Dead Ball, Cool Head

Frees and sideline cuts drilled into a routine that holds up when the game is on the line

Hurling
Minor
75 min
16–30 players
2 coaches
Effort 3/5
Half pitch with goals
minor
dead-ball
frees
sideline-cuts
set-pieces

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: Hurleys and helmets, a bag of 16+ sliotars, 24 cones, 2 poles or tall cones for target uprights, a notebook or phone for the numbers

Warm-up10 min

The Striker's Routine

Setup: Players spread in pairs across the pitch, one ball per pair, striking to each other over a growing distance. Poles set up as a target upright at one end for later.

How it works: Warm the striking muscles and set the routine every dead ball will share. Start close, striking from the hand to a partner, and stretch the distance every minute. Then the routine drilled dry, no target yet, everyone together on a count: place the ball or settle it, two steps back, one breath, eyes to the target, then a smooth lift-and-strike or ground strike with a full finish. The point tonight is that every free and every cut uses the same unhurried routine, so build it now while there is no pressure. Finish with five long strikes each toward the pole to wake the range up.

What to say

“Tell them: 'the routine is the skill under pressure — same steps, same breath, every single time.'”
“Tell them: 'the strike does not get harder for distance, it gets later and cleaner.'”
“Tell them: 'pick the target before you strike, never during — decide, then swing.'”

Easier

Shorter maximum distance; routine walked through slowly with no strike for the first two rounds.

Harder

Alternate strong and weak-side strikes on the range; add a five-second clock to the dry routine so it stays smooth at speed.

Activity17 min

Frees from the Ground

Setup: Two striking spots at 45m and 65m from the target uprights (poles), a group at each, fetchers beyond the target returning balls in a loop. Notebook ready to log bands.

How it works: Both dead-ball frees, drilled to the same routine. First the lift-and-strike free: place the ball, the two-step routine, jab-lift and strike through it with a high finish at the uprights. Then the cut-lift ground free for range: strike it straight off the ground with a low, driving swing when distance matters more than height. Six of each per player, rotate, two rounds. Score a point for anything between the poles, and the watching partner calls where every miss went — left, right, short — so the striker adjusts the feet and shoulder, never the swing. Log each striker's makes; that number is tonight's baseline, not tonight's verdict.

The technique, step by step

Place the ball, step the same two steps back, one breath.
Eyes to the target and pick your spot between the poles.
Lift-and-strike for height, or drive it off the ground for range.
Aim with the feet and shoulder, finish high, hold the pose.

Common mistakes

Swinging harder for distance — it drags the ball; swing later and cleaner instead.
Rushing the routine on a long free — the long one needs the routine most, not least.

What to say

“Tell them: 'aim comes from the feet and the shoulder turn — the swing itself stays sacred.'”
“Tell them: 'lift-and-strike for height and a close free, drive it off the ground for the long one.'”
“Tell them: 'finish high at the target for a long free — a short follow-through is a short free.'”

Easier

Bands at 35m and 45m; uprights widened; lift-and-strike free only until it is grooved.

Harder

STEPR: a defender's hurley held up in the flight line 20m out; alternate the 45 and 65 each shot so the routine resets under a range change; weak-side frees in round two.

Activity17 min

The Sideline Cut

Setup: Two cutting spots on a sideline, 30–45m from the goal, groups at each, fetchers spread in the target area. Cones marking a scoring corridor into the goalmouth.

How it works: The strike hurlers love and dread. Set the ball on the line, address it low with the bas flat behind and slightly under it, and cut through the bottom of the ball with a fast, low-to-high swing so it lifts off the grass, curls, and travels toward the goalmouth corridor. Height comes from getting under it, curl comes from the wrists rolling through, distance comes from swing speed, not muscle. Six cuts each, rotate, two rounds — first for clean contact and lift, second for the corridor. It is the most technical strike in the game, so celebrate a ball that simply gets up and travels before ye chase perfect placement.

Common mistakes

Striking the side of the ball — it squirts low along the ground; get the bas under the belly.
A slow, heaving swing for distance — the cut needs a fast swing through the bottom, not a big one.

What to say

“Tell them: 'get the bas under the belly of the ball — you are lifting it off the deck, not smashing the side of it.'”
“Tell them: 'low to high and fast through the bottom — swing speed lifts it, not brute force.'”
“Tell them: 'let the wrists roll through at contact — that is where the curl comes from.'”

Easier

Cut from 25m with no corridor, just get it up and travelling; a slightly teed lie on tuft of grass to build contact.

Harder

STEPR: narrow the scoring corridor; cut under a five-second clock; from the far side so the natural curl works against the striker and must be shaped.

The rest of this session is free — along with 3 more this week.

PitchPlans coaching team

Free on PitchPlans — new sessions weekly.