers, three mids and now three defenders missing one or it’s more of a...some kind of zonal system.” That’s your cue to build drills that train visual recognition, not just technical skills.

• Structure Training: Sessions should frequently simulate plus-one situations—ideally 11v10 or 10v9—so players learn not only the tactical routes to goal, but how to remain composed and patient. “No first ball turnover. If the opposition is playing high, if we cannot play a risky pass, do not play a risky pass. That would be a clear one.” This sounds obvious, but how often do coaches let their teams “wing it” in these moments during practice? Make plus-one attacking drills a staple—not just as a punishment when you’re down, but as a goal-oriented module when you’re up.

• Balance Creativity and Rules: Coaches should clarify the difference between creative play and undisciplined risk. Encourage technical flair, but within clear frameworks—narrow vs wide build-up, targeted overloads, and checking mental readiness. As Tin puts it, “I like to teach is that in tactical plan we first look at the opposition...so this is what I asked them to see. And then we have this small principles of what do we want to do when we identified what the opposition is playing.”

• Self-Reflection and Team Feedback: One overlooked practical angle is building the habit of team feedback and on-field adaptation. Don’t force rigid plans when you see resistance; let leaders on your team signal when a change is needed. “I’m a big believer in organizing what we want to do, but also giving people the space of doing something out of the box. Because I think also that there is no universal plan that will always guarantee success.”

Make it routine in practice to stop, reflect, and tweak as a group. During review sessions, help them decode how to use numerical superiority wisely and recognizably.

Why watch the whole masterclass?

This session isn’t just about finding quick tips—it’s about building a robust decision-making environment for your players in live plus-one scenarios. Over an hour packed with visuals, real match clips, and in-session problem-solving, Tin Matkovic unpacks not just theoretical ideas but practical, granular strategies and exercises a coach can integrate immediately. 

Below, for paid subscribers, I’ve pulled out the three takeaways all field hockey coaches should bring onto the pitch, with detailed steps and training ideas for each.

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Why is this so critical? When players are involved, being asked to interpret situations, recognize patterns and errors, and propose solutions, they begin to own their learning. This cultivates hockey intelligence on the pitch. As we know, once the match starts and the pressure is on, players need to be able to read situations and make decisions without waiting for coach input. The video room becomes a rehearsal studio for exactly that scenario.

Here’s how you can put this into day-to-day coaching:

• Personalize the clips: Don’t just show a highlight reel or errors reel featuring a handful of players. Use a mix of team examples and personalized, position-specific sequences. Importantly, make clear that every clip is for everyone to learn from—not just the player in it.

• Shift the format: Replace part or all of your pre/post-game video briefings with small group tasks. Ask each group to review a sequence and come up with what went well, what didn’t, and what could be done differently. Have them present back to the team.

• Debate and reflect: Instead of giving straightforward answers (“You should have been here,” “That’s the wrong pass”), use Socratic questions. Let players debate tactics, options, and individual decisions. Sometimes the best learning comes from player-to-player exchanges, moderated by the coach.

• Integrate video everywhere: Bring iPads to the pitch, use quick replays between drills, and reference video examples as cues for individual technical work. As described, “I use video every time, everywhere…on my training sessions, I have three iPads on the field with the clips I want to show.”

• Keep it short: Factor in attention spans. Limit video sessions to 15 minutes. One strong sequence with a focused debate is more valuable than thirty minutes of rolling tape and lost focus.

This shift isn’t just about efficiency or making sessions more interactive. It’s about helping players develop the cognitive tools to interpret situations and make tactical decisions independently. As Sebastien Roland puts it:

“If you don’t take the time to make your players understand that the video can really help them, for me, it’s wasting of time… Let the players think, I mean, ask them questions, let them give their opinion, let them recognize situations, let them find solutions by themselves.”

This is not new advice, but it’s a lesson we all seem to need reminding of every season. Making video sessions truly interactive is how we create not just technically skilled players, but thinking hockey players.

