#individualdrill

Ball Handling Slalom Drill

This drill comes from Prawzz, make sure you check out some of his other sweet bike polo skills on Instagram!

This ball handling drill is great for beginners and experienced players, alike. It will help you build your bike and ball handling skills.

To practice this drill, you can use pretty much any obstacles, cones, shoes, old tubes and tires, whatever you happen to have around, set these obstacles up in a line. The closer the obstacles are to each other, the more challenging the drill. A good distance between to start is about a bike length. After you have your slalom set up, begin by working the ball around the obstacles. If you’re a beginner, just focus on hanging on to the ball and making it around each obstacle, as you get more confident, you can work on transferring the ball to your off-side (non-mallet side) and back to your mallet side as you ride around the obstacles. As you get better and more confident, pick up the pace, try to make it as smooth as Prawz in this video ;)

Duct Tape Ball Handling Drill

Get good at handling the ball with this simple yet effective ball handling drill that will help you train your brain and muscles to put  the ball juuuuust where you want it.  This drill is great for beginners and advance players alike.

To practice this drill,  you’ll need some tape (I prefer duct tape) to create your little obstacle course of sorts. I like a triangle (see diagram 1. below) but you can create any shape you like, play around and get creative if you want.

Mallet side: start simple, and ride in a circle with your mallet on the inside, just try to tap the ball through the squares of tape, work on your timing and the force of your taps.

Off-side: now ride in a circle with your mallet on your off-side (non-mallet side of your bike), again work on timing, force and control of the ball, try to get the ball through the squares of tape as much as possible.

“Pull-push” on mallet side:  this is just a variation of the mallet side, to work on different patterns of ball control. Ride in a circle with your mallet on the inside and as you approach one of the squares of tape, pull the ball back then push it forward and try to get it through the tape obstacles. This “pull-push” move should only require two taps of the mallet, one to pull the ball back and one to push it through the tape squares. This particular pattern of ball control is a great one to learn, it simulates pulling the ball back out of reach of another players reach, then pushing it forward again as you try to out run the player :)

Scoop Juke (Indoor) Drill

This little drill was put together by Rob Wood from Grand Rapids for you poor souls who have winter and snow. Here’s a way you can keep your polo game strong even when you can’t get outside to play!

To practice this drill, start by rolling the ball back towards you and then use that backward momentum to scoop the ball with the open end of your mallet. That backward momentum will help the ball “stick” to your mallet. Curve your mallet around in an arc around your body, the movement should originate from your shoulder not the wrist although you’re wrist is part of the movement. The wrist rotates as you move your shoulder to scoop the ball and your elbow should be up and away from your body. At the end of the arc, slowing the mallet and turn the mallet head around to catch the momentum of the ball and to change directions.

Play around, have fun! When you get a chance, try it while on your bike!

Front Wheel Ball Control Drill

Get all the ball control! Another good skill to work on, controlling the ball in front of your bike. Watch the pros, Nick McLean, Shitty or Dasha Kornienko, and you’ll see them uses this in their game to quickly weave through players.

To practice this drill, wear a helmet *cough* even though I’m not in this video, just in case you ninja ball yourself. Once you have your helmet on, work on dribbling the ball back and forth ( light taps side-to-side) in front of your bike while riding in a relatively straight line. Start slow and as you get better, pick up your speed and try to pedal the whole time you are dribbling the ball in front of your bike.

Variations:

Try varying the speed of your dribble, work on tapping the ball back and forth slowly and also work on speed, quick taps (as fast as you can), side-to-side in front of your bike

Set up some cones and weave through them as you maintain the ball in front of your bike

Basic Hop Drill

So, you decided to clip in, welcome to the club! Once you feel comfortable unclipping safely you're gonna want to start learning how to do a basic hop. This basic hop is the foundation of a number of other skills you'll want to learn here on Bike Polo Drills.

To practice this drill, start with a Moving Hop. I found hopping while moving easier then a static hopping when I was first learning. So to get started, coast around the court at a comfortable speed. With your pedals in a neutral position (parallel to the ground), knees slightly bent and your butt out of the saddle, pull up on the handle bars and on your pedals with your feet and see if you can get both wheels off the ground. Repeat.

Once you feel comfy with the moving hop, try a Static Hop. For the static hop, come into a tripod position: mallet on the ground to balance, feet and pedals parallel to the ground, knees slightly bent. From here, hop and pull up on your pedals, you'll need to come out of your saddle as you hop, use your hand on your bars to help guide your front wheel off the ground, but most of the power should come from your feet, not your hands on your bars. Use your mallet to help steady you and keep your balance as you hop. Try to do a number of reps then rest, repeat. Build up those hopping muscles and neural pathways with lots of practice!

Once this gets easy, try taking your mallet off the ground while hopping. BOOM! 

Tips from the trenches:

Visualize or imagine you’re on a pogo stick, when you’re trying to get both wheels off the ground. Imagine pushing down on your handle bars and your pedals (bend the elbows and knees, lower your body) then pull up on the pedals and bars, and spring into the air!

Once you’ve mastered the Basic Hop, move on to these drills:

Hop Don’t Dab Drill

Back that A$$ Up in Goal Drill

Scarecrow Pass Drill

Jenny K here! If this pass isn’t already part of your repertoire, get on this like, now. Mastering this pass is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my polo. It’s quick, simple, and hard for opponents to predict because it doesn’t require a lot of setup (repositioning the ball or your mallet) before execution. This pass is good for cross-court passing when your teammate is directly across from you or slightly behind (see Diagram 1. below). It doesn’t work so well for passing if your teammate is significantly ahead of you, in that case, a forehand shot style pass would work better.

To practice this drill, think about it as a drop pass (when you hit the ball behind you to a teammate) but with your arm repositioned out to the side, elbow up (like a scarecrow!). Keep a couple things in mind as you practice this: elbow up and out away from your body, the palm of your hand should be facing out, from this position attempt to swing at the ball with the broad side of your mallet head.

You can practice this pass by riding along a wall (on your mallet side) and hitting the ball against the boards as you ride. You can also circle next to the boards (see Diagram 2. below).

If you are anything like me, this new movement is going to feel super awkward and half the time you’ll missed the ball, hit the ground instead of the ball, or just not have very good connection, don’t give up! Stick with it! You’ll know what it’s supposed to feel like when you get it right your first time. It will feel magical and powerful ;) Then keep practicing until you no longer have to think about it. It took me a couple months to make this a solid part of my game.

The Gate Drill

This little drill created by Danny over at Prague Bike Polo will help you work on your bike handling skills and while most of the people in this video are attempting endo turns and wheelie turns to get out of the tight space, you could have this drill work for any level of player. For example, more beginner players couple work on balance and backing up with the help of the mallet, intermediate players could practice hopping back and around to get out, etc. Great drill, practice it with your club!

How to practice this drill:

Sprint to the gate

Stop before the board

Get out through the gate

Off-side Ball Control Drill

While you wouldn't want to purposely carry the ball in this awkward way during a game, knowing how to handle the ball on the off-side (non-mallet side) of your bike will get you ready to deal with whatever a game throws you.**

To practice this drill, you want to move the ball to your off-side (non-mallet side) of your bike. Try to ride as straight a line as you can (this makes it harder and helps you build control), dribble the ball forward and backward with small taps on the broadside of your mallet.  Repeat!