Passing

Photo by Willie Moore, wmConsulting.

Passing is so very critical to winning heats and having good times. Consistently good passing and clean runs win races and tournaments. I have seen faster teams lose to a slower team because of good consistent passing and clean runs. So how do you achieve consistent passing?

Consistent Line-ups

If possible, you should keep your line-ups the same during the tournament. If you are always shifting and changing line-ups during the tournament, you will not achieve consistent passing. If you are always trying to remember where you were positioned on the floor based on the dog you are now passing, you will lose out in the end. With a stable line up your passing will get better over the course of the tournament.

Cadence

I cannot stress cadence enough when trying to achieve good passing. Without a cadence your timing will always be off so get in the habit of saying to yourself, Ready - Set - Go.

Learning How to Pass

Like with any learned skill, practice makes perfect. You must pick a mark to focus on which is why passing the same dog during the tournament is so important. The mark that you select is entirely up to you but some of the best marks are when the dog you are passing hits the box or lands after coming off the box or coming over a jump and lands on the floor. A bad mark is something you cannot see clearly like the dog coming over the jump. This may appear to be a good mark but consider this:

• Dogs that single stride the jumps are jumping 10 feet from where they start their jump to when they land back down on the floor.

• If you are using the first jump from the box as your release point, you could be 36 feet from the start/finish line, which is 72 feet from the dog you are passing. You cannot see clearly from a distance that great where the dog that you are passing is in relation to the jump.

• The dog you are passing could be at the beginning of his jump or the end. Since he will be in the air, you will not know precisely where he is in his jump.

• If the dog you are passing is at the beginning of his jump he might not have cleared the jump when you release your dog or a more likely scenario, he has already clearer the jump by the time you release your dog.

• You could be 5 feet early or more that 5 feet late with your pass.

Combining Your Cadence and Your Mark

If you decide that your mark will be after the dog lands on the floor after coming over the first jump from the box, your Ready mark may be when the dog you are passing hits the box. For example, you will say to yourself R - E - A - D - Y as the dog is coming off the box, S - E - T as the dog lands after coming off the box just before he jumps, and GO as he touches the floor on the other side of the first jump. Whatever you use to set your cadence should be done consistently and you will get in a rhythm the more you do it.

If you notice the dog you are passing bobbles the ball or has some other fault, you will need to hold up the release of your dog. Any little thing the dog you are passing does out of the ordinary will throw off his rhythm which will more than likely create and early pass for you.

Know Where You Are

You should always be aware of where you are on the floor. If you have trouble remembering your mark on the floor write the measurement on your hand and use your leash or other small object to mark your position on the floor.

Zeroing In

You should not try to adjust yourself on the floor until you are getting consistent passes. Obviously, if you are early passing you will need to move back. If you are consistently 3 or 4 feet out on your pass, you can then start to move up on the floor. However, you should only make small adjustments on the floor not large ones, i.e. 3 to 6 inch increments are good as you zero in on the perfect pass.

Good Passing and Good Racing!

Larry

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