PUSH Hockey Magazine Hitting article part 1

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Article and illustrations © 2012 Derek Pappas except where stated

Australia’s Renee Trost

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introductionWHY HIT?Hitting is the only skill in hockey that can

transfer the ball at a high speed on the ground while the passer is running. In the Astroturf era, hitting skills have declined as the slap hit (or sweep hit) developed to move the ball at a higher pace than the traditional push. But the hit, when used correctly and with good technique, remains vital in areas of the game such as shooting, rapid clearances from defence, running crosses and long cross-field and diagonal transfers. However, unless a player has the correct

fundamentals – and a coach who understands and can coach them – the resulting hit may be off target, bouncing, or

not hit at the correct speed. The hit involves footwork, timing, rhythm,

and biomechanics. What needs to be communicated by coaches to players is a set of fundamentals. Every other sport involving a stick/bat/ racquet and ball does this well through books, videos, and even magazine articles.Hitting remains a differentiator in

international hockey. In the author’s opinion the Dutch women lost the 2012 Champions Trophy semi final to Argentina because the Dutch sweeper tried to sweep hit by pushing the ball in front of her (which took time), instead of “ripping” the ball up field with a quick upright hit. Her pass was intercepted which resulted in a counter attack/goal. This is not intended as a personal attack on this player. Rather this is a comment on the current state in the art of coaching hitting. A sweeper in the 1980s or 90s would have used a conventional hit in that situation. Perhaps the “safe skills” that coaches are teaching are not that safe after all?

FUNDAMENTALS MATTERLearning how to hit a hockey ball is like

learning how to hit a tennis or golf ball. There are different spins, footwork patterns, hitting off the right/left foot, hitting running in different directions, lifting the ball, chopping the ball – but no matter which hit is being executed there are certain fundamentals that need to be used in order to hit the ball cleanly and correctly. Most of these fundamentals like the grip,

elbow in the right side or close to it, stick pointing at the target are explained briefly in this article. But there are no quick tips to be

applied to a hockey hit, golf swing, or tennis stroke. Quick tips lead to bad fundamentals. Hitting faults due to bad fundamentals can be difficult to correct once they become ingrained in a player’s movements.

OBJECTIVES OF A HITGood hitting skills mean being able to:

* Hit a pass that teammates can receive,

the hit used to be the bread-and-butter of hockey but it is a skill that has declined in recent years. Derek Pappas explains that the hit is still an important part of the game, but it needs to be coached well

hit me with your best shot!

part 1: hitting makes a difference

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making the receiver’s job easier* Hit the ball at a target, goal,

teammate, or gap between defenders

* Hit the ball so that it arrives at a point on the field at the right time.

EVALUATING A HITCoaches need to look at the path

of the ball from behind the player to the target to assess the results of the player’s hit (Note: specialised hits like a slightly lifted hit or a shot on goal will have different results). The following is a list of characteristics of a conventional hit:Good results

* The ball is rolling on the ground* The ball rolling with over spin* The ball is travelling on target* The ball is not bouncing* The ball is travelling at the

intended speedBad results

* The ball is bouncing* The ball has side spin

* The ball is not on target* The ball is travelling at a low/wrong

speed.

OUTCOMES UNDER PRESSUREThere are a set of principles that govern

outcomes in games:* Good fundamentals hold up under

pressure* Bad fundamentals cause bad hits

under pressure* If you have good fundamentals then

under pressure, when the adrenalin is flowing, you will hit the ball better

* Under pressure, bad fundamentals result in hits which are bouncing, miss the target, have side spin, are the incorrect speed.