Why You’ll Want to Watch the Full Video

If you’re a coach who feels the burden of maximizing every minute of training and meeting time, this is absolutely a session you’ll want to engage with. The approaches discussed here challenge some of the typical video routines seen in hockey and at the same time offer practical, no-fuss ways to raise your team’s match IQ. You’ll find discussion about using AI and stats without letting it drown your coaching instinct, advice on individualizing development plans linked to video, and strategies for analyzing the opposition in detail—none of which is just theory, but all grounded in field-proven workflow.

For a real step-change in your use of video and analytics, dive into the full workshop or read (paid subscribers only) the extended analysis that follows  ↓ . The most valuable changes you make this season could start with how you approach video this week.

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This isn’t just about playbooks or running more 2v1 drills. Fede goes beyond diagrams and session plans in breaking down what really works against a compact, low zonal block—one of the defining defensive trends in recent elite tournaments. The session is full of tactical insights, but let’s focus on why this principle matters so much in day-to-day coaching, and how to use it.

Why This Principle?

The first point Fede makes is straightforward: most teams these days default to a low zonal block when under pressure. The numbers from recent top-level games tell the story: even with double-digit circle penetrations, securing meaningful attacking outcomes against this defensive structure is hard work. The low zonal block's aim is clear—limit circle entries and force low-quality shots.

Learning to recognise, coach, and then break down this structure isn’t just for the top only. Wherever you coach, your side will meet teams that sit deep and force the game outside. And this is where clarity of structure and roles—combined with adaptability—must be at the heart of your solution.

How to Use This Principle in Daily Training

So how do you bring it onto your own turf, even with limited time and resources?

• Train the Standard "Back Five" Shape. A disciplined shape is non-negotiable for unlocking a zonal block: "That's why the standard structure is playing with a back five at the back… what we want with the back five is to have double width." Train your defenders and wide mids to really stretch the opposition and own the double-width principle.

• Rehearse Roles, Not Just Patterns. Fede's breakdown is detailed here: low mid stays opposite to the ball, strikers work as posts and lead inside the D, central defenders make smart infiltrations—not just for show, but to manipulate the structure and manufacture 2v1s within the block.

• Overload with Purpose, Especially Right. "One of the things they are doing a lot is overload one side, the right side... you have always more players to combine and get more outcomes in that zone." When you build drills or phase play, deliberately create overloads and rehearse quick switches and central channel attacks.

• Balance Rigidity with Player Creativity. Systems matter, but games (and blocks) are broken by moments. As Fede wisely points out: "Leave the part of the creativity as well open and then it's fine. Of course, we have to have standard situations, but if you have players who have that creativity, don't kill the creativity." Your best training environments are those where structured play, quick switches, and rotations exist alongside moments of autonomy.

• Use Unders, Not Overs. Fede drills his attacking play in "underdog" situations: always train underload scenarios (strikers vs. more defenders), because that reflects reality and exposes the team to real-game adversity.

"If we can break down the zonal system, and bring it to a man-to-man situation with infiltrations... that is one of the important points."
– Fede Tanuscio

Why Watch the Whole Masterclass?

This session is more than the usual tactics talk. Fede puts everything he observed from Europe’s top games into clear, trainable solutions—how to shape, overload, infiltrate, and when to let creativity off the leash. If you want to see video breakdowns, understand the specific roles and structures that create entries against a deep block, or need practical drills for your own sessions, you’ll find real examples and session plans here. Stay tuned for the detailed breakdown—session design, role specificity, and practical ways to train your players to beat a low zonal block—coming up for our subscribers 👇

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If you’re like most coaches, you already know the importance of feedback. But what Andreu makes crystal clear is that feedback isn’t just an add-on or a box-ticking exercise—it’s the heart of shaping behaviors and developing players, session after session. As Andreu himself explains,

“The most important responsibility of the coach during the training session is providing feedback... feedback is something that it's completely related to the action of the player.”

So, what does this look like in practice? According to Enrich, effective feedback has three essential qualities:

1. Immediate: The moment a player makes a notable action—especially a positive one—reinforce it quickly. Delayed feedback loses its power and relevance.

