Penalty corner: injection, stop and strike

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Field hockey drill · Age 10 and up

A penalty corner is the best scoring chance in hockey, and at junior level most of them come to nothing because one of three things goes wrong: the injection is slow or off target, the stop is not clean, or the strike is high and disallowed. Each is a skill on its own. This drill breaks the corner into those three jobs and puts them back together against a first runner, so the routine is practised at the speed it will be played.

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Time
20 minutes
Players
Groups of 6: an injector, a trapper and a striker against a goalkeeper and two defenders
Equipment
  • 10 balls
  • A goal with a backboard, and a goalkeeper in full kit
  • Face masks for the defenders on the line, as your association requires
  • A cone at the injection spot, 10 metres from the goalpost

Setup

  1. The injector (IN) stands at the injection spot on the back line, at least 10 metres from the goalpost, with at least one foot outside the pitch.
  2. The trapper (TR) and the striker (ST) start on the pitch outside the circle, at the top of it, with their sticks, hands and feet outside the circle.
  3. The goalkeeper (GK), the first runner (FR) and the post defender (PD) start behind the back line, in the goal or off the pitch, not on the field of play. Nobody moves until the ball is injected.
  4. The IN pushes the ball out to the TR, who stops it outside the circle and lays it back inside for the ST, who shoots.
  5. As soon as the ball is injected, the FR runs out at the ST and the GK comes off the line. The PD guards the near post.

Coaching points

  • Injector: feet apart, push the ball low and hard along the ground to the trapper, not to the space near them.
  • Trapper: stick on the ground, the flat face angled to kill the ball dead, and stop it outside the circle. Then present it back inside the line for the striker.
  • Striker: start the backswing as the ball is stopped, and hit it low. If the first shot is a hit, it must go in no higher than the backboard.
  • First runner: go when the ball is injected and not before, run at the ball and present a stick on the ground, and stay on your feet.

On the run sheet: Injector: low, flat and hard to the trapper. Trapper: stop it dead outside the circle, then present it inside. Striker: hit it low, below the backboard, before the first runner arrives

Progressions

  1. Run the corner without defenders until ten in a row are injected, stopped and struck cleanly.
  2. Add a second runner from the back line to cover the pass to the slip.
  3. Add a variation: the trapper slips the ball to a player on the right instead of laying it to the striker.

How it runs

The injector (IN) pushes the ball from the back line, 10 metres from the goalpost, out to the trapper (TR) waiting just outside the top of the circle. The TR stops it outside the circle and lays it back about four metres, inside the circle and into the path of the striker (ST). As the ball is injected the first runner (FR) leaves the line and runs at the striker, the goalkeeper (GK) steps off the line, and the post defender (PD) holds the near post. The animation ends as the ST strikes, with the FR still about five metres away.

The animation draws the injector and the three defenders on the back line, because the pitch ends there; on the pitch they stand behind it. The stop and the lay-off are drawn as one short pass. On the pitch it is one movement by the trapper, and it is the part that needs the most practice.

The rule it is practising

Penalty corner positions. At the injection, the injector has at least one foot outside the pitch and plays the ball from the back line inside the circle, at least 10 m from the goalpost. Every other attacker is on the field outside the circle, with sticks, hands and feet not touching the ground inside it. Up to five defenders, the goalkeeper included, start behind the back line, and the rest of the defending team must be beyond the centre line until the ball is played. Nobody else may enter the circle, and no defender may cross the back line, until the ball is injected.

Then: no shot may be taken until the ball has travelled outside the circle, which is why the trapper stops it outside. If the first shot at goal is a hit, it must cross the goal line no higher than 460 mm, the height of the backboard, for the goal to count; a flick or a drag flick may go higher if it is not dangerous. Junior formats such as England Hockey's Rush Hockey, Hockey Australia's Hookin2Hockey and 7-a-side often change the penalty corner, from fewer defenders on the line to no penalty corners at all, so check your association's rules for your age group.

The mistakes to watch for

An injection that bounces or arrives slowly. A trapper who stops the ball inside the circle, so the shot is not allowed. A striker who lifts the ball over the backboard. And a first runner who leaves before the injection, which the umpire will punish by sending them beyond the centre line.

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