The Ground Block

Key Points

Adopt the Ready Position
Bend the knees and lower the non-dominant hand so that the heel of the hurley rests on the ground.
This is the blocking position on the strong side.
To block the ball between the legs move from the Ready Position to the Lifting Position but remain upright and bending the knees lower the bas of the hurley to the ground
Make sure that the heels are together with the toes pointing outwards when blocking the ball between the legs.

Technical Drill

Drill 1 – Basic – Blocking in Pairs

This is a basic drill to practice the ground block technique.
Mark out a distance approximately 5m long using cones
Divide the players into pairs
The first player from each pair rolls the ball gently to the strong side or between the legs of their partner who attempts to block it.
Continue to alternate the roles, repeating the drill for a set time.
Using a larger sliotar like the First Touch ball to begin with will make the technique easier to perform.
As the players become more proficient use a smaller sliotar like the Quick Touch ball to increase the challenge of the drill.

Drill 2 – Basic - Goal to Goal

This is a basic drill to practice the ground block technique.
Mark out goals approximately 5m apart using cones.
Divide the players into pairs
Each player in turn attempts to score a goal by throwing the ball along the ground and past his partner.
Continue to alternate the roles, repeating the drill for a set time.
Use of a larger sliotar to begin with will make the technique easier to perform.
As the players become more proficient use a smaller sliotar to increase the challenge of the drill.

Drill 3 Intermediate – Run to Block

This is an intermediate drill which requires each player to perform the ground block while moving.
Players pair off and face each other approximately 10m apart.
A cone is placed half-way between the players.
Acting as a feeder Player A rolls the sliotar at pace towards Player B.
Player B in turn runs out to block the sliotar at the centre cone.
Returning to their original position Player B then acts as feeder for Player A who repeats the exercise.

Drill 4 Intermediate – Strike and Block

This intermediate drill to practice the ground block technique incorporates dribbling, striking and blocking.
Mark out a distance of approximately 10m using cones.
The players line up behind the first cone, one sliotar per group.
The first player dribbles out and around the cone and strikes the sliotar on the ground to the next player before returning to the end of the line.
Each player in turn moves forward to block the sliotar and repeat the drill.
To introduce a further challenge divide the players into teams and run the drill as a relay race.

Drill 5 Intermediate – Directional Block

This is an intermediate drill to practice the ground block when the sliotar is coming from different directions.
Mark out a grid 5m by 5m using cones.
Positioned one player at each corner of the grid with a fifth player in the middle.
The corner players in turn rolls their sliotar to the middle player who blocks and sweeps it back.
Each player takes a turn in the middle.
To increase the challenge of the drill assign a number to each corner player who throws the ball when their number is called by the coach.
This will require the middle player to adjust their position in response before blocking the ball.

Developing the Skill

Fun Game 1 – Piggy in the Middle

This is a fun game to develop the ground block technique
Mark out a triangle using cones.
Determine the distance between the cones according to the ability of the players.
One player stands at each cone and the fourth is the ‘piggy in the middle’.
The players at each cone attempt to strike the ball to one another while the ‘piggy in the middle’ attempts to block it.
The player who hits the ball which is blocked changes place and becomes the new ‘pig in the middle’.

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