r/Curling • u/TriplePi • 4d ago
Solo Practice Hack Protection
EDIT: thank you to all those that made good suggestions and shared what there clubs use to protect the hacks. To those that immediately chose to judge and lecture me in an unkind manner I hope you see the error of your ways and choose to be kind in the future. If you don't think what you said is wrong may all your rocks pick and all your hits flash.
For those that do solo practices, what strategies do you employ to protect the hacks. I've been practicing at a club that does NOT have removable hacks so I've been using the rock position above to somewhat protect the hacks. I have run to some problems with this setup namely: rocks bouncing off the boards and hitting the 2 closer rocks at an angle towards the hacks. Draws and lower weight hits don't matter as I can catch up to those but anything from 8.5s-5s is just too fast to catch.
Any ideas?
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u/TheSorcerersCat 4d ago
Dude, there is absolutely no need to throw more than a 10s for solo practice.
Snug one rock up to the center of the hack and don't throw more than back weight for solo practice. If you get good at that, you'll actually be a freaking phenomenon on your team. Imagine being the guy that throws a perfect backline or hack weight. Thats just chefs kiss.
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u/NES4EVAR 4d ago
We have wooden hack covers at each end.
And as a best practice I also suggest not throwing absolute piss missiles when youre on the sheet by yourself. Even with the hacks out, a rock with speed is going to saucer when it hits the back bumper and damage the ice.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago edited 4d ago
Rocks saucering definitely is a factor but at some point I need to throw runbacks and peels. I try not to throw anything sub 6s unless I have someone to catch them but it can't always be avoided.
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u/Legitimate_Sorbet605 4d ago
Yes. It can always be avoided. As an ice maker, if I catch anyone throwing 6s stones into boards you're going to hear from me. Those stones are thousands of dollars each, and they are meant to hit other stones. If you have one proud screw in your boards and that rock hits it, it's going to take a chunk out of your striking band.
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u/furikawari 4d ago
“It can’t always be avoided” —I don’t want to inconvenience my own practice even if it means damaging the ice or the boards.
Come on dude. Get a friend to help you when you need to throw weight this high. If you are risking damaging the ice you’re being incredibly inconsiderate.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
Listen buddy, I know this is a crazy concept but curling isn't exclusively a drawing game. I don't know what kind of unrealistic world you live in but practicing exclusively low weight hits just isn't a realistic way to get better. If I show up to a provincial championship without practicing upweights my team will lose, it's just that simple. I play on a competitive team that isn't always able to practice together due to school and other commitments. I could be an asshole and just throw all the heat I wanted while disregarding the hacks and ice but I'm not I made a post looking for a solution.
The wooden hack cover is a great suggestion that I'm thankful for. Your ignorant waffling from your ivory tower is not appreciated. Next time take a second and realize that not everyone is an asshole but judging people baselessly might just make you one.
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u/seashmore 4d ago
It doesn't need to be a teammate who catches rocks for you. It could be anybody who wouldn't mind spending an hour with you in an ice shed.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
I just don't have any great options my family, friends and teammates either work or are at school during the day. I wish I didn't have to try to find creative solutions to this problem but I do. I've already cobbled together a target broom jigg, laser setup and filming setup out of necessity.
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u/rollowz 4d ago
Maybe if you were a more pleasent person you could find someone.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
That hurted my feelings. You expect me to just sit here and take it from some judgemental troll grow up.
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u/pbmadman 4d ago
Man I love how you insulted someone first and then get offended when someone calls you unpleasant. You are being unpleasant.
-4
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u/Legitimate_Sorbet605 4d ago
Where in the world do you live? Because you step into a Canadian club with this attitude, I'm going to sniff you out and read you the riot act.
Curling clubs are clubs, for everyone, and you don't make the fucking rules in my club.
If you don't have someone to throw with and you want to practice hits, you best be able to get up and follow your own hit-weight rocks and ensure no stones hit the boards with much force, and all your rocks stay on your sheet.
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u/furikawari 4d ago
The issue is that you place your desire to get better above the risk to your club’s facilities and even the risk to others on the ice. You are throwing weight that is dangerous and you aren’t willing to accept there might not be a solution. A six second hit has a ton of momentum. It has to be absorbed somewhere.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
"it has to be absorbed somewhere" yeah that's what I'm looking for something to absorb the impact if i miss.
All jokes aside if you tell me don't throw hits during my practices I guess I'll just stop.
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u/DownwardSpirals 4d ago
Hang on. Pardon me, I'm relatively new to curling (going into 3rd season, only played in 2 locations), so I have a potentially stupid question... sub 6s? Like faster than 6s from the back line to the hog line?
I ask because where I play, 3:40ish is usually tee line territory. I have very little frame of reference, so I'm curious if that would be launching the aforementioned 'piss missiles' (love that term), or am I misunderstanding something?
