Training the Dodge - Part 1

The “Plyo Step”

Above is a highlight video of Romar Dennis’ split dodge. Romar does a great job of splitting his defender dnd getting his hands free for shots..

I was fortunate enough to be teammates with Romar at Loyola and have had the misfortune of defending his split dodge countless times in practice. Ro’s build-up to his split allows him to make reads and decisions right until the last second, giving him many advantages over his defender and their collective unit. By waiting to the last second to decide which way you want to dodge, gives you more time to read the situation; how the defenders are reacting to you, where is the slide coming from, who may have the advantage if the slide does or doesn’t come, etc.

The Triangle Position - termed by Keir Wenhamm-FlattHides the intention of the dodger and allows the offensive player to bound and dodge either to his left or right.

The Triangle Position - termed by Keir Wenhamm-Flatt

Hides the intention of the dodger and allows the offensive player to bound and dodge either to his left or right.

The “Plyo Step” in action. When the Left foot strikes right underneath the hip its allows for greater use of the stretch reflex and optimizes angles for re-acceleration

The “Plyo Step” in action.

When the Left foot strikes right underneath the hip its allows for greater use of the stretch reflex and optimizes angles for re-acceleration

Refining this technique with Ice Skater Progressions

Quick Hop with Stick

•Learn how to absorb force / handle the momentum of your body

•Land in a stable position to be able to then quickly/efficiently re-direct that force

Banded Quick / Stick

•The Band helps accelerate that strike back by setting your leg/shin angle in a more efficient position to redistribute force.

Quick / Quick / Stick

Med Ball Quick / Quick / Stick

Ice Skater to 10yd Acceleration utilizing the plyo step

Zig Zag dodges trying to focus on more optimal and efficient foot strikes throughout the dodge

Here we’re blending in some of our pre-lift plyometric movements and adding in a reactive agility component at the end. These girls have already been through several months of various hop, jump, and bound progressions, but I wouldn’t consider this an advanced drill. Most of my middle school groups do something similar to this in a relay-like fashion, same with my college & pro’s depending on time of year and training focus.

Big things I’m looking for:

1) Athlete is landing in a stacked sequence of Hips, Knees, Ankles - Creating the /\ “Triangle”

This allows the athlete to land balanced and have the ability to go in any direction. Creating this position will also help hide the intent of your dodge, keeping your defender on his/her heels.

2) Good Acceleration Angles:

Once you’ve committed to a direction, we want to make sure we’re creating the right projection angles with our upper torso, hips, shins, and feet. This allows us to optimally accelerate out of the dodge, cut, etc.