2. Specific: “If someone makes a good action, someone receives one ball and then controls moves with the ball ... you say ‘good’. Okay, what is good? ... The easiest way to do this, ‘Hey, good pre scanning.’ Good pre scanning directly after the good pre scanning. And then the behavior starts getting sedimented.”

3. Contingent: Avoid blanket praise. When “good” becomes an automatic response, it loses all meaning for your players. Instead, use feedback selectively and only when the action fits your coaching objectives.

Why does this matter so much? Because players are shaped by what gets recognized and reinforced. Consistently embedding sharp, actionable feedback into your sessions is how you genuinely shift habits, improve decision-making, and raise overall game intelligence on the field.

How to Put This Into Practice:

• During every drill and game, actively observe and pick out specific behaviors you want repeated. Praise them as they happen.

• Link your positive feedback to the tactical or technical objectives you set for the session—e.g., “Great job scanning before the pass,” or “Excellent change of direction on the press.”

• When providing correction, keep it concise and actionable. Where possible, reframe mistakes as opportunities for immediate adjustment—“Next time, angle your stick earlier for interception.” But don’t neglect celebrating the right behaviors; positive reinforcement is more powerful than negative.

• Be selective but consistent. If feedback becomes routine noise, it gets tuned out. Make your words matter.

And don’t neglect the small off-field touches. The “lubricant talk”—a quick, informal check-in before or after a session—can make a world of difference to a player’s confidence and sense of belonging, especially with more challenging characters or youth athletes. “Whatever you do, it’s always good to talk to the players... you just need to have [those conversations],” Andreu reminds us.

To sum it up: Purposeful, specific, immediate feedback—blended with human connection—is how you shape behaviors, boost learning, and keep motivation sky-high. If you only take one thing from this masterclass, make it that.

Want to see these ideas explored in detail? The full masterclass video dives into tactical periodization, structuring teams for small-sided games, integrating athletic coaching within hockey practice, and much more. If you care about building a high-performing team culture, or just want a library of practical ideas you can apply to your next session, you’ll want to buy the book, watch the whole session and read on below for an in-depth look and unlock those insights from Andreu Enrich.

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If you missed it live (we won’t hold it against you, tight coaching schedules and all), here’s a summary of the topics and highlights.

Meet the Mastermind: Tin Matkovic

For those new to Tin, here’s the quick intro: Croatian by heritage, now plying his trade as both a Bundesliga men’s club coach and a youth developer, Tin’s got a sharp eye for trends and a passion for breaking the mold. Creativity, especially in young players, is something he’s been thinking hard about for years. We moved the live session a bit earlier in the day to make it work with his schedule, and trust me—it was worth the coffee.

Key Topics Covered

1. Player Creativity vs. Coach Creativity
   The focus here wasn’t on outsmarting each other with drill design, but on how we can allow and encourage our players to surprise us on the pitch. Tin made it clear that, when it comes to creativity, players need space to explore and fail.

2. Evolution of “Super Skills”
   Think back 10-15 years—what used to be “special” technical skills (high-ball, 3D dribbling, aerial tap-ins) are now routine for many 14-year-olds. Why? Increased access to social media and global content, and a changing approach to what is prioritized in youth training.

3. Structure vs. Freedom
   Tin splits the modern evolution into three big phases: strict structure, hybrid structure/individual freedom, and—what we’re seeing more now—a creative era. The shift? Less ‘one-way-only’ coaching, more buy-in for letting players solve problems and exploit space as they see it.

4. Skill Repetition and Enjoyment
   “Creativity comes from repetition and enjoyment.” Tin's view: young players who are engaged and encouraged to try new things are the ones who stay late with a ball at their stick, and that attitude carries creative spark into match day.

5. The Power of Unpredictable Play
   Fake passes, body feints, last-second decisions. Whether it’s winning a 1v1 or nailing a shootout, unpredictable actions—especially those that can’t simply be drilled—are what set great players apart.

6. Creativity in Small Games and Drills
   Using small, game-like scenarios can foster decision-making and improvisation. For Tin, setting up 2v1 or 3v1 counterplays with rules tweaking passing or movement options helps develop smart risk-taking and overlapping runs.

