hit me with your best shot!

in the first article of this series Derek Pappas explained the fundamental biomechanics of the hockey hit, now it is time to put some of that knowlege into practice. Here we look at common faults in hitting and how to diagnose and correct them

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part 2 correcting and improving hits

introduction In the previous article the fundamentals
of hitting in hockey were discussed. If you are a coach and have players that lift the ball when they hit, hit with no power, or hit the ball off target, then drills are one way to change the way the players hit. The repetitive motion of effective drills retrains the muscle memory in athletic movements. But be aware that players with faulty swings or bad fundamentals may resist making changes in their hit for a variety of reasons.

OVERCOMING RESISTANCE When a change is to be made in fundamentals, the coachs first job is often to deal with players resistance to change. Consider why players may be reluctant to change: * Is the player comfortable with their swing and do they feel it is good enough? * Does the player not understand the fundamentals and not understand that they are limiting their personal and the teams upside potential? * Does the player not really care about,
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or is coached not to use, the skill? This is a real problem in leagues where hitting is weak or viewed as an unsafe skill not from a safety perspective but from a passing percentage viewpoint. * Are the players on the team to have fun, or to move up to a higher level of skill and competition? If it is the former and you are dealing with youth players do not attempt to change their skills unless you have the backing of the parents. * Does the player trust the coachs knowledge enough to allow the coach to change their style of hitting? * Does the player have bad fundamentals but believe that they are executing the skill correctly? The bottom line is that the coach has to overcome the resistance the player may have to changing their fundamentals. The list of possible reasons is a mile long and it is the job of the coach to get past the psychological resistance point of the player in order to work with them to make changes and improve their game.

Faults in players fundamentals result in incorrect stick-to-ball contact. As a consequence the ball may be lifted, not travel in the correct direction, or have an unwanted spin. OBSERVED FAULTS IN HOCKEY SWINGS There are several common faults in hockey swings: * Bad setup, grip, and ball position. * The loop or helicopter swing or other bad back swing. * Hand rotation or changing the grip on the back swing. * Flying elbow. * Early release of the stick at the top of the swing (fishing). * Hitting the ball with the upper body instead of the hips and legs. * Collapse at impact * Twisting follow through.

common faults

Germanys Florian Fuchs hits on the run under extreme pressure. Note his technique has held up reasonably well the right wrist is cupped (limited release), the stick head is vertical, the stick is pointed at the target, and the follow through is controlled. As a result the ball is glued to the ground

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Article and illustrations 2012 Derek Pappas except where stated

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assessing hitting skills

NARROWING THE ANGLE One of the ways that the coach can demonstrate to the player that their hit is not accurate enough is to have the player stand 10 yards from the goal one yard from the baseline. Place a ball on the ground (a stick length is a yard) and instruct the player to shoot at the far sideboard in the goal. Most players can hit the ball in the goal from this position. Now place a ball one foot from the baseline. Most players cannot hit the far backboard inside of the goal. Why? The additional mental pressure or the smaller space causes them to tighten up and their fundamentals break down during the swing. Or it could be their fundamentals are not good enough to hit the ball on target. Video the player a mobile phone can be used while they are hitting the ball from different angles and play the tape back to them while they are on the field. Talk to them about the results that they are getting when they hit the ball and how the results are related to the swing that the player sees on the screen.

Some common hitting faults

Narrowing the angle to assess accuracy

MIND THE GAP Next place a line of cones or boards across the goal and leave a one yard gap. Have the players stand at the top of D in a 45 degree arc and hit the ball into the gap from the top of the circle. How many can hit the ball in the gap standing still? How many can they hit in a row into the gap. Make the gap smaller. Now what happens? If they cannot hit the ball into the gap while stationary and under no pressure they certainly will not be able to score when they are on the field.

