Strokes

This project was done for Kinesiology, in collaboration with two of my classmates. Everything is posted with permission

What is a Stroke?

If you are like my teammates, when I asked them if I could videotape them doing a stroke, when you hear the word, you probably think of the medical event. In the field hockey world, this is a specific type of penalty shot that creates a large offensive advantage. A single player lines up 7 meters away from the goal and takes one shot from a stationary position. 

What are we looking at?

This is a comparison of the biomechanics of an inexperienced player (a goalie), versus an experienced player (a stroke taker for a division one program). 

Why is it important?

In looking at the comparison between an experienced player and an inexperienced player, you are able to see the biomechanical differences in approach. These can help a coach teach a new player how to do the skill better. 

Let's get into it!

Body Position:

The experienced play starts compact, while the inexperienced player begins in an upright position. The inexperienced player has her shoulders open and is rotated to face to goal. The experienced player starts with her feet together, while the inexperienced player has her feet separated. Note that the inexperienced player does have a foot in front of the ball, which is not allowed

Stick position:

The experienced player starts with her stick angled upward as if ready to take a flick, while the inexperienced player has her stick positioned upright like she plans to take a drive. The experienced player has her right arm at a 125-degree angle to the stick. 

Body Position:

The experienced player has a much wider stride length than the inexperienced player. Both players shift their weight to their front foot. The experienced player is bending her knees more than the inexperienced player, which will give her more power throughout the skill.

Ball Position:

The experienced player has the ball in the middle of her stance, while the inexperienced player has it towards her back foot. 

Stick Position: 

The experienced player moves her stick towards an upright position, while the inexperienced player moves the top of her stick in front of the ball. 

Body Position:

The experienced player is still much lower to the ground in comparison to the inexperienced player. The experienced player's back shin is almost parallel with the ground at the time of release. The experienced player also points her foot towards her target. The inexperienced player has her back arm almost fully extended at the end of the phase, while the experienced player still has her's bent. 

Body Position:

The inexperienced player's back foot is still facing inwards, while the experienced player has turned her back foot forward. The inexperienced player shifted her chest and shoulders to the right, while the experienced player's body remained in line.

Stick Position:

The experienced player finished with her stick coming across her body, while the inexperienced player finished with her stick coming straight in front of her. The experienced player still has her back elbow bent, while the inexperienced player has completely straightened her back arm. 

Other Notes

Timing:

The experienced player spent more time shifting forwards than the inexperienced player and had a quicker step-out phase. By having a quicker step-out phase, she increased the velocity of her body, increasing the speed of the ball. 

Velocity:

The experienced player dragged the ball much further than the inexperienced player, creating a much higher velocity. This is important because having a higher velocity gives the goalie less time to react to which direction the ball is going.  

Staying Low to the Ground:

In all the images, the experienced player remains positioned lower to the ground. This helps her maintain better balance and stability.  It also may help decrease injury risk. 

Stick Height:

The experienced player kept her stick at a lower angle from the ground. This helped her produce more power and take a more forceful shot. It also gives the ball a better lift. 

Coaching Impacts:

When teaching this skill, you want your focus to be on having the player remain low. They should be bent at both the hips and knees and want to keep their sticks angled low. 

Their arms should be bent as they take the shot, and they should focus on not opening up their body position until the follow-through phase. 

Players should focus on keeping the ball on their stick for as long as possible to maximize the velocity of their shot, which will ultimately create a shorter reaction time for the goalie. 

I hope you found this useful, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a message in the feedback form!