Elimination Skills V-drags

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Tamsin Wilcox
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1 Elimination Skills V-drags Difficulty of the skill: Green - this is a core skill for all ages. What are the skills? Elimination skills are those skills used to avoid or evade members of the opposition and maintain possession of the ball. These skills include drags and lifts; the simpler the action the more likely the player is to succeed. Lifts are covered in 3D skills; this section will concentrate on V-drags from left to right and from right to left. What are V-drags? The main principle behind V-drags is the ability to drag the ball from either right to left or from left to right to eliminate a member of the opposition. The term V-drag has been coined because whilst executing the drag a V-shape is created with the ball. Example of the skill Left to Right Page 1 of 10

2 V-drag from left to right Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 The ball is dragged to outside the left foot to draw the defender to this side. Then the ball is dragged to outside the right foot to eliminate the defender. Page 2 of 10 The attacker moves off into space.

V-drag from right to left Figure 1 Figure

foot in order to eliminate the defender.

3 V-drag from right to left Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 The ball is dragged outside the right foot to draw the defender to this side. The ball is dragged outside the left foot in order to eliminate the defender. The attacker moves off into space. Page 3 of 10

4 Coaching points Right to left Head Hands and arms Body Feet Opponent The player needs to keep their vision on the defender they are trying to beat, ahead of performing the skill in order attain cues as to when the defending player is committing to making a tackle. As the defending player commits to the tackle this is when the attacking player to performs the skill. Whilst performing the drag the player may need to glance down at the ball to ensure that it is in contact with their stick throughout the skill. Once the drag has been completed the player should return to a good ball carrying position keeping their head up. The player s left hand is placed at the top of the stick and their right hand is positioned lower down the stick further towards the head of the stick. This type of grip is known as a basic grip. The player will need to move their hands quickly hands in order to move the stick accordingly to perform the drag. The player needs to keep their left elbow high to allow for a more upright stick with their hands and arms away from their body. When changing direction from right to left players should exaggerate their left elbow position. The player may find the skill difficult or may lose control of the ball if they do not have a strong left elbow position and their hands and arms away from their body. Whilst completing the drag the player should exaggerate the move towards the defenders left hand side in order to make the defender commit to the tackle on their left side. When the defender commits to the tackle this is when the attacking player drags the ball exploiting the space on the defenders right hand side. A deceleration stride is crucial to provide the player with an effective change of direction from right to left, this deceleration stride should be the penultimate stride before completing the drag. On the right to left V-drag the left foot is the penultimate stride, the stride which produces deceleration in order for the last stride of the right foot to prepare for the change of movement and going towards the intended new direction. The player will need to ensure that they move their feet quickly and keep their feet moving at all times whilst completing the skill. The player should try and accelerate out of the skill in order to exploit space and reduce the possibility of the defender recovering and making and further tackles. The attacking player runs at an angle towards their opponents left foot with an intention to pass them on the right-foot side. By running towards the opponents left hand side it leads them to believe that the attacking player is intending to commit to try and get passed them on this side when they are actually trying to open up space on the right hand side to use instead. It is important to be able to identify when the defender shifts their Page 4 of 10

5 Ball Stick Vision Additional information weight to their left hand side committing to the tackle as this is the cue for the attacking player to complete the drag. The player needs to be close enough to their opponent so they cannot correct themselves and make a secondary tackle however they must avoid getting too close to the defending player to avoid being tackled. The best results are produced if the player drags the ball over a greater distance. Players should aim to move the ball over 2-3 s The ball should travel from well outside one foot, across the body and to as far as possible outside the other foot. In this case the ball will travel from outside the attacking player s right foot, across their body from right to left and be transferred as far as possible to their left foot. If the ball is too close to the attacking player s feet then this could affect footwork. A strong ball carrying position before the drag is completed will reduce the likelihood of the ball making contact with the player s feet. The attacking player should keep their stick in contact with the ball throughout the drag. The player needs to pre-scan to recognise the space available to exploit. The player needs to pre-scan to recognise when the defender makes the commitment to their left hand side. This could be in the form of a block tackle. The player needs to be aware of the defenders movements and be ready to react to them; this is where fast feet and hands play an important part in completing the drag and maintaining possession. Players should return to a good ball carrying position once the V-drag has been completed. Coaching points Left to right Head The player needs to keep their vision on the defender they are trying to beat, ahead of performing the skill in order attain cues as to when the defending player is committing to making a tackle. As the defending player commits to the tackle this is when the attacking player to performs the skill. Whilst performing the drag the player may need to glance down at the ball to ensure that it is in contact with their stick throughout the skill. Once the drag has been completed the player should return to a good ball carrying position keeping their head up. The player s left hand is placed at the top of the stick and their right hand is positioned lower down the stick further towards the head of the stick. This type of grip is known as a basic grip. The player will need to move their hands quickly in order to move the Page 5 of 10

