A poke check is the legal way to take the ball from an attacker. Stick goes out, head taps the attacker’s stick, ball pops loose. This is the move that creates turnovers. Practice it under control before allowing it in games.
What you need: Sticks, ball, full gear, two players.
Setup: Attacker with the ball. Defender 5 feet away. Open ground.
How to run it:
- Attacker dodges and dribbles forward.
- Defender stays in front, mirrors, watches the stick.
- When the attacker exposes the stick (head out from the body), defender extends the stick and pokes the head with the bottom of the stick.
- Ball comes loose. Whoever scoops first wins.
- Do 6 reps. Switch roles.
What to watch: The check. Poke check (straight extension) is legal. Slap check (a hit motion) is not legal at this age. Straight stick out, poke, retract.
If they’re struggling: Slow the attacker. Or drop the contact and just practice the stick extension.
If they’ve got it: Add a goal. The drill becomes a 1v1 where the defender tries to strip and the attacker tries to score.