Skills Training

Confidence in the water - It is important with Octopush that the individual has general water confidence and is proficient at swimming. This is a club set up to disseminate the joys of this sport, not to teach it's members the basics of water survival.

Swimming skills -

Breath holding with your face in the water. Other than this as long as you feel confident in the water the skills you need will be developed as you play.

General advice to new comers to the sport is:

Try to get as flat to the bottom of the pool as you can.

Always start with both hands in front of you, they are of no use to you if they are behind you.

If you start to feel that you can't hold your breath for any longer than slowly count to five before you surface. This will help you to increase your bottom time!

Puck skills

[Passing] [Sticky Bat] [Push-Pull-Push] [Faking] [The Curl] [Defensive Play] [Changing Angles] [1/2 Circle] [3-Man Weave] [Back Line Switch]

[Some formation ideas]

Before we talk about these skills it is important that you are holding the Pusher correctly: The Pusher is held in one hand with the fingers coiled around the handle below the demarcation line. The puck is moved around with the upper end of the stick so that hand and puck do not meet!

The aims of good puck skills/control is to develop dexterity and accuracy in passing and also to develop timing and positioning in back up.

Skill will enable the team to maintain possession and also maintain an attacking situation.

When practising these exercises remember the star is theoretically the back up person!

1: Clean Passing

2: Sticky Bat

Objective - To be able to move the puck and maintain possession at speed, at any time without having to concentrate and look at the puck.

What's required - To move the puck around the edges of your pusher, at speed, with 100% contact at all times. Eventually not looking at the puck!

Important points - 1, Concentrate on correct body position. Player should be flat on the bottom of the pool: 2, Ensure quality of exercise and get a feel for the weight of the puck, therefore start slowly.
To progress - 1, increase speed of exercise: 2, Practice the exercise in an arc of 180° around your body, on a short and long arm.

3: Push/Pull/Push Move

Objective - To break the opponents momentum by pretending to stop.

Important points - This move can only be effectively used when running round the outside at speed. If it appears that you are going to slow down, the opposition will usually slow to match and see what you are going to do. By the time he restarts you will have passed him and either set up a pass or even better committed another opposition player to act.

What's required - Approach opponent at speed with pusher 3/4 extended. Miss one beat of the fins and at the same time slide the pusher over the puck as thought tot pull it back. Then immediately slide the pusher back over the puck. Pick it up and accelerate. The body's momentum gives the illusion of pulling back the puck and stopping. The opposition momentum will be broken and reaction time will not be fast enough to recover.

4: Faking

Objective - This technique is used on a one-to-one situation to bypass one's opponent.

What's required - Approach the opponent at speed. When just out of arm's reach angle the pusher and puck towards the right as if to pass on the inside. This commits the opponent. At that instant quickly change direction picking up speed and guiding the puck around the left/other side of the opponent.

5: The Curl

Objective- Confuse the opponent; Maintain possession of the puck; set up pass to support.

What's required - Approach opponent at speed. Cramp the opponent by doing a late turn and by dropping the shoulder in a rolling action. The turn should be done quickly giving the opposition no time to recover. This manoeuvre may also be done slowly to enable the rest of your team mates to set up play.

N.B. The puck/pusher contact must be maintained or the obstruction rule may be invoked. Beware of possible attack from the rear as the opposition may have been following.

6: Defensive Play

The following manoeuvres are achieved by swimming in the same direction as the opponent with the puck.

1(a) Approach opponent from their left side swimming along with them.

(b) Pass pusher under their pusher and hook the puck towards you. There is usually space under their pusher due to the fingers circling around it.

(c) Turn such that you place yourself between the opponent and the puck.

(d) Continue to turn and proceed in your direction.

2(a) Right side approach opponent.

(b) Swim slightly in-front of opponent such that your arm can extend to hook the puck towards you.

(c) Drop shoulder once in possession of puck. Turn such that you are between the opponent and the puck, then swim off or pass to team-mate.

