The drag-flick is more efficient than hits or pushes when a penalty corner situation is in effect in field hockey.Previous research has studied the biomechanical pattern of the drag-flick, trying to find the cues for an optimalperformance. On the other hand, some other studies have examined the most effective visual pick-up of relevantinformation in shots and goalkeeper anticipation. The aim of this study was to analyse the individual differences in thedrag-flick pattern in order to provide relevant information for goalkeepers. One female skilled drag-flicker participatedin the study. A VICON optoelectronic system (Oxford Metrics, Oxford, UK) was used to capture the drag-flicks withsix cameras. The results showed that the main significant differences between right and left shots (p<0.05) in the stickangles, stick minimum angular velocity and front foot-ball distance were when the front foot heel contacted the floor(T1) and at the minimum velocity of the stick, before the dragging action (T3). The findings showed that the mostrelevant information might be picked up at the ball-and-stick location before the dragging action.
Financed by the National Centre for Research and Development under grant No. SP/I/1/77065/10 by the strategic scientific research and experimental development program:
SYNAT - “Interdisciplinary System for Interactive Scientific and Scientific-Technical Information”.