7. Aerials and Tap-Ins: The New “Norms”
   We dissected some iconic high-ball goals (think Gover’s World Cup aerial tip-in), and discussed how skills that were once showstoppers are now part of the youth toolkit. Tin runs drills replicating these moments, including crazy catches and tip-ins using rebound nets and dummy defenders.

8. The Defender as Playmaker
   The days when defenders just “distributed” are over. The best modern defenders eliminate pressure and carry forward, sometimes breaking lines better than your strikers. Tin encouraged us to actively pursue this skill progression for both lines.

9. Managing Creative Risk
   So what about those tight-angle shots or back-post reverse-stick flicks? Tin is all for experimentation in the right context (“If it’s a training, let them try. In a game? Know your moments.”). But the overall point is: don’t stifle initiative—guide it.

10. Learning from Other Sports and Adapting Drills
    Tin admits he’s “not a football guy,” but finds inspiration in basketball, American football, and creative skills content across sports. The key: adapt ideas to your team’s abilities and tactical needs, not just because it looked cool on YouTube.

What Did We Learn?

• Creativity can be coached, but it needs space, buy-in, and repetition.

• The skills ceiling is higher now than ever—our job is to ramp up the “unpredictable” alongside the structural.

• Drills are tools, not straightjackets. Adapt, evolve, and keep an open mind (and maybe an Instagram account for sharing and stealing ideas!).

• Don’t forget defenders—they can be game-breakers, too.

• The future of hockey is multifunctional, creative problem-solvers on every line.

Now read on ↓ or watch the full video to go a bit more in depth…

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In modern field hockey, data analysis is an ever-expanding frontier, offering coaches, players, and analysts meticulously detailed pathways to improve performance. Central to this landscape are set pieces, with the penalty corner (PC) often cited as the difference between silverware and mediocrity at the top level. Yet, robust, actionable analytics in this vital area have historically lagged behind the scrutiny seen in other sports—until recently. At least for those watching the games from outside the coaching staff.

In our latest expert session, Lex Tump, player and captain for Hurley in the Dutch Hoofdklasse and the analytical brain behind The Dataduck, joined us to deliver a masterclass on extracting meaning from penalty corner data. With a background in Human Movement Sciences and a captaincy in the Hoofdklass, arguably the world’s most demanding domestic competition, Lex is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between data theory and pragmatic club execution. He not only brings deep statistical understanding but also battle-tested insights from the pitch.

Let’s dive into an extensive summary of Lex’s presentation, unpack the practical impact of his analysis, and explore the actionable insights shared for field hockey coaches operating at all levels.

Key Themes Explored

Recognizing a Data Gap and Building a Solution

Lex’s journey began with a personal frustration: the lack of rigorous, accessible data in field hockey, especially around the highly standardized and repeatable event that is the penalty corner. Unlike American sports, where data-centric performance tracking drives both tactics and fan engagement, hockey lagged behind. The Dataduck emerged as Lex’s response, focusing on filling this gap with a combination of easily digestible visualizations and deep analytical power, directly supporting player and coach performance.

Quantifying Penalty Corner Effectiveness: Debunking Myths

One of the opening focal points was the actual scoring percentage from penalty corners—a topic often awash in myth. While many youth coaching environments claim a one-in-three (33%) conversion rate as a benchmark, Lex’s data, canvassing both the 2023 European Championships (Euros) and the 2022-23 Hoofdklasse season, dismantles this notion.

The evidence is clear: in the Hoofdklasse, direct penalty corner conversion sits around 17%, and in the recent Euros, it plummeted to just 11%. These figures include first-phase—non-rebound—attempts only, making it even more striking how inflated the ‘one in three’ number is in coaching folklore. This realization is critical as coaches recalibrate expectations and focus on squeezing marginal gains from a more realistic baseline.

The Influence of Game Context and Defensive Evolution

Lex highlighted the increasing defensive sophistication around penalty corners, with improvements most pronounced in the quality and tactical training of the first runner. Modern equipment and more focused coaching have made first running a specialized craft, shrinking the shooting window and contributing to falling conversion rates.

