purpose
to practice touching each other as much as possible; to practice effective blocking while
going slow; to practice using each others’ bodies and senses on the track; to practice team-blocking;
to practice communication.
In this drill, skaters will go in groups of three onto the track and work together to block one opponent. Start by getting all of your skaters into four lines. Three of the lines are for blockers, and the last line is for the opponent. The first skater from each blocker line will get onto the track and form a tight-knit group of blockers, and the first skater from the opponent line will start just slightly behind the blockers and try to get by them. The blockers have one lap in which to work hard to block the opponent and really slow her down. When the lap is complete, they get back into line, making sure that they practice team-blocking 3 out of 4 times, and that they act as the opponent 1 out of 4 times (hence the four lines).
The main idea of this drill is that while they are blocking they should be constantly touching – a minimum of two points of each blockers’ body needs to always be touching another skater. That could mean you touching someone with both hands, someone else touching you with both hands, or one person touching you with one hand while you touch someone else with your other hand. Either way, two points on your body should always be touching another blocker. The blockers are also to use each other, use each others’ bodies, and use each others’ senses. That could mean pushing your body off another skater (while remaining in contact with them), holding on to another skater’s hips and acting as the group booty while said person is acting as the eyes forward, pushing a teammate’s body into the way of the opponent (while still remaining in contact with them, of course) – basically you use each other and thus all together become one super-human (or super-blocker, really).
While touching each other and using each others’ bodies, verbal communication is key. The blockers should be constantly telling each other where the opponent is and what direction they are going in. When skaters practice using both verbal and physical communication at the same time like this, it really improves their teamwork and team-blocking skills.
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