GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT // TRAINING TIPS FROM JON
Stone misalignment – Use your body, not your arm
By Jon Mielke, USCA Level III Instructor & Level III Coach
for permission to post some of my training ar- ticles on their website – absolutely! If your club is interested, please send me an email, and I will send you a list of articles that you may want to consider (
jcmielke3@bis.midco.net). In prior articles, I have talked quite a bit about
B
alignment – getting set up in the hack and slid- ing straight at the broom. At a couple recent skills clinics that my fellow trainers from Bismarck and I conducted, I was reminded how important it is to minimize arm movement as a part of the de- livery process. Visualize yourself getting set up in the hack.
Your hack foot is pointed at the broom and your shoulders are square to the intended line of de- livery. Te rock is directly in front of you and on top of the imaginary line running from your hack foot to the skip’s broom. Textbook perfect. What I noticed at the skills clinics is that many
intermediate curlers break the rock’s stationary inertia and go into the forward press by sliding the rock back and forth with their arm. In some cases, this movement is not straight along the intended line of delivery – it is somewhat side- ways. Tis may create a problem that will have to be corrected later during the delivery or that will result in a shot being thrown offline. Rather than using an arm movement during
the forward press, the shooter should lean into the shot and move the rock slightly forward us- ing his or her upper body, which is already lined up at the broom. Tis should help ensure that the forward press does not introduce any sideways movements into the initial stages of the delivery process. Something similar happens with many curl-
ers during the process of drawing the stone back before sliding forward – they elevate their hips without taking them back behind the hack and pull the rock back with their arm. Te stone ends up under their chest rather than staying out in
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usacurl.org
efore jumping into this edition’s train- ing tips, I want to personally thank the clubs that have contacted me and asked
front of their head and dominant eye. Quite of- ten, the result is a forward slide with the stone still being under the shooter’s chest. To get the rock out in front, the shooter must push the stone with his or her arm to get it to a point where it visible again. Te end result is oſten a sideways movement that gets the stone offline. To correct this problem, once the forward press is completed, use a continuing motion to elevate your hips and bring them back to a point behind the hack. Te distance that you go back behind the hack will be dictated by the kind of shot be- ing played (hit vs. draw), the keenness of the ice, and your leg strength. Te farther back you go, the more weight that you can generate. Bring- ing your hips and upper body back will naturally bring your arm back and the stone comes along with it, without pulling with your arm. Using your hips and torso to draw the stone back will also keep the stone out in front of you and in a completely visible position in front of your domi- nant eye. As you go from this draw back position into
your forward motion via body drop and leg drive, the stone should move right along with your body toward the skip’s broom without the need to pull or push the stone with your arm. Te arm should be slight relaxed, not stiff, and the rock should be out in front of the shooter’s head throughout the delivery. In summary, remember that a solid delivery
simplifies things by eliminating all extraneous movements and keeping things as straight and simple as possible. Using your hips and torso to move the stone forward, back, and forward again, instead of your arm, will help you keep the stone on line and will result in more made shots and more wins. Before closing, I want to correct an error in my
last column regarding a cup drill to help improve alignment. Te article had a couple of diagrams, one of which did not coincide with the related narrative. (Te corrected figures are at right.) For a right-hander throwing down the leſt
side of the sheet, the stone should be fully to the leſt of the center line (Fig. 1). For shots down the right side of the sheet, the stone should be at least
touching the centerline (Fig. 2). Te farther out that the shot is being played (e.g., toward the out- side edge of the 12-foot), the farther the rock is positioned over the center line. By stepping into the hack and pointing the
hack foot toward the skip’s broom, the all-impor- tant invisible line is created from the hack foot to the target and the rock is then positioned on top of that invisible line. Te line changes with every shot and so does the rock’s position relative to the centerline. For a right-eye dominant right-handed player,
getting his or her body, their dominant eye, and the stone all on the same line is vitally impor- tant. Assuming no side-to-side motions during the delivery, a clean release, and the right weight, it should be impossible to miss (unless the skip has the broom in the wrong place)! Until next time – good curling! (Jon Mielke is a Level III instructor and a Level
III coach. He is the past chairman of the USCA’s Training & Instruction Committee, a member of Bismarck’s Capital Curling Club, and a 2012 in- ductee into USA Curling’s Hall of Fame. All of his previous training articles are available online at: USA Curling – Media – Curling News – Colum- nists – Jon Mielke). n
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