Hockey Session (Under 16s): Marking and Pressing

Man Marking

Man marking is just what it says on the tin, you mark a player and stay on them until they leave the danger zone. The most important zone on the pitch is shown above in the diagram and I would want my team to man mark in this area. 

Man marking requires high levels of communication between all players to ensure that all attackers are covered and no player is left alone. 

Man marking is all about trying to win the ball before the attacker gets to it if passed and it is also about reducing the impact of an attacker, maybe it is the opposition star player, this threat needs man marking in order to be neutralised. 

When man marking, the defender must stay close at all times and must know exactly where the attacker is at all times and read their movements and react to anything that happens.

Full Press

A full press is where the attackers will go into the 23 to press close to the opposition defenders and they will apply as much pressure as possible, committing numbers and going as a unit.

This press requires communication from all units involved to coordinate when they all go and who they are going to press. Generally the LB is the best player to press as they are on their weak side and near the sideline, so as to be another defender. 

This is a high risk, high reward press as it requires precision in timing and skill to win the ball back high up the pitch. If this is not executed properly, then there will be gaps in the press which will be exploited and this can eliminate half of your team in one pass!

Half Court Press

In a half court press, the defending team will retreat and have the first line of their press on the halfway line. 

The team should continually shift with the movement of the ball and ensure the team remain BBG. 

The press requires positioning awareness and tactical knowledge so that every player is able to pick up a player or stick to their zones.

The press is aiming to reduce the space for all of the attackers making it very hard to play through the press and forcing the opposition to play around the press instead. This makes it hard for the opposition to make fast progress and it will force them to play a pass that they wouldn't normally want to play. Be careful about the height of the opposition attackers however, if they get too high up the pitch, this can stretch the defence which creates more space between the lines and so more passing lanes will be available. 

This press is often used when defending a lead or when a team is a player down, this is a form of sitting in, absorbing pressure and protecting the goal.