Learning Hockey:
How to dribble the ball with perfect ease

After reading about the hockey stick and the right grip, you’ll now be introduced to the dribble, an especially useful movement to travel the field with the ball right in front of you. Before you start moving, it’s important to know the right posture.

Dribble Posture and Ball Position

Knees should be slightly bent, legs apart at shoulder-width distance, and body bent slightly forward from the back, allowing you to see the pitch in front marginally. The ball should be placed in front of you – not too far, nor too near. The tip of your stick handle should be close to your forehead and perpendicular to the ground, while the point of contact of the blade and ground should be to the right side of the ball.

That covers posture and ball position. Let’s now look at the dribble in four stages.

Executing the Dribble

First, turn the stick starting from the right side of the ball and coming to the left, ensuring the tip of the blade touches the ground. Do not touch the ball at this stage. Next, practise the same motion but touching the ball gently to ensure it remains around the same area while turning the stick.

Now begin walking by touching the ball diagonally left-forward and diagonally right-forward. Ensure to maintain an even pace without losing control of the ball. Finally, run forward slowly while doing the dribble, with the same movement as before – diagonally forward to the left and then to the right. These are the four stages of the dribble. You’ll find it quite fast and efficient in moving across the field.

To perfect the dribble, you need to practise quite a bit. One way to do this is by getting together in a group for a dribble relay, standing at least 10 yards away from each other and using only one ball. Mark a line or cone on the ground to go and get back 10-15 yards. Once you’re confident about the dribble, read ahead to learn the next movement in hockey – the forehand run.