Thanks for the info. I can do a fast long push side this way with Med pressure. On the handle. Its just put pressure down and go long with any kind of rock. BUT THE PULL TAKES ALIGHT PRESSURE DOWN LIGHT HAND CURL EXACT AMOUNT OF ROCK AND EXACT SWING THE INSTANT THE MAN ROCKS OFF THE BALL. The two feel like night and day is that normal?
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Sounds pretty normal.. especially if you're pretty square to the table or just slightly tilted towards the target goal.. and you crouch down. Unlike those lucky individuals who are tall and have long limbs so they can do just more symmetric shakes with a rollover, most normal height/normal arm length shooters notice that the push side (even longs) rollover are easier to do and still hit the ball square even on a long. As long as they keep in contact with consistent pressure on the handle. No contortion or adjustment is necessary on the push rollover. However.. a pullside snake feels that the rod and handle are rising, particularly on a long pull rollover, since your hand, elbow and upper arm have to GO SOMEWHERE and can't shrink telescopically. Thus.. you have to have a lighter pressure and keep releasing pressure as you pull, to keep the rod consistently coming towards you without locking up your elbow or upper arm.
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Tall, long-armed rollover shooters have a long enough arm so their physics only need very little upper arm swing either way (feels like a normal end-to-end shake) and is enough to hit a square long on both the push AND pull sides. Similar to a pendulum on a grandfather clock. Shorter players (5'8 and under) , however, in a normal crouch, have to worry about the rod while shooting a pull side. They realize they if they don't adjust, more and more weight on the handle is added the longer they go pull side, as their arm and elbow start resisting. *Note that this is why doing a return motion on a pull side rollover (or oldschool palmroll frontpin shot) is quite natural, and can often result in overbrushing the ball back, right into the defense, or even "razoring," or accidentally chipping the ball diagonally across the goal. Also the reason a lot of snakers can stroke a deadbar or even a "7" more easily on the pull side, but settling for a square or very slight sprayout on the push side.
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Typical adjustments for top or top/front(45deg) handle snakers are:
1. To lean away in a deeper crouch, away from the 3rod, in order to lay the arm and wrist as horizontally as possible and have a pretty neutral horizontally swinging pendulum motion for push sides or pull sides. This is to mimic what tall, long-limbed shooters do.
2. To lift or "swing" the upperarm up, as the pullside rollover motion is started, minimizing the needed bending and contorting of the wrist and elbow. This can be very tiring, too.
3. Finally, to have completely different handle pressure & wrist motions, for pullsides as opposed to pushside snakes, as you just described.
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Having completely different strokes for a rollover, as described, can be a disadvantage...
a. Different strokes are like different shots.. more complicated and more tiring, and take more concentration to execute.
b. Different "pitch" or starting grips take much more time to master, to warm up, and to maintain "touch" throughout even one event, let alone a whole weekend.
c. Different takeoffs and followthroughs often result in "TELLS" to sharp goalkeepers who can figure what side you're going to shoot, or at least a high enough confidence in which side you're going.
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So yes.. that sounds normal, but I'd recommend practicing adjustment 1 or 2 instead, preferably number 1.
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Or.. switch to a bottom or forward/bottom grip for rollovers, which FORCES a stroke like adjustment 1 above, but with more contact time on the handle, allowing more control on followthrough and return motion.. and much more power, too. Although your wrist and lower forearm might turn a bit black and blue at the beginning, as you start putting pressure on the handle for longer than on a top handle start. You'll realize why bottom or forward/bottom rollover shooters prefer extra or double length wraps, or thicker ones.. to provide more cushioning.. and the stickiness or tackiness of the grips are much less important, since they shoot with their wrist and arms like a bicycle chain on a sprocket.
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