Am a new long pole, are there any solo drills I can do to improve my stick checks or is a case of just doing a lot of one on ones?
Any advice appreciated
Jon
Stick check solo drills
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Wezalmighty
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Any thing that incorporates a lot of stick checking. I'd guess.
Like face off men who spend ages just 'chopping' the ball to get their reflexes up.
Get hold of a punch bag maybe.
Failing which, get in your room with your back to the light switch. Jump round and try pokecheck the lights on. Or see how quick you can turn the lights on and off in 30 seconds.
I donno, worth a try =)
Like face off men who spend ages just 'chopping' the ball to get their reflexes up.
Get hold of a punch bag maybe.
Failing which, get in your room with your back to the light switch. Jump round and try pokecheck the lights on. Or see how quick you can turn the lights on and off in 30 seconds.
I donno, worth a try =)
Wez Morris
#40 Portsmouth Uni
#40 Portsmouth Uni
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Sour37
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play a lot of wall ball....its about your arms getting used to the weight and distribution of said attribute of your shaft, so just play with it until your comfortable with it.
get a sibling (preferably younger) with kit on and beat the rainbow out of them....might not help too much, but it'll be fun
get a sibling (preferably younger) with kit on and beat the rainbow out of them....might not help too much, but it'll be fun
Two Up!
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Dave254023
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There are a few things millsy i used to do to keep myself in "check" (you get what i did there).
Go for runs with your pole cradling all the way both hands, this (like mentioned above) get's you used to carrying and wielding your pole. If you are doing it right your arms will ache if you do it long enough.
Playing D isn't so much about continually checking it is a matter of knowing when and how to do it without over committing i.e body positioning and control of your attack man. So practicing footwork and drop steps, back pedalling etc is also very important.
When it comes to stickwork basics to remember are: keeping your stick up (in the passing lanes), keeping your bottom hand near your hip so you are able to throw a check almost instantly (if your stick is up). Some people will tell you, you should be able to check with both hands, while i have read some articles that say you should play to your strong hand and manipulate the attack man not them you.
There are a few things that you can do to build strength and control, concentrate on throwing lots of controlled checks rather than one "hail mary" "swing if you are winning" check. It is possible to build a checking dummy. It looks like a crucifix and you practice speed of checking one side of the cross piece over the top to the other then back. This will build the all important forearms. Just work on speed and strength the rest is leanrt from the game it self in my opinion.
Also watch as much footage as possible, focus on the d man, watch his eyes and hips and feet. Then focus on the Attack man, watch how attack men run, watch their hips, where therir hands are, when they expose their stick. Learning how someone moves opens up a chink in there armor then you can exploit there weaknesses. There are a number of very talented people in the west league last year who once you learnt there style, method and skill in playing you could strip them everytime.
Plus there are loads of training drills and videos on the internet to help you work on your stick.
But Keep it up and Keep it ready
Go for runs with your pole cradling all the way both hands, this (like mentioned above) get's you used to carrying and wielding your pole. If you are doing it right your arms will ache if you do it long enough.
Playing D isn't so much about continually checking it is a matter of knowing when and how to do it without over committing i.e body positioning and control of your attack man. So practicing footwork and drop steps, back pedalling etc is also very important.
When it comes to stickwork basics to remember are: keeping your stick up (in the passing lanes), keeping your bottom hand near your hip so you are able to throw a check almost instantly (if your stick is up). Some people will tell you, you should be able to check with both hands, while i have read some articles that say you should play to your strong hand and manipulate the attack man not them you.
There are a few things that you can do to build strength and control, concentrate on throwing lots of controlled checks rather than one "hail mary" "swing if you are winning" check. It is possible to build a checking dummy. It looks like a crucifix and you practice speed of checking one side of the cross piece over the top to the other then back. This will build the all important forearms. Just work on speed and strength the rest is leanrt from the game it self in my opinion.
Also watch as much footage as possible, focus on the d man, watch his eyes and hips and feet. Then focus on the Attack man, watch how attack men run, watch their hips, where therir hands are, when they expose their stick. Learning how someone moves opens up a chink in there armor then you can exploit there weaknesses. There are a number of very talented people in the west league last year who once you learnt there style, method and skill in playing you could strip them everytime.
Plus there are loads of training drills and videos on the internet to help you work on your stick.
But Keep it up and Keep it ready
Hillcroft D-Man #3
Swansea D-man #3 05/06 & 06/07
Let your game do the talking!
Swansea D-man #3 05/06 & 06/07
Let your game do the talking!
its great having lots of checks, but always remember - never ever ever give up good body position to throw a stick check. not much use to you in finding drills i know, but essential if you're going to start controlling attackmen (once you can control an attckman, you can strip him)
It's not the size of the dog in the fight...
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UKLaxfan
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Solo Drills
Defence is all about footwork
There are lots of drills on Speed/Agility/Quickness (SAQ), ladder drills, skipping etc.