Hitting into a gap in the goal from the top of the circle will test players swings try stationary first, then hits on the move

Derek Pappas has played hockey on three continents and in 10 different countries. He was on the US international training squad in the 1980s and now coaches skills, patterns of play,game tactics, and various teams. He is CEO of GroupAngle http://groupangle.com

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building a repetitive swing

Watch an international team warming up before the game and look at their fundamentals. The players with good fundamentals hit the ball on target from the top of the D the other players hit the ball all over the place because they do not have a repetitive swing. Drills are a way to build a repetitive swing. HITTING THE WALL A concrete wall is the best partner for a player that needs to understand they cannot hit the ball correctly. Have the player stand 10-15 yards away from the wall. The player should hit the ball at the wall so that the ball strikes the wall perpendicular to the line of flight and the ball returns to the spot where the player hit the ball from. This drill builds up spacial awareness in the player. The player has to figure out what the 90 degree line is to the wall and has to correctly hit the ball along that line to get the ball to return to the same spot that the ball was hit from. Hitting the ball back and forth between two players does not build this type of awareness until the player can hit the ball exactly where they want. The reason is that the receiving player moves to where the ball is hit and the player hitting the ball does not get any feedback about the direction of the ball that they just hit. The second thing that the wall drill teaches the player is to hit the ball on the ground. When you are standing 10-15 yards away from the wall the ball returns to the player very quickly. If the player hits a bouncing ball at the wall the ball will bounce back to the player and be much harder to trap. The player should learn to glue the ball to the ground. For more advanced hitting such as the skip hit, tomahawk, or undercut the player should back up and make sure that these types of hit pose no danger to the other people using the field. *

normal backswing (keeping the angle of the stick) so they can feel what the swing should be like instead of the fishing/casting motion that most use which releases the angle between the arm/wrist prematurely. 10-20 balls are placed on the ground in a line one foot apart, the player hits one ball after another at a target 20 yards away (see below). Depending on their fitness level and age the player will typically fatigue after about 5-15 balls and faults under pressure become evident.

Hitting against a wall an accurate hit into the green zone will see the ball return to the striker (top). Even small inaccuracies will see the returning ball missing the hitter instant feedback

MORE DRILLS Drills must be used to relate the fundamentals to performing the skill. Drills must also reinforce the skill. Some of the following drills can be done as a group and some are best done one-onone with a player and a coach. * The player holds the stick out in front of them, waist high with the toe pointing up. The coach then grabs the end of the stick and moves the stick around the players waist through the back swing and follow through while keeping the toe up. The objective is to get the player to understand that they should not rotate the stick around the handle, that the stick should point away from the target on the back swing and at the target on the follow through. * The player swings the stick back and forth touching the same spot (from Balbir Singh three-time Olympic gold medal winner) in each direction. The arc at the bottom should be shallow and not steep. * The player swings the stick back and freezes their position, the coach then checks their alignment, grabs the end of the stick and tells the player to pull the stick down like they would in their
hockeyimages.co.uk/Peter Savage

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Watch the grip, ball position, back swing and follow through. After they master this drill have them stand to the left or right of the ball and pull it into a hitting position and then hit it. After that have them run five yards with the ball and hit it. Vary the types of runs-right, left, backwards, forwards. Players shoot on goal stationary/ moving seven yards from the goal/ one foot from the base line (this also tests the player psychologically because the goal mouth is only one foot wide at that angle) Hit with the right foot in front of the left (stationary) Hit the ball with the right arm only, swinging the stick back slowly, cocking the wrist, and then down and through the ball, careful not to roll the stick over the top of the ball. Hit the ball with the left arm only. Focus on hitting the back of the ball. Hit the ball with the left shoulder and tricept. Imagine that the left arm, shoulder, and stick form a wall at impact. Follow through is limited to one foot. Hit the ball off the right and left feet on the run. Hit the ball as hard as you can and stop the stick follow through two feet after the ball. Choke up on the stick 20 cms and get very low to hit the ball in a compact position. Hit the ball 30 yards along a line on the field. Stand in the centre of the field and alternate hitting the ball at targets which are 30 yards way on the left and right sidelines(below).

Great Britains Ben Hawes prepares to hit note the strong shoulder rotation and tucked-in right elbow

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This is not a comprehensive list of drills or tests. It is a starting point and does not include foot work drills or the different types of hits. p