JAB LIFT

Key Points

• Stride towards the ball so that the non-dominant foot is set down alongside the ball.
• Adopt the lifting position, bending the knees and back to bring the head over the ball,
• Keep eyes on the ball.
• The ‘toe’ of the hurley should be pointed away from the body.
• Note that both thumbs should be pointing towards the ‘bas’ of the hurley.
• Ensure the hurley is almost parallel to the ground before performing the lift.
• Slide the toe of the hurley under the ball to lift it from the ground.
• As the ball lifts, release the non-dominant hand from the hurley into a cupped position allowing the ball to ‘fall’ into it.

Technical Drills

Drill 1 – Basic – Jab Lift

This is a basic drill to practice the Jab Lift technique.

Divide the players into pairs.

Mark out a distance of 2 meters for each pair using cones.

Place a ball midway between the cones.

Beginning behind one cone, each player in turn jab lifts the ball and jogs around the second cone before replacing the ball for the next player.

Repeat the drill for a set amount of time.

 Drill 2 – Basic - Jab and Pass

This is a basic drill to practice the Jab Lift technique, which also incorporates the hand pass.

Divide the players into pairs, 1 ball per pair.

Each pair faces each other approximately 2m apart.

Player A jogs forward to jab lift the ball before hand passing to Player B.

Player B, jogging backwards, places the ball back on the ground for Player A to repeat the exercise.

The players continue in this manner for a set distance.

On the return, the roles are reversed.

Drill 3 Basic

This is a basic drill to practice the Jab Lift technique.

Divide the players into groups of 4 players.

Mark out a distance of approximately 25m using cones.

Place 4 further markers at intervals of 5m between the outer cones.

The players line up behind one of the outer cones.

Place a ball at the first marker.

The first player jogs out to jab lift the ball and replaces it at the second marker, before continuing to line up behind the far cone.

The second player following on, jab lifts the ball and replaces it at the third marker and so on

The fourth player jab lifts the ball at the fourth marker, jogs around the outer cone and replaces it at the marker again for the drill to be performed again.

Repeat the drill over and back a set number of times.

Drill 4 Intermediate  - Jab Lift a Moving Ball

This is an intermediate drill to practice the jab lift technique that requires the players to jab lift the ball as it moves away from them.

Mark out a distance of approximately 30m using cones.

Divide the players into groups of 3 players.

2 players line up behind one cone with the ball, while the third lines up behind the other cone.

The first player throws the ball out in front of them to follow and jab lift before it stops rolling.

The player continues to throw and jab lift the ball until they reach the far cone and pass the ball to the next player.

Repeat the drill over and back a set number of times.

To vary the drill, line all the players up behind the same cone.

Each player in turn jab lifts the ball, throwing it out in front for the next player to follow on and repeat.

In rotation, all the players move to the far cone.

Drill 5 Intermediate  - Jab Lift with Opponent

This intermediate drill to practice the Jab Lift technique introduces an opponent.

Mark out a distance of approximately 10m using cones.

Place a ball midway between the cones.

Divide the players into pairs, each pair lined up behind a cone.

On the whistle, Player A runs forward to jab lift the ball.

Player B runs alongside or just behind Player A to provide shadow opposition.

Player B must not attempt to tackle Player A.

Player A replaces the ball in the centre and the roles are reversed

To increase the difficulty of the drill, allow Player B to tackle for the ball.

Developing the Skill

Grid Game 1 – Grid Swap

This is a grid game designed to increase the speed at which players perform the Jab Lift.

Divide the players into two teams of 5 players each.

Mark out two grids approximately 5m by 5m with a distance of 10m between each grid.

Assign a grid to each team.

Line up both teams outside their grid.

Place 10 sliotars in one grid.

On the whistle, the first team must race forward, jab lift a ball each and return to place it in their own grid.

The first team continues until all the sliotars have been moved.

The second team then repeat the drill moving all the sliotars back to their own grid.

The team who completes the drill in the quickest time wins.

Fun Game 1 – Jab Lift Musical Chairs

This is a fun game to develop the Roll Lift technique.

Mark out a grid 13m x 13m.

10 players work inside the grid.

Each player begins with a ball.

The balls are placed on the ground and the players jog slowly around the grid.

On the whistle, the players quickly move to the nearest ball to jab lift it into their hand.

One ball is taken away and the game continues.

On the next whistle, the player who fails to roll lift a ball into their possession must leave the game.

Continue to take away one ball after each round until one player remains.

Players may compete for the ball.