For stick checking, the more time you can spend practicing checks the better you will become at them.
Cone Drill:
Arrange 4 cones approx 10 yrd apart forming a square.
Place a fifth cone dead centre of the square - representing the crease.
Start at the middle cone and sprint to one of the cones, breakdown and do 10x checks, either poke, slap, chop or over-the-head (OTH).
Once you've completed the 10 checks, lift the stick up and sprint back to middle cone and then out to a different cone, breakdown and do 10x of a different check.
Repeat until completed full circuit and 10x of each checks.
Rest (1 min)
Then start again, you can try doing the checks with non-dominant hand on 2nd circuit, or stay with strong hand.
See how many times you can do a circuit in a session.
Poke Checks
should be under control, don't lunge
Aim at a specific target
Stick head should be pulled back first, then use snooker cue action
The check should be short (18"-24") and quick
The cuff of the glove is the best place to check
Slap checks
should be short and sharp - the head shouldn't move more than 18"
Glove on bottom hand should be target
Use scissor movement on hands to generate power
Chop checks
again under control - fake OTH check, chop in front onto hand/wrist.
Slow up then fast downward motion
Don't follow through on check, don't foul or trip
Over-the-head (OTH) -
Lift stick above head of player & bring down other side, then repeat.
Ideally the head of your stick doesn't go above their head.
Best OTH checks follow Poke, where once head of your stick is in front of opponent, you lift your hands and stick shaft over opponents head and bring shaft of stick down on wrist of opponent on other side of their body. The shaft of the Dstick should be as close to the body as possible to stop opponent avoiding the check.
Control is most important element of all checks, so you don't lose body position and can check the stick rather than slash arm or head.
Stick Checking is a skill, and as with any skill you can improve your skill with practice.
There are some philosophies on defence that say you shouldn't throw any checks and just play good position defence I don't agree with those. Stick checking is an important part of individual & team defence.
Being able to get on an opponents hands via poke & lift checks while maintaining position puts pressure on the offense and causes bad passes and turnovers.
The trail check is another very effective check when you are beaten by a dodge, chasing the attacker and waiting until they bring their stick back to pass or shoot to throw a stick check at the last minute.
For SSDMs lifting the back elbow has the same effect as the trail check.
Once you've mastered the basic checks you can try more advanced high risk checks,
wrap check, back check, butt-end wrap, butt-dig, Ice pick, brain slap & Rusty gate etc
There are lots of drills on Speed/Agility/Quickness (SAQ), ladder drills, skipping etc.
For stick checking, the more time you can spend practicing checks the better you will become at them.
Cone Drill:
Arrange 4 cones approx 10 yrd apart forming a square.
Place a fifth cone dead centre of the square - representing the crease.
Start at the middle cone and sprint to one of the cones, breakdown and do 10x checks, either poke, slap, chop or over-the-head (OTH).
Once you've completed the 10 checks, lift the stick up and sprint back to middle cone and then out to a different cone, breakdown and do 10x of a different check.
Repeat until completed full circuit and 10x of each checks.
Rest (1 min)
Then start again, you can try doing the checks with non-dominant hand on 2nd circuit, or stay with strong hand.
See how many times you can do a circuit in a session.
Poke Checks
should be under control, don't lunge
Aim at a specific target
Stick head should be pulled back first, then use snooker cue action
The check should be short (18"-24") and quick
The cuff of the glove is the best place to check
Slap checks
should be short and sharp - the head shouldn't move more than 18"
Glove on bottom hand should be target
Use scissor movement on hands to generate power
Chop checks
again under control - fake OTH check, chop in front onto hand/wrist.
Slow up then fast downward motion
Don't follow through on check, don't foul or trip
Over-the-head (OTH) -
Lift stick above head of player & bring down other side, then repeat.
Ideally the head of your stick doesn't go above their head.
Best OTH checks follow Poke, where once head of your stick is in front of opponent, you lift your hands and stick shaft over opponents head and bring shaft of stick down on wrist of opponent on other side of their body. The shaft of the Dstick should be as close to the body as possible to stop opponent avoiding the check.
Control is most important element of all checks, so you don't lose body position and can check the stick rather than slash arm or head.
Stick Checking is a skill, and as with any skill you can improve your skill with practice.
There are some philosophies on defence that say you shouldn't throw any checks and just play good position defence I don't agree with those. Stick checking is an important part of individual & team defence.
Being able to get on an opponents hands via poke & lift checks while maintaining position puts pressure on the offense and causes bad passes and turnovers.
The trail check is another very effective check when you are beaten by a dodge, chasing the attacker and waiting until they bring their stick back to pass or shoot to throw a stick check at the last minute.
For SSDMs lifting the back elbow has the same effect as the trail check.
Once you've mastered the basic checks you can try more advanced high risk checks,
wrap check, back check, butt-end wrap, butt-dig, Ice pick, brain slap & Rusty gate etc
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Mr.Stanford
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