Earle Morris 2012

Improve mechanics (technique) Establish feel Know your tendancies Improve your confidence Have fun!

The more I practice, the luckier I get – Michael Jordan

When you are not practicing, remember that someone, somewhere is practicing and when you meet them, they will be ready

 There is no glory in practice, but without practice, there is no glory...

 Don't practice until you get it right Practice until you can't get it wrong!

Pre-practice thoughts  Use visualization  Park your life(job, family, social life,etc)  Warm-up  Prep the ice  Focus like you would in a game

 Warm-up drills  Technical drills  Finesse drills  Position specific drills  Difference maker drills  Impossible shot drills  Fun drills  Situational drills  Individual/Pairs/Team drills  ?????

 Warm-up(2 down and back) = 4  Technical shots(takeouts – normal,control, bumper) -4 sets of 3 rocks = 12  Finesse shots (draws, backring,hackweight)- 4 sets of 3 rocks = 12  Position specific – 4 sets of 3 rocks = 12  Work on worst part of your game – 2 sets of 3 = 6  TOTAL = 50 rocks

 1. On-ice warm-up; (10 min)  2. Up the ladder (technical ) drills; (20 min)  3. Team drills  Crazy eights (15 min)  Progressive draws (20 min)  4. Finesse (feeling the shots) drills  a. Hack weight come around hits (30 min)  b. Come around draw pods (30 min)  5. Position specific drills (30 min)  6. Situational drills  Last end scenarios (15 min per end)  Tied with,tied w/o, 1 up w/o, 1 down with,etc  Note – if working in pairs on two sheets - mix it up from one practice to the next so that practices don’t get clickish

Once you have warmed up off-ice, go out on the ice, slide a couple of times and throw two down and two back as a warm-up and to let you get a sense for the ice that day

Up the ladder drill(always do this as 1 st drill) 8(2/2/2/2) or 12(3/3/3/3) rocks each working in pairs (if one sheet 2 players go to other end, if 2 sheets both pairs work at home end) Increase the weight with the two or three shots within each set(hence – the up the ladder concept). If 2 – then draw and then control, if 3 – the draw, bumper and normal. See next slide for pictorial representation

UP THE LADDER (TECHNICAL)DRILL (left side) 2/2 or 3/3 -Place target rock 10 ft or so over hogline -Person holding broom places broom in middle of rock -Thrower tosses 2 or 3 in turns(its) at the target and then 2 or 3 out turns (ots) at the target -Purpose is to confirm that shooter is hitting broom – if thrown rock hits target rock in middle – that’s good, if not – give feedback on what you saw Target rock (left side)

UP THE LADDER (TECHNICAL DRILL) (right side) 2/2 or 3/3 -Place target rock 10 ft or so over hogline -Person holding broom places broom in middle of rock -Thrower tosses 2 or 3 in turns(its) at the target and then 2 or 3 out turns (ots) at the target -Purpose is to confirm that shooter is hitting broom – if thrown rock hits target rock in middle – that’s good, if not – give feedback on what you saw Target rock (right side)

Crazy eights drill is a team takeout drill that requires take out weight, brushing, communication and line calling 8 rocks (of one colour) are set up in the house (see next slide) Throw in regular order Object is to replace the 8 rocks in the house with the 8 rocks you are throwing Score 1 pt for each of your thrown rocks closer to the centre than the existing rocks(if any are still in play) Execute 1 end or throw a 2 nd end if not happy with the 1 st end results

CRAZY EIGHTS TEAM DRILL This is a take out team drill that requires take out weight, brushing communication and shot calling. 8 rocks are positioned in the house(anyway you want basically but something like the diagram) and then you throw at them with takeout weight – objective is to have your eight shooters relacing them at the end.

This a great team drill that requires throwing accurate draw weight, calling line, communication and brushing strength and smarts Throw in regular order Object is to throw 5 draws each by making each draw better than the last in order to keep shooting as follows: Leads 1st shot must bite 12 ft(or better), leads 2 nd draw must bite 8ft(or better), leads 3 rd shot must bite 4 ft(or better), leads 4 th shot must bite button and one additional shot can be thrown by that shooter if 1 st four shots are as outlined above. After lead throws, then the 2 nd throws,etc,etc. IF YOU DON’T MEET THE OBJECTIVE(ie 2 nd draw doesn’t make it to 8 ft) – turn is over and the next person throws Great judging and endurance drill for brushers Good practice throwing draw weight

Hack weight come around hits are excellent for practicing your ability to finesse. Work in pairs with one person in the house and brushing from the far hog-line into the house as required Throw 6 rocks each(3/3) and change – when the 2 nd person has thrown the 6 rocks, change again and throw 6 more each(12 rocks total per player) Place short rocks out front of the house to make it more realistic(see next slide) Play for money against the two players on the next sheet Score 2 for a hit and stay, 1 for a hit and roll out, 0 for a miss

4A. HACK WEIGHT COME AROUND HITS Place 3 guards approx 1 brush length in front of the house Guards should have a space of approx 2 rocks between each other to allow the hack weight shot to get through The 1 rock in the house will be stay in 1 spot for 3 shots and then be moved around to all 4 diff spots total Place the rock in the house either partly behind the guard or almost completely behind the guard to increase difficulty Target rock in the house (only 1 in house – it just gets moved around so that each player throws 12 hack weight hits(A-3its toward side, B-3 ots toward the centre, C- 3 its toward the centre, D- 3 ots toward the side)

Come around draws are excellent for practicing your ability to finesse. Work in pairs with one person in the house and brushing from the far hog-line into the house as required Throw 6 rocks each(3/3) and change – when the 2 nd person has thrown the 6 rocks, change again and throw 6 more each(12 rocks total per player) – totals =3 ots away, 3 its toward middle, 3its away, 3 ots middle Place short rocks out front of the house to make it more realistic(see next slide) Play for money against the two players on the next sheet Score 2 for a draw biting or in front of T, 1 for a draw behind the T, O for a short rock and -1 for through the house

4B. COME AROUND DRAW PODS Place 3 guards approx 1 brush length in front of the house Guards should have a space of approx 2 rocks between each other to allow the draw shot to get through Throw all 4 come around draws 3x Each player throws 12 come around draws(A-3its toward side, B-3 ots toward the centre, C- 3 its toward the centre, D- 3 ots toward the side)

Each player should focus on the requirements of his position with drills specifically for shots that win curling games These can be summarized as follows: Leads – six packs, double guards and ticks Seconds – straight backs, double peels, double take outs 3rds – straight backs, double peels, cross house doubles Skips – straight backs, in offs and draws to the lid Notes Spend 30 mins on these drills working in pairs all of these are self explanatory –except for the 6 pack which is shown on next slide

Leads – six packs, (double guards and ticks not shown here – self explanatory) Throw 3 ots to the middle in this order(with brushing- no on holding the broom) 1 - OT Short (2 zone) 2 - OT draw 4ft 3 - OT Corner Freeze Repeat same drill with Its (with brushing) Throw 3 its to the middle in this order(with brushing- no on holding the broom) 1 - IT Short (2 zone) 2 - -IT draw 4ft 3 - IT Corner Freeze

Last end scenarios (15 min per end) Tied with,tied w/o, 1 up w/o, 1 down with,etc Notes – You can do this one of 2 ways Team plays both sets of rocks at the same time – ie you are both teams 5 th player, coach or skip sets up rocks at near hog line and simulates the other team by playing all rocks using his brush to “throw”

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