COMPENSATIONS CAUSE ERRORSA player with bad fundamentals cannot hit the back of the ball without going through contortions on the downswing. Compensations due to a bad grip, bad ball position and bad pickup all result in a hit that has a higher probability of failure under pressure and when the player is fatigued. Watch the best players in the world in the last ten minutes of a game – that is how to tell who has a good hit. Players with good fundamentals can

deliver a proper hit under extreme pressure in match situations – that means on the ground, at the target, with no top spin, and at the correct speed. “Gluing” the ball to the turf when hitting under pressure requires good fundamentals. If you look at the hits of the good players

you will notice that they do many of the things mentioned in this article correctly – I ran this by two former Olympic coaches and they agree – moreover they agree that the basics are not being taught

correctly in all countries. Even then, many skills, such as hitting on

the run, cannot be performed correctly at the highest level. Just watch the teams warm up before an international – just how many are hit at the side boards/corners of the goal?

coaching the hitCOACHING OBJECTIVECoaches needs to work one-on-one

with the players guiding them through simple movements designed to eliminate the excessive movements that lead to compensations during the downswing and result in inconsistent hits.

OVER-COACHINGCoaches should keep in mind that players

can only manage one thought during the swing. Do not ask the players to think about more than one correction. Remind the players to clear their mind of all other thoughts other than the one swing correction.

VARIATIONS IN PLAYER’S SWINGSThe following fundamentals must take into account the age, height and build of the player. Players will have different angles to the ball and distances to the ball depending on their height.

RELATIVE ORIENTATIONThe relative orientation of the stick should be maintained throughout the swing. If the relative position of the stick is

changed during the swing then the player will have to make a correction during

the swing. As I have emphasised – players make compensations during the swing due to bad fundamentals. The orientation will be changed if

any of the following occurs:* Rolling the hands * Swaying the body* Lifting the head up.

Remember that corrections are easier to make when there is no pressure on the player.

biomechanicsA set of hitting fundamentals is outlined below. Some of the fundamentals are counter intuitive.

ADDRESS * Put the ball away from the body

and on a line between the feet. Many players incorrectly position the ball outside (ahead of) their left foot.

* Bend the right elbow and wrist, waist, knees, right elbow, and ankles (stationary/motion). Many players stand too upright and their legs are straight.

* Flat/not bent back. Many players have a curved back.

POSITION OF STICK ON THE BALL* The ball should be positioned in the

middle of the flat part of the stick, not towards the toe of the stick. Hockey sticks have a sweet spot and lining the ball ball up on the sweet spot is important.

* The face of the stick is vertical.

GRIP (Coaches this is an unnatural position

and the player will resist this change)The grip is the basis for the hit.

* Point the v’s between the thumb and forefinger to the right chin

* The top of the left hand and the left thumb should touch the bottom of the right hand.

ARMS/HANDSThe coaching points are:

* Arms hang down* Hands face each other on the stick* When viewed from behind the right

elbow is slightly below the left elbow because the left shoulder should be slightly above the right shoulder and the left hand is above the right hand. So it is natural for the slightly bent right elbow to be slightly below the left elbow. Coaches – this is an unnatural position and the player will resist this change.

* The angle between the arms and

Australia’s Kobe McGurk

Hockey Australialll

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Right elbowis below the

elbow at address

The ball is lined up with the straight part of the stick and not the toe

pivot point

Problem: picking up thestick with the right hand instead of sweeping the hands back away from the ball.

Problem: pushing the lefthand down instead of sweeping the hands back away from the ball.

right fore Þnger is the pivot point

right little Þnger is the pivot point

the stick will vary, depending on the height of the player, when viewed from the back of the intended path of the ball.

* Note the position of the ball. It is in a spot directly in the middle of the straight part of the stick.

THE BACKSWINGUp to this point the player has not been

asked to think about anything during the swing. Key points on the backswing are:

head* The eyes stay on the spot where ball is

during the backswing* Keep the head down during the hit

through the ball* The head moves down during the

downswing and stays down during and after impact

* Watch the spot where the ball is until the stick is at least two feet past the ball

* Do not lift the head up above the starting point until well after impact.

right wrist* Keep the right wrist bent backwards

during the swing (cup the wrist-do not bend it up or down). This is a difficult point to make. But once the right wrist straightens the hitter has lost control of the stick and released through the ball. Keeping the right wrist bent backwards is the key to controlling the direction of the hit

* A bent right wrist is one of the keys to generating power and retaining the angle between the stick and the arms until the last moment prior to impact.

