If you could take just one lesson from this masterclass to consistently improve your team’s effectiveness in the circle, make it this: principles-based training for nine-yard scoring. Whatever the level—junior club, elite international, or somewhere in between—the technical and decision-making underpinnings of scoring in the critical nine-meter zone dictate success. Too often, coaches focus their attention on the spectacular strikes from distance or complicated corner routines. But as Mike McCann clearly showed, around 53% of field goals at the highest level come from within the nine-yard area.
The temptation to obsess over set pieces and outer circle tactics is real. Yet, if you want your team (and especially your strikers) to deliver results, it’s essential to zoom in on the daily repetition and clarity of what happens in and around the nine-meter area. Let’s get practical. What does this mean for how you train?
Consider Mike McCann’s foundational view on principles. He splits nine-yard scoring into three categories: technical, decision-making, and physical. Coaches who’ve spent years in youth development will recognize the technical fragilities that often undermine young strikers—struggling to shoot at speed off both left and right feet, awkwardness in shooting with the wrong foot, or poorly-timed rebounds.
The solution, as Mike McCann details, is to drill core technical principles into every session:
Practice momentum towards goal, finishing off both left and right feet.
Insist on hands-in-front, maintaining optimal ball position for two-contact finishes.
Include rebounding in every small-sided game, and demand the attacker react, “get to goal,” every time the shot is made, not when they think they might receive the pass.
Why does this matter? Because what looks like “instinct” in top strikers is largely drilled habit, technical foundation, and relentless application of principles—especially under the chaotic pressure of crowded circles. It’s not about flashy footwork so much as building the default behaviors and muscle memory that pay off in goals, penalty corners, and persistent circle pressure.
As Mike McCann put it during this clinic:
“If you give all the good information and you work with the principles as early as you possibly can with eight, 10, 12 year olds, then the kids that are natural goal scorers will just become world class because they have the talent, they have the sniff, and they have the information. But I think we can also... I mean, I did it in my mind as well. I had some good hockey players that weren’t natural goal scorers, scored huge goals for us and put us in big big tournaments and won big matches for us because they also could learn to get the most out of their ability in that area.”
In daily club sessions, this means prioritizing realistic, match-like exercises that force decision-making at speed. Move away from static shooting drills and instead, create scenarios that test “stay or come” post-work, quick reaction to rebounds, and force players to shoot from their less dominant leg in traffic. Make every kid a problem-solver, and design your training so that the principles drive the practice, not the other way around.
Over time, these habits become second nature, and your team starts to find more goals in crowded, pressurized situations—not just the rare open shot. This is how mid-level club players and international-level strikers alike build critical instinct and consistency.
Why should you watch the full video or read the entire discussion?
Because there’s a depth of clarity and detail from Mike McCann in this session that’s impossible to summarize. From tactical decisions about “when to stay or come” at the post, to specific technical tips on shooting off both feet, to the undervalued psychology of striker mentality—this masterclass unpacks the practical steps behind elite goal-scoring in a way that’s immediately actionable for any field hockey coach, whatever the age group or standard. The Q&A section alone will answer the common coaching pain points you run into every weekend.
To go in-depth on the main three takeaways for your coaching—how to build technical foundation, decision-making clarity, and physicality into your nine-yard training, and make them stick—unlock the full post below.
