Thursday, February 17, 2011

Dogfight

Alternative Names: Aggressive Jamming
Objective:
This drill is one we use to simulate aggressive jamming, so that our jammers know both how to engage from the start, and also to deal with a jammer who targets them straight off the start line.
Typical length of drill:
10-15 Minutes
Materials needed:
Track outline, whistle
Skill level required:
Approved for contact
Description:
There's not a lot to this drill admittedly, but we've seen the benefits during scimmage ever since we started to use this one.

Very simply, the girls pair up and form a line behind the jammer line. Each pair will approach the jammer line, one pair at a time, and set themselves for a jammer start. The coach will then double whistle for them to start.

The whole idea of this drill is to engage from the offset. The jammers will be trying to knock the other down, put her out of bounds to render her ineligible for Lead Jammer, or just to gain the advantage over her so that she is in the lead.

The jammers are instructed to fight and engage with the other girl as much as possible, and the "winner" is the first girl who reaches turn 3, at which point they take a knee and return to the back of the line. The next pair will then start the drill.

When every pair has had their turn, the drill is repeated, but with the girls alternating their positions, ie if a girl was on the inside line first time around, her partner will take the inside line on the second run.

So there it is! As I said, not the most complicated of drills, but we've noticed the jammers getting more confident in throwing and taking hits for themselves ever since the day we first ran this drill. It has also forced the jammers to think about their starting stance and starting position along the line before the whistle.

Additional notes: Initially, this drill just sorta happened as a natural progression. We'd been working on toe-stop starts for a few weeks, and I wanted to spice things up with some contact and aggression! I'd noticed that with scrimmage, the girls didnt get a lot of chances to work on a startegy like this one, so the drill just sort of evolved. It's one we use quite regularly with our intermediate group and I've been delighted with the results we've seen from this one.

try it!
-vb-

2 comments:

  1. It's cool how we all think alike! I've done similar to this with Mississippi Rollergirls and call it dogfighting as well! Like WW2 fighter planes. Universal consciousness rules.

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  2. I've run this drill a few times, and paired it with an adapted version: basically a have a set of several index cards that either say "Engage" or "Sprint" on them. The jammers on the line choose a card and have to do what it says.

    This helps by introducing an element of the unknown - you never know if the opposing jammer is going to engage or sprint off the line; and is a good approximation of game day when you don't know what the other jammer is going to do.

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