At this point things get a little complicated but if the player has executed the above points correctly then they have a high probability of executing the hit correctly, if they get the following points right:

centre of gravity* The centre of gravity stays between

the feet

* The player should not shift their weight so that they lean sideways, forwards or backwards

* Keep the weight centered over the arches of the feet at address

* Do not drift the weight out over the toes.

swing* Do not rotate the stick around the

stick-handle axis at any point during the swing with the hands unless it is just prior to impact and the intent is to disguise the hit

* Do not push the hands away from the body or raise them up out of the swing path

* The toe of the stick should point up at waist high on the backswing and follow through

* Rotate the shoulders around the spine.

pivot pointThe pivot point should be end of the

stick next to the left little finger (not the right forefinger which is the case of most players)

* To picture the pivot point imagine a horizontal line through the end of the stick next to the left little finger – see below. As the stick is drawn back the pivot point should remain on the line. If the player incorrectly pivots off their right hand, which is in a dominant

position, the end of the stick will be pushed below the horizontal line. This is a difficult point to understand and coach – see another illustration over the page.

* Ask the player to relax their arm and hand so that the right hand remains in the correct position on the stick and the right elbow starts to bend gradually on the backswing.

* An incorrect pivot point leads to all sorts of weird motions in the backswing which cause compensations in the downswing – leading to hitting faults, especially under pressure.

backswing* Maintain a triangle between the two

shoulders and the hands as seen from the front during the take away

* Maintain the angle between the arms and the stick as seen from the back during the backswing

* Arms are both straight until just below waist high on the back swing

* Elbow folds into the side at this point and may leave the side on a longer backswing (and the elbow should return to the side on the downswing).

This is the critical point in the swing and where most players go astray:

* They rotate the stick around the axis of the stick handle so that the toe of the

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The arms at the address position

Correct pivot point

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Right elbowis far away

from the righthip bone

Right elbowis below the

left arm

Right elbowis near right

hip bone, stick is between

the shoulders

Right elbowis below the

elbow at address

The hands have been swung

behind the right hip

pivot point

Problem: picking up thestick with the right hand instead of sweeping the hands back away from the ball.

Problem: pushing the lefthand down instead of sweeping the hands back away from the ball.

right fore Þnger is the pivot point

right little Þnger is the pivot point

stick points not up at waist high but away from or towards the ball

* They push the end of the stick away from its pivot position

* At waist high they pull their hands back away from the ball behind their right hip so that the back of the left hand is facing away from the target line

* Instead of the upper right arm pointing directly down the upper arm faces backwards (the flying elbow) which results in looping or helicopter swing or the right elbow faces towards the ball and the player chops down on the ball instead of swinging through it

* The stick should be parallel to the target line and the toe should point straight up at waist high on the backswing and point at the target with the toe up on the follow through.

If the pivot point is the right forefinger then the stick will be out of plane at the top of the swing resulting in a

“helicopter” hit”.

TOP OF THE SWING * The player has “set” the angle

between the arm and the stick* The angle is less than 90 degrees* The player will retain the “set” angle

well into the down swing* The left arm is straight* For a normal hit the weight is on the

right foot* The stick is between the shoulders* The toe points down the target line

and not left or right of the target.

DOWNSWING* Right elbow touching the player’s

side – easy for the player check because they know whether the arm is touching their side

* The hips lead the downswing* The left knee is bent (for running hits

straightening the left knee at impact is going to cause long-term injuries for some players. The left knee was not

Common pivot point faults

View from behind the target line at address (left) and at the top of the swing. The red line is an imaginary plane running from the ball, through the shoulders – the player should stay aligned with the plane through the swing

Incorrect pivot point (bottom) causes helicopter swing. Top shows correct position at top of swing

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Right elbowis far away

from the righthip bone

Right elbowis below the

left arm

Right elbowis near right

hip bone, stick is between

the shoulders

Right elbowis below the

elbow at address

The hands have been swung

behind the right hip

Shoulders and/or hips

have not rotated a sufÞcient amount and the hands arein front of the plane

Or the player has pivoted off of the

right hand instead of the left hand

designed for that kind of impact on Astroturf)

* The player is pushing off of their right foot

* The right knee is driving into the ground

* Get the right elbow bent and tucked into the side on the back swing and downswing

* The right elbow can release during longer swings towards the top but needs to return to the side on the downswing

* The angle set between the arm and stick is retained until the hands are waist high

* Straighten the right arm prior to impact to release the right arm through the ball towards the target.

