Saturday, January 21, 2012

Easy juking drill

Alternative names: Faking
Objective: Agility; to practice juking; to improve jammer (and blocker) skills
Typical length of drill: 10 minutes
Materials needed: A taped down track
Skill level required: None

Description: Count your skaters off by two so that you get two groups (ones and twos).  Have all the skaters spread out on the track and start skating.  On your first whistle the #1 skaters all stop and stay put on the track in a nice squat position.  At the same time, all the #2 skaters begin sprinting and juking around all the obstacles on the track.  Make sure you tell them that this is very specifically a juking drill so they should be skating right up to their stopped teammates and then juking around them; this is NOT a weaving drill.  Tell the skaters to challenge themselves, so if someone for instance has stopped very close to inside track boundary then this is an opportunity for them to try and juke to the inside line.  After 60 seconds blow the whistle again and at this point the #2s stop where they are and the #1s start sprinting and juking.  Repeat these 60-second cycles for up to 10 minutes.

Additional notes: I feel like one of my Helsinki Roller Derby teammates ran this drill at a practice a long time ago but I can't remember who so I'm sorry to say I have no credit to give (or take) here.  This is a really simple drill that's good for agility and beginner juking practice. Before doing a juking drill I like to really demonstrate to the skaters how jelly-like I want to see them act on their skates.  Lots of moving your body around and changing your height and direction to really confuse the opponent.  I've also been known to call juking "dancing on skates" and enjoy giving everyone a chance to embarrass themselves as a group before we begin the drill by doing a little group dancing.  It loosens everyone up and can actually have a great effect on their viscosity on the track.

Finally, I'd like to add that this is a good drill to do in the opposite direction!

For a quick juking lesson, watch this excellent Juking 101 -video with Bonnie D. Stroir and the San Diego Derby Dolls:

2 comments:

  1. Colonel Corpse - Coach Stratford DecapulattesMay 17, 2012 at 10:50 AM

    This drill had my girls improving their skills very rapidly. Excellent drill for learning to dodge!!

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