Adding to this, pitch conditions, a slower European championship surface for example, give runners and keepers more time to react, further reducing attacker odds. Lex also underlined the importance of context: the pressure or ‘money time’ of PCs late in games can see elite specialists like Alexander Hendrickx or Jip Janssen (and their equivalents at club level) distinguish themselves, a reminder that raw stats sometimes flatten nuance without situational overlays.

Attack vs. Defense: What Predicts Table Position?

A central debate in coaching circles is whether a team’s PC success should prioritize attacking or defensive prowess. Lex’s Dataduck analytics offer compelling evidence:

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Developing the Next Generation: Insights from Bleby & Bateman on the GB Junior Men’s Pathway

If you’re coaching within a talent system or just interested to compare how the top nations transition youth into the senior game, this was your episode. Bleby brings a decade+ of experience in the England and GB system, now focused on the 18-23 age band and that crucial jump to senior hockey. Bateman is the go-to for everything U18s and coach education, known for his hands-on approach and practical insights.

The overarching theme? How Jon and Mark collaborate to make England’s and GB’s youth pathway competitive, cohesive, and future-focused—from grassroots to the brink of senior international hockey.

Key Topics and Takeaways

1. Role Clarity & Collaboration:
   Jon and Mark detailed how they actively bridge the U18 and U21 levels, ensuring seamless athlete transition and program alignment—a shift from “each age group in their own bubble” to a holistic, interconnected journey.

2. The Consistency Challenge:
   A big focus was consistency—not only in skill execution but in behaviors and off-field habits. Whether planning a week, personal S&C, or meeting the technical standards for progression, both coaches emphasized the impact of these basics.

3. The Influence of Multi-Environment Athlete Experiences:
   If you’ve ever envied the Belgian or Dutch club-centric systems, you’ll relate. England’s hockey ecosystem is a mash-up: school, university, and club—all pulling in different directions. This variety enriches the player, but can create confusion and inconsistency. Bateman’s job? Providing clarity amid the noise.

4. Individual Development Plans (IDPs):
   There was a lot of practical talk about using IDPs to anchor growth. Players own their plans, regularly share progress, and balance super strengths with areas for growth. This isn’t just a tick-box—they’re a continual dialogue between player, coach, and (sometimes) their wider support network.

5. Mindset vs Skill Dilemma in Selection:
   That classic conundrum—who gets picked, the super-skilled maverick or the relentless competitor? Both coaches agreed: you need a bit of both, and it’s rarely a straight “either/or.” Context matters, as does potential to develop the weaker side.

6. Preparing Athletes for Senior Trends:
   Tactical evolution (deep zones, aerial threats, etc.) at the senior level is mirrored in their junior priorities. They make sure junior internationals are exposed to current global trends so the “step up” isn’t a culture shock.

7. Importance of Learning to Win:
   Not just development for development’s sake—a real focus in recent years is on learning to win. Semi-finals, finals, high-pressure moments: they want junior internationals used to these scenarios.

8. The Realities (and Opportunities) of Open Pathways:
   Both coaches articulated a commitment to open doors. The pathway isn’t a one-shot deal: miss out at U18? There’s still a route to the EDP or U21s via clubs, wildcards, and ongoing monitoring.

9. Challenges—and Opportunities—of Club vs University vs Central Structures:
   Despite top universities offering world-class facilities, the step up in quality and experience you get at certain clubs (notably mixing with seasoned internationals) is still a work-in-progress. Blending both is a continuous balancing act.

10. Self-Reflection and Coach Development:
    Both Jon and Mark reflected on their personal growth as coaches—about owning your style, seeking critical feedback, and never waiting for the formal structure to hand you the next step. Mark’s advice? Be a “scholar of the game.”

Jon Bleby dropped a classic:
“The best players have the best basics.”
It’s not about the flash—it’s about repeatability under pressure at any level.

A Few Lessons, Quickly Summed

• No substitute for basics—on or off the field.

