Whoever hits the line hits the target. How to align gaze, body and swing on one line, correct sideways drift and stay on the delivery spot in ice stock sport.
Keeping direction means: after delivery the stock runs straight on the line you intended. The honest answer to "Why does it always miss to the left?": usually it is not the stock but your body line, a force dose that does not suit the running sole, or an unsteady landing.
The BÖE textbook gives you a plain mnemonic: the stock should be swung always in a line to the target, so the hand moves straight towards the target, and from the preparation phase on the eyes fix only the target [1]. The textbook adds a hint on the body: it should always be turned so that the swing direction points exactly at the target [1].
A support from sport psychology (transfer, not from ice stock sport): a meta-analysis of 27 studies found that experts have a clearly longer "quiet eye" period than novices, that is a calm gaze at the target before the movement (d = 1.04, a large effect) [4]. For you that means: your gaze at the target is not decoration.
The stock goes where your line points. Everything else is correction.
Entry criteria (practice standard):
From the preparation phase on your eyes fix only the target [1]. The textbook stresses this twice. You no longer look at the stock, not at the foot, but at a point on the line or at the Daube.
Milestone: In ten deliveries you look only at the target without lowering your gaze.
The whole body turns so that the swing direction points exactly at the target. Example from the textbook: if the target is a stock on the left of the target area, the player turns slightly left [1]. Stay central on the delivery spot, only the body turns somewhat towards the target [1].
Milestone: You turn the body for a lateral target without changing your foot position.
The stock is swung in a line to the target, the hand moves straight [1]. The playing hand follows the stock [1]. The textbook warns: if the hand goes too far up you have probably "over-pulled" (too much force). If it stays too low you brake the sequence abruptly [1].
Milestone: Your playing hand ends at the recommended height and points straight at the target.
The textbook gives a simple correction rule: if a player always misses the target somewhat to the right, he must counteract and turn the body somewhat to the left [1]. Instead of tweaking grip, swing and force at the same time, you change one thing.
Milestone: You correct a drift in three attempts with a single change.
In team play the attempt must be made from the delivery spot, with at least one foot on the stand or marking [2]. In the target competition an attempt is invalid if you are not on the delivery spot or touch or cross the front boundary line, and it may not be repeated [2].
Milestone: You touch the front boundary line on no attempt.
The line is a topic of accuracy but also of fair play: nobody should be in or in front of the target area when an attempt is made [2].
Lay an intermediate marker on the line, about one metre in front of the delivery spot, and look at that marker until the stock runs over it. An intermediate marker makes the line visible even if the target is 20 metres away. That is practice, not a study finding.
Common reasons: body line does not turn to the target, hand does not swing straight, force is too great [1]. Change one thing per attempt.
You turn the whole body so the swing direction points at the target and stay central on the delivery spot [1]. If you always miss to the right, turn the body somewhat to the left [1].
From the preparation phase only at the target [1]. A meta-analysis shows in other sports that experts look calmly at the target longer than novices [4].
No. In the target competition the attempt is invalid and may not be repeated if you touch or cross the front boundary line [2].
That depends on the surface. The textbook advises choosing the running sole so that the force stays low for beginners [1]. Get advice in the club.
Target Competition Round 3: The Side Rings, Back Left and Back Right