IMPACT* The stick has been returned to its

original position at address* The triangle between the shoulders

and the hands has been restored* The right elbow is slightly bent* The back is flat* The hips, knees, and ankles are bent* The hips have turned slightly around

the spinal column while the shoulders are square to the ball

* The right lower leg is close to parallel to the ground

* The ball is between the feet* The player is not leaning to the right. * The shoulders are parallel to the

the target line (unless a deceptive hit is being used in an advanced technique)

* The left knee is bent and the over the

middle of the left foot * As the stick approaches the ball the

player is releasing the right wrist and the right arm through the ball without rolling the wrists and the left arm is straight

* Maintain the flat plane between the left arm and the stick. Think about hitting the ball with the left arm through the stick to form a wall

* Hit the back of the ball at impact (if the player hits the top of the ball and raises the ball they probably used a baseball grip or rotated the stick on the backswing)

* The player must not roll their wrists through the impact area

* The left arm/wrist does not collapse* The player stays bent at the waist.

FOLLOW THROUGH* Point the right arm at the target and at

the ground during the release * At waist high the toe of the stick

should point up and the stick should point at the target (unless a special side spin hit has been executed or the player has run around the ball to the left-then they need to use a blocking follow through like a forehand cricket shot and not release the wrists).

* Note that on the follow through the player must not allow the left wrist to collapse or bend backwards.

* After impact the triangle is maintained to ensure that the face of the stick still points at the target to avoid changing the direction of ball due to prematurely rolling the wrists.

* After about 18 inches to two feet past the ball, the stick rotates around the pivot point and not the right hand

* The two forearms should touch each other at waist high on the follow through

* Do not push the left hand/the end of the stick down on the follow through. The end of the stick is still a pivot point and should not be manipulated in any way

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Problems at the top of the swing when viewed from the back (both diagrams above)lll

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* The right arm straightens after impact, points at the ground, and towards the target.

Important: Have the player stop their follow through of the stick when it is parallel to the ground. If the arms are not straight and the player’s stick is not pointing at the target and the two forearms are not touching then something has gone wrong.

FOOTWORK DURING THE SWINGThe player must understand the footwork for a stationary hit more so that for a running hit. During a stationary hit the footwork and the hips are the primary initiators.Address

* Feet are flat on the ground* Weight is distributed evenly between

the two feet

* Weight is not on the heels or the balls of the feet

* Feet can be together or apart depending on the type of hit being executed.

Back swing* The left foot lifts up during the

backswing and moves to the left* Alternatively both feet remain on the

ground during the hit and the weight is more on the right foot to start with and shifts to the left during the downswing

* The right foot does not roll to the right* The right foot provides a brace against

the hip wind up.

Downswing* The right heel lifts off of the ground

and drives towards the ball along with the right knee.

Impact* Left foot is turned out toward the

target* As a result of the right foot driving

towards the ball the body is in a lunge position with the right heel off of the ground, the right knee is six inches off of the ground, the left knee is bent. This is result of the footwork and lowering the body during the downswing.

next timePutting it all into practice. Drills to

coach and test hitting and an analysis of common faults.

players to watchThese players all have world

class hits under pressure:

* Billy Bakker (Netherlands)

* Luciana Aymar (Argentina)

* Moritz Furste (Germany – right)

* Teun de Nooijer (Netherlands)

* Jamie Dwyer (Australia)

Their techniques should be studied carefully and communicated to the new generation of players.

about Derek PappasDerek has played hockey onthree continents and in 10different countries. He was onthe US international trainingsquad in the 1980s and nowcoaches skills, patterns of play,game tactics, and various teams. He is CEO of GroupAngle http://groupangle.com

Correct swing and follow through

p

Andy Smith

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