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u/wickedpixel1221 4d ago
sub 6 hog to hog - ultra peel weight
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u/DownwardSpirals 4d ago
Ahhh, ok. Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering how slow our ice is to be that far behind.
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u/Zbignich 21h ago
Stuff that I’ve timed Amos Mosaner throwing, then getting up and sweeping his rock. But that’s Mosaner being Mosaner.
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u/Legitimate_Sorbet605 4d ago
Yes, this stupid kid believes he needs to practice being Kevin Koe while by himself in the rink.
Don't do what he does, you'll be warned and threatened with being booted from the club.
1
u/TriplePi 4d ago
The rocks in question are being measured in hog to hog times. So your typical draw would ~14 seconds between the hogs and a normal weight hit would be ~10-9.5 seconds.
The split times that you are using are a nice individual metric but can't be applied to different players as everyone throws differently for example my typical treeline draw split is in the ~4 second range. I would urge you to go away from split times and focus mainly on hog to hog time as they are basically the same for everyone as long as the rocks have similar rotations. Additionally, hog to hog times can give you a feel for how the ice is running if you're moving from club to club or even path to path.
Edit: It's not a stupid question at all.
6
u/NES4EVAR 4d ago
My suggestion would be to practice other aspects of your game that dont involve crazy weight unless you've got someone else with you or you can pop up and follow your rock down the ice. Even the wooden hack covers can place unneeded stress on the hack pins, or damage the ice in front of the hack (though it sounds like yours are iced in on a plate.... I dont miss those from a maintenance standpoint).
As an ice tech it makes my blood boil when im doing something and I hear the huge thunk along the boards or the wobble of a rock saucering. I will look for the person and tell them not to do it again. Most people can respect that. Its a shared playing surface for everyone, and we dont have unlimited time to fix and prepare it. These are avoidable issues.
0
u/TriplePi 4d ago
I completely understand the risk to the ice and try to minimize it as much as I can, that's why I made this post. When I'm throwing high weights it's never for a single peel it's almost always to clear a bunch of rocks and never completely uncontrolled when I'm on my own.
Whether it was put in kinder terms like you did or in an aggressive judgemental manner I've heard people express there dislike for upweights during solo practices. So going forward I'll take precautions and reserve uncontrolled weights for the rare practices that I will have someone else with me.
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u/Comprehensive-Novel2 4d ago
My club has 4 inch foam bumpers to drop on the ice to protect the backboards.
1
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u/Saskaberry 4d ago
Some of the clubs I have seen that dont have removable hacks have a triangular wooden guard that you can place over top of the hacks to deflect rocks and protect the hacks. They are just 2x4s laid on end and screwed together to make a triangle.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
That is a really great idea.
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u/Legitimate_Sorbet605 4d ago
No, it isn't.
Again, you're not throwing peels at my hacks just because you stuck a box over them.
We have removable hacks but even then it is board-weight only. It's not just about the rocks coming to a stop you dolt. The second you have 1 stone at the away end and you hit that stone with a peel. Where are the rocks going? Onto other sheets!
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u/Symbology451 4d ago
Put three rocks arranged in a triangle just behind the back line and on the center line. Make the point of the triangle face towards the house.
If any of your missiles are heading for the hack, they’ll hit these rocks first, and the energy should push the back rocks towards the wings instead of at the hacks.
This also has the benefit of not getting in the way of whatever shot you’re trying to practice.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
If you look at the picture I attached that is exactly what I'm doing already but it has its flaws. Rocks can still deflect off the boards or hit one of the rocks closer to the hack and send them back.
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u/Symbology451 4d ago
Indeed, you are correct. I assumed the picture had the top facing the other end.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
It's all good. It's definitely a useful trick to lower the chances of the hack being hit.
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u/Nyne9 3d ago
At some clubs there are wooden frames you put over the hacks. They kind of look like the letter A but with a flatter top. Legs against the back board and you just put it down. You can throw as hard as you want that way.
Edit: Here you see it on the wall https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gps-cs-s/AHRPTWn_iwPHzGxL48Xpd4LoI0ywQQfZEWrDF3ZlLYP86MJe9BUSrGa4nhIJ5jq3wLy3eda4vbXoupkqWgWgOu4XSo5Xdk8n0Q_NMjo0jd5D1p3gmfLKB6QAkKHTymMmLAkYFGLNVGPrReZNQy4T=s1360-w1360-h1020
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u/Kthak_Back Granite Curling Club of Seattle 4d ago
Remove the hacks for the end you are throwing towards.
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u/TriplePi 4d ago
As I said in the post body the hacks are not removable. That would be very convenient but it's not an option.
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u/wlonkly Halifax Curling Club 4d ago
If I'm doing heavier than draw weight, I line up to the hack with a turn towards the outside of the sheet, so the curl takes it outside the hacks. It limits what I can do alone, but I can practice in-house takeouts when I'm practicing with someone else.
(My club has removable hacks but asks us to not remove them, because people often damage the holes while doing so.)