6 Hands and arms Body Feet Opponent Ball stick accordingly to perform the drag. The player needs to keep their left elbow high to allow for a more upright stick with their hands and arms away from their body. When changing direction from right to left players should exaggerate their left elbow position. The player may find the skill difficult or may lose control of the ball if they do not have a strong left elbow position and their hands and arms away from their body. Whilst completing the drag the player should exaggerate the move towards the defenders right hand side in order to make the defender commit to the tackle on this side. As the defender commits to the tackle this is when the attacking player drags the ball exploiting the space on the defenders left hand side. A deceleration stride is crucial to provide the player with an effective change of direction from left to right, this deceleration stride should be the penultimate stride before completing the drag. On the left to right V-drag the right foot is the penultimate stride, the stride which produces deceleration in order for the last stride of the left foot to prepare for the change of movement and going towards the intended new direction. The player will need to ensure that they move their feet quickly and keep their feet moving at all times whilst completing the skill. The player should try and accelerate out of the skill in order to exploit space and reduce the possibility of the defender recovering and making further tackles. The attacking player runs at an angle towards their opponent s right foot with an intention to pass them on the opponent s right -foot side. By running towards the opponent s right hand side it leads them to believe that the attacking player is intending to commit to try and get passed them on this side when they actually are going trying to open up space on the defender s left hand side to use this instead. It is important to be able to identify when the defender shifts their weight to their right hand side committing to tackle as this is the cue for the attacking player to complete the drag. The player needs to be close enough to their opponent so they cannot correct themselves and make a secondary tackle however they must avoid getting too close to the defending player to avoid being tackled. The best results are produced if the player drags the ball over a greater distance. Players should aim to move the ball over 2-3 metres. The ball should travel from well outside one foot, across the body and to as far as possible of the other foot. In this case the ball will travel from outside the attacking players left foot, across their body from left to right and be transferred as far as possible to their right foot. If the ball is too close to the attacking player s feet then this could affect footwork. A strong ball carrying position before the drag is Page 6 of 10

7 completed will reduce the likelihood of the ball making contact with the player s feet. Stick The attacking player should keep their stick in contact with the ball throughout the drag. The player needs to pre-scan to recognise the space available to exploit. The player needs to pre-scan to recognise when the defender makes Vision the commitment to their right hand side. This could be in the form of a block tackle. The player needs to be aware of the defenders movements and be ready to react to them; this is where fast feet and hands play an Additional information important part in completing the drag and maintaining possession. Players should return to a good ball carrying position once the V-drag has been completed. Frequently asked question Q) When first learning to drag will players find it easier to drag from left to right or from right to left? A) When first learning how to V-drag most players tend to find it easier dragging from their left to their right. Therefore it is important that players practice dragging both from left to right and right to left in order to execute both well during game play. Page 7 of 10

8 Key Attacker Attacker s movement First drag Defender Defender s movement Second drag Left to right V-drag Right to left V-drag Page 8 of 10

9 Suggested Exercise Set up 5/6 pairings of cones as demonstrated below. Players work through the cones which will enable them to practice dragging both from left to right and right to left throughout the slalom. Players should imagine that the cones are defenders and should practice faking and exaggerating the drag in order to add disguise to the V-drag when putting it into practice. Key Small cone Large Cone Player Movement direction Progression In pairs, one player becomes the attacker and one player becomes the defender. The Page 9 of 10

10 attackers are looking to get from one area of the pitch into a scoring area without the defending player making a block tackle and gaining possession. The attacking player should practice attacking using both the left to right and right to left V- drags. This exercise will help players to establish when to perform the drag in accordance to cues given by the defender. The defender can adjust the level of their challenge in accordance with the attacking player s skill level becoming more passive or aggressive. Page 10 of 10

Difficulty of the skill: Orange - this is a medium difficulty core skill for ages 7 upwards.

Jab Tackle Difficulty of the skill: Orange - this is a medium difficulty core skill for ages 7 upwards. What is the skill? In essence, this defensive skill is a jab towards the ball when the ball carrier