All-in-One Hockey

If you’re a young hockey player who wants to become elite, don’t specialise too early.

Become a generalist.

Learn how to play as a defender, midfielder AND forward.

Why?

Because every position teaches you something different about how hockey works.

Playing in defence teaches you what defenders hate playing against.

Playing midfield teaches you how to connect the pitch.

Playing forward teaches you how attackers create space and where they want the ball.

Some of the best teams in the world are incredibly fluid because their players understand the game as a whole, rather than only understanding one position.

I experienced the opposite.

I grew up almost exclusively as a defender, and when I eventually started playing further forward, it felt completely unnatural because I’d had so little experience there.

If you’re still young, use that time to experiment.

Play everywhere. Learn the principles that apply across every position. Understand the whole game.

You can specialise later.

Build the complete player first.

No pitch? You can still improve your hockey.

Here are 3 skills you can work on almost anywhere:

1. V-drag
Sell the defender one way, pull the ball back and accelerate in the opposite direction.

The key is getting their weight moving before you change direction.

2. Short drag → long drag
Move the ball a small distance one way to shift the defender, then make a much bigger, faster drag in the opposite direction.

Practise both ways and focus on accelerating out of the skill.

3. 3D lifts
Practise getting underneath the ball and lifting it with control.

Try to keep your stick connected to the ball for as long as possible rather than just throwing it into the air.

You don’t always need a pitch to get better.

Find a small space, grab your stick and ball, and start putting the reps in.

Want to start flicking rockets into the top corners?

You need to understand the difference between flicking flat and flicking high.

A lot of players try to flick high by simply opening their stick face.

Yes, the ball goes up.

But you also lose power because the ball rolls off the stick before you’ve properly accelerated it.

Instead:

To flick flat:
• Keep your shoulders parallel to the ground
• Keep the stick face roughly 90° to the ground
• Stay through the ball and keep the trajectory low

To flick high:
• Lift your left shoulder through the release
• Allow the stick face to open to roughly 45°
• Keep enough connection with the ball to continue accelerating it

The goal isn’t to scoop the ball upwards.

It’s to change your body position and stick angle while still transferring as much power as possible into the ball.

Learn to control the height rather than leaving it to chance.

AD | NO PITCH? NO PROBLEM.

The Skills Mat is officially LIVE.

Over 500 hockey players told me what was stopping them from training more, and over 70% said the same thing:

They don’t have regular access to a pitch.

That’s exactly why we created this.

The Skills Mat gives you a simple way to work on your stick skills at home, in the garden, at the club or pretty much anywhere you have a small amount of space.

And I didn’t want to just give you a mat and leave you wondering what to do with it.

Every mat also comes with:

• My complete 7-Day Skills Mat Training Guide
• Step-by-step training sessions to get you started
• Access to the Inside Hockey app with skills and challenges
• Scores you can use to track your progress and compare yourself with other players
• A training tool you can keep coming back to whenever you can’t get on a pitch

Whether you want better close control, more confidence on the ball or to start eliminating defenders more effectively, this gives you a way to actually put the reps in.

No pitch. No problem.

The first batch is limited to just 50 mats.

Get yours now at allinonehockey.com or through the link in my bio.

Once the first 50 are gone, they’re gone.

Make this the season you finally start using 3D skills effectively.

Because a good 3D skill isn’t just about getting the ball in the air.

It’s about getting past the defender AND keeping control afterwards.

Here are the key things to work on:

1. Check your stick
A thinner stick head makes it easier to get underneath the ball and lift it.

2. Keep the ball connected to your stick
Don’t just chuck the ball over the defender and hope you get it back.

Try to keep your stick connected to the ball for as long as possible so you’re still in control after the elimination.

3. Lure the defender in first
Don’t run towards someone and randomly throw the ball into the air.

Draw them into making a tackle, then use the 3D skill to take the ball over their stick.

4. Practise both directions
Left → right → lift.

Right → left → lift.

Get comfortable doing both while maintaining control.

Then, if you want to get more advanced, start working on changing the direction of the ball while it’s in the air.

But master the basics first.

A flashy skill that loses possession is useless.

Use your 3D skills with a purpose.

Make this the season you finally learn how to throw an aerial.

A good aerial can completely change how teams press you. If they know you can throw over the top, they have to respect that option rather than constantly stepping forward.

Here are the key things to get right:

1. Grip
Left hand at the top, right hand roughly two-thirds of the way down the stick.

2. Ball position
Get low on your back leg and line the ball up with your front foot.

Don’t leave it between your feet. You’ll struggle to generate anywhere near as much power.

3. Learn the lift first
Start by simply getting underneath the ball and lifting it into the air.

Once you’re comfortable, start adding power.

4. Add the whip
Push your left hand forward first, then whip your right hand through quickly afterwards.

This creates much more acceleration and distance.

5. Find the right stick angle
Too open and the ball rolls over the top of your stick.

Too closed and it drops off the bottom.

Find the angle that keeps the ball connected to your stick for longer so you can accelerate it through the throw.

Save this and start practising before the new season.

Make this the season you finally learn how to hit a backhand properly.

Start with these 4 things:

1. Get your grip right
Use a pancake grip. Imagine flipping a pancake in a frying pan, with the face of the stick pointing upwards and both hands together.

2. Get the right distance from the ball
Use your stick to measure your setup. Rest it against your foot and use that to find the distance where the correct part of the stick meets the ball.

3. Line up your right foot with the ball
This helps you strike the ground and ball at the correct point rather than hitting the ground too early or catching the ball first.

4. Get your chest over your knee
Bend your front leg, get LOW and keep your chest over the knee.

Then let your left elbow lead and swing the stick around in a smooth circle.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is players bending their leg but leaning their upper body backwards.

That reduces your reach and makes you much more likely to catch the ball with the toe or edge of the stick.

Save this and use it when you’re practising your backhand before the season starts.

Can you do the skill stationary, but lose it as soon as you try it at speed?

You probably don’t need a different technique.

You need to build the skill through the stages in between.

If you can hit a backhand stationary, don’t immediately expect to hit the same backhand perfectly while sprinting at full speed.

Progress it:

Stationary.
Walking.
Jogging.
At pace.
Under pressure.
In training.
In a match.

The same applies to dribbling, elimination skills, hitting and almost everything else in hockey.

Get comfortable at one level, then gradually add speed and difficulty.

Too many players practise a skill slowly and then wonder why it disappears in a match.

Train the progression, not just the end result.

First goals for

Hopefully many more to come 🔴⚫️

Stop deciding which skill you’re going to use before you reach the defender.

I used to do this all the time.

I’d think, “I’m going to use this 3D skill” or “I’m going to V-drag them.”

Then the defender would react differently and the skill wouldn’t work.

Instead, let the defender tell you how to eliminate them.

Watch:

1. Where is their weight?
If they overcommit to one side, attack the other.
2. Can you move their weight?
Use the ball and your body to lure them one way, then attack the space you’ve created.
3. Are they flat-footed?
If their feet become square, it’s much harder for them to turn. That’s your opportunity to attack their body space and accelerate past.

Don’t choose the skill first.

Read the defender, manipulate their weight and then choose the action that beats them.