Open Practice: Indoor Off-Season Training

Featuring Missy Meharg, University of Maryland Head Coach;

• 7x NCAA Championship Coach (1993, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011);
• 22 conference titles:
• Over 500 career wins:
• 9x NFHCA National Coach of the Year;
• 9x Conference Coach of the Year:
• member of the NFHCA Hall of Fame (2009);

with Joppe DeVries,
University of Maryland Assistant Coach/Technical Director;
former Goalkeeper Coach for South Africa's Senior Men's and Women's National Teams; has Coached all levels in the Netherlands

and Dina Rizzo,
University of Maryland Associate Head Coach;
former member of the U.S. Senior National Team (2006 World Cup & 2008 Olympics); All-American at Maryland

University of Maryland Head Coach Missy Meharg, long known as a powerhouse in NCAA women's field hockey, presents a new approach to indoor training that will help prepare your team for the upcoming season.

Fundamental Skill Stations

"The pace of field hockey has increased so much that technique has suffered and unforced errors have increased." - Coach Missy Meharg

In response to this trend, Coach Meharg and her staff have developed a three-station technical circuit that focuses on developing the core skills and cognitive focus needed for players to be successful.

The Physio Station consists of five fundamental skill exercises where players execute skills in a high physiological load rate. Athletes will be able to reduce the amount of unforced errors while maintaining speed with skill accuracy. The stations include:

• Ball, Body, Goalkeeper
• Tackling
• Drop Step and Channel Defense
• Sweeping
• Aerial Ball

Players are filmed to review their skills for correction and refinement. They will then repeat the drills, applying the noted corrections to strengthen their fundamentals and decrease the time it takes to move through the drills.

The second station reinforces the necessary mechanics for ball control. There are 100 ball control skills to work on in three segments that increase stick skill speed vital to on-ball field awareness and 1v1 elimination skills.

Coach Dina Rizzo takes the players through the third station, Skills and Tactics. You'll see a 4v2 Possession game that works on receiving, passing, vision and ball control. Other drills include Short Passing to Goal and 5v2 Full Court.

Progressive Numbers Game

The circuit training evolves into intense progressive games that work on both skill enhancement and endurance. The coaching staff takes the skills worked on in the three parts of the technical circuit training and puts them together into a tactical progression numbers team game. The concept of transitioning from defense to offense using movement and communication is the focus.

Yoga for Field Hockey

The team trains with yoga instructor Jessie Hill, a former University of Maryland Track & Field Athlete. Yoga helps maximize individual balance, flexibility and strength in field hockey-specific movements. The yoga is not only used for improving bodies, but also teaches how to relax and perform under mental stress.

Coach Meharg helps you to structure an indoor program designed to get the most out of your players - both physically and mentally.

116 minutes. 2016.