Yes I think this is fundamentally correct and many examples, high profile ones at that to support it. The grip taken allows/restricts the flexibility required for a range of striking options.
An awful lot of (fluent) striking is to do with use of body weight. Hence Ćamonn Cregan getting on to Shane Dowling to stop taking frees off his left side.
Tony Kelly gave a spell a few years ago trying to get himself to take frees off his right side. If I was interviewing him, that brief period would be my first question.
1 Like
Agreed, what gave Henry Shefflin and Eoin Kelly their incredible range of striking had almost as much to do with their feet as it had their hands. Richie Power Jr. should probably go in that category also in that he could strike travelling in any direction, any trajectory and off either side.
1 Like
Interesting post. You need to catch kids early on this. Hockey really complicates things in our club as its dominant hand on the bottom of the grip. So one or two always sneak through with the less dominant hand on top and ones the neural pathways are embedded its very hard to roll back.
Spot on, I think. Wrists + timing + use of body weight = good striking.
1 Like
Iām left handed, lhot yet a right sided hurler and right legged.
Iām class at everything fwiw.
The right sided hurling thing was purely down to poor coaching I think.
Absolutley fundamental to catch first thing. I have an u12 player this year who has everything but is a grip changer in Wally Walsh mode. This is the first year Iāve had this group so am left scratching my head as to how its only being caught now. The player is very developed and strong in every way, enough so to play regurlarly at u14 but the striking is probably at u10 level and left side is non existant. Taking the softly softly approach and have involved the parents in trying to encourage a change.
2 Likes
Players who had this sort of gripchanging problem until 12 or so include Aidan Cummins, Michael Duignan, Richie Hogan, Michael āBabsā Keating and Adrian Ronan. Effort put in on this front will be well worth it.
2 Likes
Nothing wrong with your technique per se. Same as Brendan Cummins, Joey Holden, Martin Hanamy, Lester Ryan, Patrick āBonnarā Maher, Eoin Larkin, Jake Morris, Lar Corbett etc.
Thatās certainly a challenge.
Out of genuine interest as I have no Hockey experience whatsoever, is the striking face one sided i.e. there is a front and a back to a hockey stick?
Yeah - you can only use the flatter side of stick to hit the ball or itās a foul
1 Like
Thanks, does that mean you can only strike one side and there would be a left sided and a right sided stick, like you would have in golf?
Jaysus I donāt know - I think they are all the same side. I bought a goalie stick by mistake when my lad started it. I need to look very closely to see the difference.