House Call: Please Release Me!

A common mistake beginners make is hanging on to the rock too long. When this happens momentum is actually taken away from the stone. This means the rock will likely end up way too light or the thrower will push the rock at the end of the delivery giving it far to much weight and little to no chance of hitting the broom! There are a few ways to tell if this is happening to you. If you’ve hung on too long you will generally feel what could be described as a little hitch towards the end of your slide. This is where the rock has started to go faster than you. If you are consistently feeling this try letting go a little sooner and see if it goes away. Another way to tell is having someone watch you. This could be a coach or another player. What they’re looking for is whether or not you seem to come out with good speed but end up throwing light all the time or you come out with good speed, slow down, then fire the rock with your arm; if either of these is happening try letting go sooner. Remember you want to give the rock you throw all the momentum from when you kicked out of the hack because you should be adjusting your weight with your legs and not your arm. By controlling rock speed with leg drive you will improve your weight consistency and your accuracy hitting the broom. Watch next week for more beginner tips.