When reflecting on the recent masterclass with Andreu Enrich, there’s one insight that stands above the rest for field hockey coaches: the transformative impact of purposeful, integrated feedback in your daily coaching.
If you’re like most coaches, you already know the importance of feedback. But what Andreu makes crystal clear is that feedback isn’t just an add-on or a box-ticking exercise—it’s the heart of shaping behaviors and developing players, session after session. As Andreu himself explains,
“The most important responsibility of the coach during the training session is providing feedback... feedback is something that it's completely related to the action of the player.”
So, what does this look like in practice? According to Enrich, effective feedback has three essential qualities:
Immediate: The moment a player makes a notable action—especially a positive one—reinforce it quickly. Delayed feedback loses its power and relevance.
Specific: “If someone makes a good action, someone receives one ball and then controls moves with the ball ... you say ‘good’. Okay, what is good? ... The easiest way to do this, ‘Hey, good pre scanning.’ Good pre scanning directly after the good pre scanning. And then the behavior starts getting sedimented.”
Contingent: Avoid blanket praise. When “good” becomes an automatic response, it loses all meaning for your players. Instead, use feedback selectively and only when the action fits your coaching objectives.
Why does this matter so much? Because players are shaped by what gets recognized and reinforced. Consistently embedding sharp, actionable feedback into your sessions is how you genuinely shift habits, improve decision-making, and raise overall game intelligence on the field.
Want to see these ideas explored in detail? The full masterclass video dives into tactical periodization, structuring teams for small-sided games, integrating athletic coaching within hockey practice, and much more. If you care about building a high-performing team culture, or just want a library of practical ideas you can apply to your next session, you’ll want to buy the book, watch the whole session and read on below for an in-depth look and unlock those insights from Andreu Enrich.
Subscribe to The Hockey Site to read the rest.
Become a paying subscriber of The Hockey Site to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content.
UpgradeA subscription gets you:
- Unlimited access to our on demand archive of videos and articles
- Subscription to our newsletter
- Full access to content that can earn you CPD credits with FIH
- Access to Assistant.Hockey - your AI coach assistant
