On October 22, 2021 we brought you one the best coaches from Australia, Ben Bishop. The former coach for the Australian U21 - and he has been in the role for many years - will be talking about off ball skills.
Ben Bishop
Bishop took charge of the U21 squad for Australia in 2015. The most important part of any junior coach in national team programmes is to develop players able to integrate their national team ready for the demands of international hockey and contribute to their team from the get go. So U21 coaches have a keen insight in developing the skills needed to perform at the highest level.
Off ball skills
We all know we spend less time on the ball and more off ball during games. The off ball skills might not be the most sexy for the fans or the media. But they're crucial for winning games as we all know.
Bishop take a look at the reasons, the stats and what we should learn from this with some great examples from among other the Tokyo Games… Do we take this into account when selection youth? How to recognise momentum. He talks about hierarchy, hockey IQ, character as well as several tactical moments in the game.
Off Ball Skills Mastery: The Overlooked Key to Field Hockey Success
For many coaches, our planning, drills, and post-game reviews are centered on technical, on-ball skills—receiving, passing, shooting, tackling. But here’s the essential takeaway from this masterclass: the vast majority of the game is played “off the ball,” and if you want to raise your team’s level, you cannot afford to neglect the off ball skills.
Field hockey, at its highest level, is a game where technical brilliance shines, but as Ben Bishop meticulously demonstrates, even the world’s best players will, on average, spend only about 3-4% of a 60-minute game actually on the ball. That leaves an astonishing 96-97% of match time where their contributions—and your coaching influence—are governed by what happens away from the ball.
Why is this so critical? Because off ball actions drive the entire engine of team performance: awareness, movement, reactions, trust, and team culture. The impact of a well-timed lead, a moment of composure under pressure, or a defender’s body shape in transition can mean the difference between winning and losing. Ben Bishop puts it succinctly:
“If we go back to the original question we posed, how do we train our athletes a bit differently? … I am wondering if we’re spending enough time on the off ball.”
Why and How to Shift Coaching Focus
The obvious conclusion from Ben Bishop’s presentation is that if you want to coach winning teams, you must deliberately plan for, practice, and reward off ball actions. The top three immediate changes you should implement:
Integrate Off Ball Principles in Every Drill: Don’t just design drills for the player with the ball. Build scenarios where players off the ball must scan, communicate, move with intent, or cover teammates. For example, in possession-based games, challenge your midfielders to pre-scan and reposition away from the ball; in defense, reward units that pre-mark or close off options early.
Train Awareness and Communication: Use video, create stoppages in training, and develop “coaching interventions” that focus not on correcting the pass, but on why the right passing option was (or wasn’t) available. Teach your players to look, to listen, and to talk—because in that 97% of game time, decision-making and awareness are king.
Develop Team Culture and Resilience Around Off Ball Events: Build strong, open relationships where players can resolve disputes, provide honest feedback, and support each other in the chaos of the game. As Ben Bishop stresses, “through strong relationships, players will become more connected on and off the pitch, and then trust becomes an automatic response.”
Practical Steps for Your Sessions
Dedicate explicit blocks in training for “off ball” scenarios—transition moments, lead-and-react sessions, communication/awareness drills, and post-error reactions.
Use small games with rule manipulations (e.g., random “freeze and scan” calls, mid-game rule swaps) to force your players to adapt, communicate, and self-organize.
After games, review video not just for technical mistakes, but for “the moment before”—the awareness, choices, and support runs that created or neutralized the threat.
In short, coaching off ball skills isn’t an abstract concept—it’s a fundamental competence. If you’re not actively training them, you’re leaving wins on the table.
Why You’ll Want to Dive Into the Full Session
This session dives deep into the nerves of elite field hockey play: the unseen connections, the match awareness, the psychology of trust and character, and the practical ways to coach these elements every day. Ben Bishop lays out not only the “what” but, crucially, the “how”—including video examples, training interventions, and candid insights from top-level hockey. If you value building teams that win consistently—and develop players for the long term—this is the conversation you can’t afford to miss.
Paid subscribers, read on for an in-depth exploration of the top three practical takeaways from Ben’s masterclass, and how to apply them immediately in your coaching…
