Basic, Can be progressed
This is a great drill that can be done by an individual to improve their ground ball skills in a short period of time. It is very good for beginners as you introduce the skill of scooping and provides advanced players the chance to get in lots of reps, and to focus on fundamentals.
For Right Handed Scooping:
- Hands shoulder width apart.
- When a player sees the ball on the ground they yell “Ball”. When the ball is scooped they yell “Break”. If they don’t yell these then consider having the whole team do 3-5 push-ups as a gentle reminder.
- As the player approaches the ball they should get their right foot as close as possible to the ball. This gets their body over the ball and protects the head of the stick from checks by defensive players.
- The left hand should be at the knee or below. “Scrape the knuckles”
- After scooping the player should accelerate (to avoid the defender catching them), bring the stick up to their face, and turn in a counterclockwise arc. (Turning in an arc is important for younger players who hold the stick out in front after scooping because they haven’t mastered the skill of bringing the stick up to the face immediately after scooping.)
- You can remind the players to “Scoop it”; “Kiss it” (bring it to face); “Hear it” (bring the stick to the ear and protect it.
- For Left handed scooping the Right hand will be by the knee and the players will turn in a clockwise arc.
- Players pair off and stand on the sideline.
- Player 1 gently rolls the ball out towards the opposite sideline, then runs and scoops it.
- Repeat until the player has scooped it 3 times then turns around and repeats 3 scoops going back towards Player 2.
- The coaches must stress to the kids that they go slowly enough so that their technique is perfect. This drill is to reinforce the fundamentals, not just “kill time”. Bring stick to face and cradle after the scoop, just like in a game.
- When Player 1 returns to the sideline Player 2 will then do the same thing.
- To avoid confusion, we suggest that they do them all right-handed for 2 turns, then all left-handed for 2 turnsmens-groun-ball-3-across-the-ield.
- Protecting the ball
- Turning in the correct arc
Variations/Progression/Increased difficulty (As your players improve their skills incorporate the following…)
- Pick up the pace so there is more conditioning and they learn to concentrate on the fundamentals when going full speed.
- Introduce a dodge after each scoop. They must protect the stick during the dodge