My daughter has been asked to do the draw, what do you think of using a draw head?

Narrative – My daughter has been asked to do the draw, what do you think of using a draw head?

A few thoughts!

Before you go buy a specific draw head/stick​, borrow one to try and see if it works. There are girls who swear by them, and others who purchased, tried, and went back to their original stick.

As a Coach I believe more in technique, arm/shoulder strength and quickness. I recommend a stick with really good stiffness. Flexible/pliable sticks fail more often because they don’t hold their form and lose control of the ball.

Players, who love draw sticks, hate them for regular play and end up switching them out after the draw. Disrupting the flow and speed of the transition after winning the draw.

Draw is something to be worked on every day. Practice, practice, practice….. Learn different techniques, strengthen wrist, arms, legs and shoulders. Work on quickness and ball location.

See if you can attend any clinics where draw is being taught and worked on. 

I do recommend, definitely try the draw sticks out there to see if they make a difference! You will notice some are reinforced up in the top corners to add extra stiffness. A good stiff head is a plus. However, If you have a reasonably stiff head, technique and my previous comments will win more draws.

The reverse pocket on a stick is key in helping to get control of the ball on the draw. Place the ball in the reverse side to make sure the reverse pocket is deep, for good hold on the ball. Be mindful to check the pocket is still legal while the reverse pocket is as deep as possible. If the pocket is not legal the stick will get thrown out and you lose the draw and your stick until rechecked.

Work it; get used to tracking the ball and directional reaction. Get a feel for where you or your opponent is winning the ball. If you get this feel you can react directionally quicker and get the draw control.

I also tell my players to watch the referee, not stare at the ball. The referee may move their hand a little ahead of their whistle.  Some coaches teach looking at the ball for helping with directionality. I think draw specialists know/feel where the ball is going so; whichever works best for you is what you do.

With all that being said, I have many girls using the CoolStick XPro on the draw. The XPro is a good stiff head and has an excellent reverse pocket to cradle/hold the ball.