Focus on defensive communication and anticipating the next play!

Description of Drill: Place one cone in the middle of the 8M. This is the Hub. 5 defenders stand around the cone in a cluster, facing the perimeter of the 8M respectively. 7 attackers set up around the 8M as if in skeleton offense and hold their general positions and pass the ball around the perimeter.

Passes to the adjacent player cross 8M passes and skip passes are all allowed.
Offense is NOT going to cage.

The defenders in the middle must communicate who is going to approach the ball with the goal to reach where the ball is “going to be” before the attacker has completed possession of the ball.

As soon as the attacker passes the ball to another spot, the on ball defender releases, returns to the hub and calls “checking in” or “I'm in."
The cluster of defenders in the middle must communicate simultaneously, using names who is next up to approach ball, so they can reach the attacker with the ball before the ball is settled in her stick.

The attackers continue passing the ball around in no particular pattern and the defenders in the middle continue to communicate and slide in and out of the hub as the group establishes who is “next up” to approach.

Continue each set for about a minute and then sub. You can do this drill with as few as 3 defenders and 4 attackers.

Equipment Needed: Ball, Cone, 8M

Skills Emphasized: Zone Communication, Reading the ball in the air, Establishing pressure before the attacker can receive the ball.

Coaching Points of Emphasis: The players in the middle need to be direct with who they are sending out to the ball using names and high-level communication. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, you may allow your defenders in the middle to hedge slightly outwards, but the purpose is to make the slides long, keep the defenders close so they can talk, and force them to communicate when they don't have a pre-established attacker that they are guarding.

Diagram of Drill:

Hub Check-In Drill