3, Overhead jab. This is especially useful when the opponent is heading for goal and you are unable to make enough pace to obtain the puck.

(a) Swim just about mid-water, in the same direction as opponent, left-hand side approach.

(b) Using the end of the pusher, jab the puck away such that the opponent has to change course.

4, If in a situation where two opponents are passing between them, to intercept their pass one may hit them front on, however it is very easy for them to get the puck past you and leave you behind.

An alternative is to face the same way and swim between them to intercept the pass. Slightly in front and mid-water. That way it is more difficult for them to see you.

When intercepting or stopping a puck it is an advantage to use the pusher upright as then there is more surface area to stop the puck. Once the puck is in your possession, control it then turn and pass to a team mate or continue with it yourself.

7: Changing the angle of the Puck

Objective - To effectively take the puck from an opponent.

1. If you come face to face with the opponent.

(a) With the hooking side of pusher, gain possession of the puck and bring the puck towards you and away from your opponent.

(b) Once in control of the puck, flip the pusher around and flick the puck to a team player on the other side of the opponent.

Flip bat ready to pass

2, From the other direction.

(a) With the pusher turned over, hook the puck back towards you and out of reach of the opponent.

(b) Flip the pusher into normal flicking position and pass to a fellow player away from opponent on other side.

With practice this manoeuvre can become very quick and effective providing team-work is efficient.

8: Half Circle

Objective - Confuse the opponent and get past them.

What's required - Approach opponent at speed. The opponent will either back off waiting for you to come out of the curl or anticipate challenging the back-up and curl with you. Instead of completing the curl, the puck is passed under the armpit such that it is ready to pick up and carry on play. This is done quick enough so that the opponent has no time to recover.

9: 3 Man Weave

Objective - To be able to move the puck up the pool at speed with team work and fast passing.

What's required - 3 players start in a flat line about 3 meters apart. the exercise is swam at +ve pace and all players start together. 1, Player 1 starts, swims at pace an angle of about 45° forward, across the group for 2-3 meters, then flicks the puck forward at the same angle. Player one will then surface at the opposite side of the group from which they started. 2, By the time player 1 has passed the puck, player 3 is swimming along the bottom and receiving the puck before it stops. Player 3 carries out the same manoeuvre as player 1 previously... 3, Player 2 then receives the puck from player 3 and carries out the same manoeuvre as the previous players. 4, The whole sequence continues with player 2 passing the puck on, which is received by player 1. The sequence continues all the way up the pool.

Important points - 1, Players must be swimming at close to max. pace. 2, The puck must not stop moving at any time during the exercise. 3, All flick must be of good quality to ensure the fast flowing nature of the exercise.

10: Passing Forward/ Forward Switch

Objective - Move the puck forward at pace, switching in a forward direction.

What's required - Group of 3 players, start in a flat line at one end of the pool. The exercise is carrried out at high pace. Players receiving the pass should be swimming onto the puck before it has stopped from the pass. The pace of the swimming on the surface is just as important as on the bottom of the pool. The exercise is started by the centre player and the sequence of the exercise is a illustrated below:

11: Back line switch

Objective - To move the puck across the back line as fast and safely from one side of the pool to the other. What's required -

1, when receiving the puck the player should be about 2m width from the passing player, set at about 30°- 45° behind them and facing in the direction they are going to swim/ pass:
2, The centre player should pass the puck immediately upon receiving it, without swimming forward.

3, The far player receiving the puck swims forward 3 - 4 meters with the puck to their wall and passes the puck back again to the centre player again starting the switch.

4, After the first switch, the far side player may have to swim back a meter, so to ensure good positioning for the next switch.

Some Team Formations -

3-3
F/W F/W F/W
L/H Back R/H

3-2-1
F/W F/W F/W
L/H R/H
Back

2-3-1
F/W F/W
L/H C/H R/H
Back

1-3-2
F/W
L/H C/H R/H
L/B R/B
Lucky 7.
L/F C/F R/F
R/M
Back
L/M

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