The following lessons were designed to introduce 16 to 18 year olds to the sport of Field Hockey.  Throughout the first two lessons, 26 students were shown the basics of the sport.     

Because the students had not been introduced to Field Hockey prior to these lessons, the class’ knowledge on the sport was minimal.  Most of the students approached the equipment and game play as they would Ice Hockey yet subtle differences proved to create a difficult transition to the new sport.  For example, the rule constricting the use of feet for ball control had to be constantly enforced.  Other rules were placed into the game for safety reasons.  These included a restriction on hitting people with the stick (hacking), raising the ball off of the ground, and as mentioned above, no use of feet in controlling the ball.  These rules were implemented to give the students a feeling for Field Hockey game play as well.

    Being that the students were a combination of grade 11 and 12s, they had already been exposed to cognitive elements that are common across various territory/invasion sports.  Due to a previously understanding of the concepts of passing, use of teammates, communication, shooting at a target, and defending, the students were able to apply themselves to the basic concepts of Field Hockey.  To further their understanding of the sport however, it was important to implement the specific rules and technical abilities into the lessons.

    Basic motor abilities such as running, changing directions, simple hand-eye coordination, and an understanding of an athletic stance were present among the students.  The abilities, similar to the common cognitive elements in sport, were acquired from past experiences in athletics and transfered to the beginning stages of Field Hockey.

    The obvious struggles of the students arose from the use of an unfamiliar stick and ball, and the combination of the two required to play the sport.  In the first lesson, the students were given time to play the game as a whole (with small goals and no goalies), exhibiting both their struggles with the equipment and some students’ inability to use the field space to its maximum capacity.

    The second lesson focused on the more technical aspects of Field Hockey.  Stick handling and ball control was more strictly focused on as the students were introduced to dribbling.  Three types of dribbling were shown and the students were placed in simple drills to practice them. At the conclusion of the lesson, the students were placed in a game situation and clearly exhibited their knowledge of the newly learned types of ball control.  While not every student confidently practiced every type of dribbling, most students were aware of their ability to execute at least one of the types of dribbling.  Once the second lesson had passed the students were able to add their knowledge of dribbling in Field Hockey to their base physical abilities within sports.

    The third lesson was an in-depth focus on an aspect of territory/invasion sports: the use of field space.  The majority of the students were familiar with this idea due to their past experiences in sports such as hockey, soccer, ultimate, and basketball.  Most territory/invasion sports are introduced to children at a young age, however without any knowledge of the use of field space, young children simply move directly towards the ball/puck etc.  The understanding of field usage slowly builds as students and athletes grow older, yet the focus on this concept may not have the concentration that was brought out in lesson 3.  Here there was a strict focus on the use of field space, so much so that field hockey equipment was completely neglected until the last twenty minutes of the lesson.  The students played games in small groups that represented the concept of territory/invasion games as whole.  These games created an understanding of how to move to open space and why it is important to do so.  The final activity that was played before the students were allowed to use the Field Hockey Equipment was “Endball”.  This game eliminates the movement of the player with the ball therefore forcing their teammates to move to open space to receive a pass as the team direct their attention to maneuver towards the score line (See Game Outline).  The students were then placed in another game situation and, again, exhibited the heightened, newly acquired knowledge.

    The fourth lesson gives the students a further understanding of some offensive and defensive tactics within the sport of Field Hockey.  The three man weave and give and go drills create an understanding of effective movements on- and off-the-ball for three (or more) players/students.  The 2 vs. 3 drill incorporates both offensive and defensive tactics while it forces the offensive players to change their approach once the third defense player is added to play.  From an offensive point of view, the players are forced into a situation, creating a necessity to implement a strategy before they are out-numbered.  From a defensive standpoint, the players must delay the progress of the offensive players in order to gain the advantage of an additional teammate.  These strategies can be used in other territory/invasion sports as well, giving the students not only an advantage in Field Hockey but a base knowledge for strategies in other sports.

As listed above, after participating in the four lessons, the students will have built on their base cognitive and psychomotor abilities with the addition of Field Hockey rules and regulations, abilities, and tactics.

Lesson 1 detailed topics such as how to hold the field hockey stick, contacting the ball, and passing.

The focus of lesson 2 was to show the students the movements required for the sport and those movements’ association with dribbling.

Lesson 3 did not include any use of field hockey equipment as the games focused on the use of field space.

The 4th and final lesson was not used but demonstrates basic offensive and defensive tactics.

Entry and Exit Abilities of the Students