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How to pass in hockey

 

GC220_HockeyPass
File photo credit: VOXSPORTS (for SportSG)

MASTER YOUR HOCKEY TECHNIQUE (3): PASSING

By Adila Shahrin

Once you’ve learnt how to dribble and shoot in hockey, it’s important to know how to pass to your teammates. You can’t be a one man show so work together as a team and utilise their help to win games. And working as a team all starts with learning how to pass.

The most common way of passing is by using your forehand but there are many different specific types of forehand passes. A forehand pass is basically any pass that is made off the right side of your body. Forehand passes are the most basic and the most common forehand pass is the push pass.

Here are 5 steps to executing a forehand pass:

1. Firstly, make sure the ball is on the right side of your body and on the bottom of your stick.

2. Position your body such that you are facing your target, in this case, your teammate. 

3. If you’re attempting a push pass, place the ball behind your back foot in order to give your pass more power. But if you’re attempting a slap and hit, position the ball in the middle of your feet. 

4. Sweep your stick forward fluidly while shifting the weight of your body from the back foot to the front. 

5. Make sure that your stick and body is still facing the target after you release the ball.

Always remember that you should have your eyes on your target and not on the ball when you’re making a pass. Once you’ve learnt how to execute a normal forehand pass, you might want to focus on mastering the push pass. 

A push pass is used to move the ball speedily over shorter distances. Because it gives you the most control over the ball, it is the best pass to use in short distances and it gives you more accuracy. Your stick will stay in contact with the ball until it is released for the pass. 

Here are the steps to executing a push pass:

  1. A push pass requires you to use a basic grip just like how you’d normally grip the stick when you’re dribbling the ball.
  2. Position your body such that it is perpendicular to the target. This means that the left side of your body should be facing your target. 
  3. Place the ball to the right side of your body, in line with your back foot. Remember to keep your knees bent and your body low.
  4. As you push the ball forward towards your target, shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot. Rotate your hips as well in order to produce a more powerful hit. 
  5. Remember that you shouldn’t lose contact between the ball and the stick! After you release the ball, make sure to follow through - your stick should be pointing towards your target.

    Just learning how to pass will not make you a better player and you should always remember to keep practising, be it with shooting drills or dribbling drills

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