Win Your Duel

The hook, the front block, and the art of beating your girl one on one

Camogie
U16
60 min
14–26 girls
2 coaches
Effort 4/5
Half pitch
u16
hooking
blocking
defending
tackling

The PitchPlans coaching teamGAA Award 1 & 2 coaches

Kit: Hurleys and helmets with faceguards down for every girl (no exceptions tonight), size 4 sliotars a ball between two, 24 cones, 12 bibs (2 colours)

Warm-up8 min

Shadow and Show

Setup: Pairs in a 20×20m square, no ball yet, one bib per pair to mark the leader. Helmets on and faceguards down before anything else tonight.

How it works: Defending is footwork before it is anything else. The leader jogs, side-steps, stops and changes direction; the shadow stays a hurley-length off, side-on, on the balls of the feet, mirroring without crossing her feet. Thirty seconds, swap. Round two, the shadow shows the leader one side — always shepherding her toward the same shoulder, staying goal-side in her head. Finish with five seconds of the pair's fastest mirrored footwork, then swap partners. The girl who can stay side-on and patient tonight wins her duels all season.

What to say

“Tell them: 'side-on and on the balls of your feet — square up and she beats you both ways.'”
“Tell them: 'watch her belly, not her hurley — the body tells you where she is going.'”
“Tell them: 'a hurley-length off is perfect — close enough to hook, far enough to react.'”

Easier

Walking pace; shadow simply mirrors, no shepherding.

Harder

Leader carries a ball and solos; shadow jockeys a hurley-length off and shows one side without a single touch.

Activity13 min

Hook the Strike

Setup: Threes in a 20m channel: a striker with three balls at one end, a hooker starting a metre behind the striker's shoulder, a fetcher at the far end. Everyone strikes away from the group, channels side by side facing the same way.

How it works: The hook, half pace until the timing is clean. The striker jogs forward, tosses and strikes for the fetcher. The hooker tracks behind and to the striking side, extends the hurley out flat and catches the striker's swing at the top of the backswing — a soft touch of timber on timber, never a slash. A strike hooked clean is the hooker's point; a ball away clean is the striker's. Three balls, rotate the three jobs. Once the touch is quiet and the timing right, let the striker go three-quarter pace and start disguising when she strikes. The hook is a patient skill: it arrives when she swings, not a moment before.

The technique, step by step

Track behind on the striking side, a hurley-length off.
Read the hands lifting — that is your trigger.
Extend the hurley long and flat, top hand firm.
Catch the swing below her hands, then pounce on the loose ball.

Common mistakes

Slashing down on the swing — dangerous and a free every time; it is a catch, not a strike.
Overrunning the striker so the hook comes from beside her — the hook lives behind the swing.

What to say

“Tell them: 'watch her hands — when the hands lift, the swing is coming and so is your hook.'”
“Tell them: 'reach it out flat and let her swing find your hurley — a catch, never a chop.'”
“Tell them: 'stay on your feet behind her — a hook from off balance is a foul and a free.'”

Easier

Striker walks and calls 'now' before striking; hooker starts half a metre closer.

Harder

STEPR: striker sprints and may dummy once before striking; hooker starts two metres back and must close first; any contact with the striker's body costs two points.

Activity12 min

Front Block

Setup: Pairs face to face, 3m apart, one ball per pair, spread across the grid so no swing reaches a neighbour. A mentor walks the line the whole block.

How it works: The front block on a clearance. The striker clears from the hand at sixty percent, straight at her partner; the blocker spreads the hands on the hurley, steps IN toward the strike, and drops the full face of the bas over it so the ball smothers dead at her feet. Round one, the striker calls 'now' before every strike. Round two, no call. Round three, the blocker must block and then flick the loose ball away to finish. Count clean blocks out of five, then swap. The step in is the whole secret — the block happens close, and courage lives in the feet, not the hurley.

Common mistakes

Turning the head or shoulders away at the strike — the step in and the low chin fix it.
One loose hand on the hurley — a block with a floppy bas stings; two firm hands, spread wide.

What to say

“Tell them: 'step IN as she swings — the block happens close, fear lives far away.'”
“Tell them: 'show the whole face of the bas — be a door, not a keyhole.'”
“Tell them: 'chin down, eyes on the ball behind your guard — the helmet does its job, you do yours.'”

Easier

Striker strikes along the ground and the blocker blocks the ground swing; start from a kneel to build courage.

Harder

STEPR: striker goes three-quarter pace and picks her moment in a five-second window; the blocker must win the loose ball to score the point.

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

PitchPlans coaching team

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