• Mindset and skill have to co-exist.

• The pathway is open and nuanced—late bloomers aren’t ignored.

• Aligning environments is key, even when structures are “messier” than on the continent.

• Coach your way; don’t be a clone.

• Stay current, both tactically and in your own learning.

Catch the Full Session On Demand

There’s so much more—including strategies for starting a youth program in “non-structured” hockey countries, dealing with Gen Z players (put the phones away at meals, folks), and lessons borrowed from other sports. If any of this has you nodding your head or furiously scribbling notes, do yourself a favor and watch the full session on demand. It’s a free for all session!

I hope you enjoy this exchange between hockey coaches…

Some love it for its tactical sophistication and miserly defense, others grumble about its conservative nature. As Fede put it, “It’s a very dilemma system about the people who like offensive and more open games and people who really like to defend.” But make no mistake: coached right, the low zonal block is a defensive brick wall that’s defining elite matches.

Here’s what Tanuscio unpacked in the session:

1. The Essence of the Low Zonal Block
Fede kicked things off by pinning down a working definition: the system forms a compact, zonal wall in your own quarter, stifling space, protecting the scoring area, and corralling opponents into mistakes. Think less chasing, more strategic suffocation:

“Play in a low system, run less, don’t have space for other team and insist the other team make mistakes.”

2. Formation & Structural Variations
The standard approach? Start with a back four, three zonal strikers and four mids with clear responsibilities — side mids on sidebacks, center mids on interceptions. But the beauty (and challenge) is in adaptability: structure shifts subtly when facing back three vs. back four offenses, demanding razor-sharp player awareness and coordination.

3. Key Principles: Compactness, Zonal Integrity, Patience, and Cover Lines
Fede drilled into four core tenets:

• Compactness: Defensive and midfield lines tight together, always ready for chaos management in the D.

• Stay Zonal (Not Man-to-Man): “If you do man to man, it’s very easy to manipulate the system.”

• Patience: Wait for errors; “At one point the other team will get frustrated... then you recover the ball.”

• Constant Line Coverage: Backs and mids always have each other’s covering lines, particularly as possession shifts.

4. Role Clarity by Line
Every group’s jobs were clear: defenders manage depth and mobility, mids focus on interception and lateral pressure, strikers shield the center. Fede’s clips repeatedly showed defenders sprinting out from the D to smother top-corner entries — a recurring theme for proactive block play.

5. Strengths — Why Bother?
When coached right, it’s hellishly hard to get quality entries or circle penetrations, especially with flicks, crash balls, or overheads. “Less possibility for crash balls, less time to cross the ball, less time to make a decision.”

6. Weaknesses and Vulnerabilities
Nothing’s perfect! The block needs top-corner vigilance; slow support or poor coverage exposes dangerous flicks and tip-ins. High concentration is non-negotiable, as mistimed positioning (too early or too late) makes the block leaky and beatable.

7. Coaching Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Common errors included poor line coverage, lack of communication, and over-complication from coaches. Fede reminded us: “Even at international level — keep it simple, stupid!”

8. Training Methods for All Levels
Don’t have a squad of internationals? No excuses! Core drills (e.g., mini-games for zonal awareness, small-sided press coverage) scale down beautifully to youth and amateur setups. Tailor for the age, emphasize communication, and build complexity gradually.

Session in a Nutshell:
This was a tactical deep dive for real practitioners: lots of boardwork, video breakdowns, open debate in the chat, and the kind of detail you only get from someone who loves the grind of defense as much as Fede. If your club or national team is still picking its defensive poison, or you keep bumping into low blocks that frustrate your forwards, these principles are essential.

Want more?
The full masterclass is now available on demand! Hit the link below for real-game video examples, practical session designs, and a lively Q&A full of actionable detail.

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Already a paid up subscriber? Read on for more of a deep dive from this masterclass. Or (re)watch the full video on demand above of course…

Let’s dissect the session’s essential points, highlight standout moments from the lively Q&A, and filter the theory into actionable insight you can take back to your squad—whether you’re already using zonal principles or starting to explore new options.

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