People often make the mistake of thinking that playing hockey is just about cardio or endurance fitness, but there are actually a few factors that lead to that tired feeling we can get when we’re fatigued in a game.
One key area of being hockey fit is explosive acceleration and agility, not just in a straight line but also lateral acceleration and deceleration which gives us the ability to change direction quickly.
In a game situation this could be things like leading, double-leading, interceptions, deceptive moves, dragging to eliminate a player, etc.
These kinds of movements are extremely demanding on the body, which means we tend to get tired quicker so it’s important we incorporate this aspect into our training.
Working on this will not only help to feel less fatigue in games but will also give you the physical advantage of getting to the ball first, bursting into space and generally being more dangerous in both attack and defence.
In the video below I demonstrate one of the BEST exercises for speed and agility in field hockey, where I focus on lateral acceleration and deceleration.
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