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By Jude Felix Sebastian Published on: Tue Mar 8, 2022
Your upper body should be bent almost to a crouching position. Step forward with your left foot and simultaneously swing the stick back. You’ll find the stick almost parallel to the ground. Using the momentum generated, swing forward in a sweeping motion and slap the ball just above the blade of the stick.
Former Indian National Team Captain, Arjuna and Dronacharya Awardee, your coach has capped over 250 matches, including 2 Olympics, 2 World Cups, 2 Asian Games, and 3 Champions Trophy tournaments. He is the founder of Jude Felix Hockey Academy and brings 22 years of coaching experience.
While the hit and short handle hit are no doubt used quite a bit during the game, there’s another technique which is extremely popular, known as the sweep-slap. Here’s what Jude Felix has to say about getting the move right.
Having read about the hit and short handle hit, you should be all too familiar with the knees bent, shoulder-width-apart stance. Where the sweep-slap is different is with regards to your upper body. It should be bent almost to a crouching position, so you’re very close to the ground.
This is almost identical to hitting the ball. Keep both hands near the top of the handle, with a tiny bit of the handle protruding from your left hand. Your grip on the stick should be firm and hard. For the stationary ball, the ball should be kept straight in front of you, as far as the blade can reach. For the step and sweep, the position of the ball should be diagonally in front of you, to the left. Keep the ball a little further for the shuffle and sweep.
With the posture, grip and ball position covered, it’s time to execute the sweep-slap. Step forward with your left foot and simultaneously swing the stick back. You’ll find the stick is almost parallel to the ground in the semi-crouch position. Using the momentum generated, swing the stick forward in a sweeping motion and slap the ball just above the blade of the stick.
To practice this further, there are two simple exercises that are recommended. In the first, start walking while dribbling the ball for about 10 steps. Then bring the ball to your right and sweep it towards the target. The second exercise begins with a slow run for about 5 meters, dribbling the ball forward and bringing it to your right. Here again, finish with a sweep towards the target.
Stand about 10 metres apart. On the whistle, players run with the ball to reach a line or cone on the ground, and then try to sweep the ball into the goal. Whosever ball reaches first into the goal is the winner. A change of positions is advisable after every round or five points.
The next post deals with a useful technique for when you need to pass really quickly, avoiding a defender’s tackle. This is called the wrong foot pass right and left.
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