Sharpen Your Crokinole Skills with Focused Training Sessions
Mastering crokinole isn’t just about having a good board and a steady hand—it’s about intentional practice. In this three-part blog series, we’ll walk you through targeted training sessions to take your game to the next level. Let’s dive into Part Two, where we cover the first five of ten essential shots that form the foundation of strong gameplay.
Training Session One: Mastering the Open Twenty
In your first training session, you'll practice executing an open twenty. This shot may seem simple, but you might find yourself missing it half the time, which could cost you the round. To achieve a winning average of 80% or better, you must practice this shot repeatedly.
 |
| Training Session One: Mastering the Open Twenty |
Start by lining up your disc on the shooting line and gently shoot straight into the twenty-hole. Continue this until your disc lands in the twenty-hole 80% of the time, or eight out of ten attempts.
Next, practice open twenty shots with your disc placed slightly to the right or left, as shown by the red arrows below the blue disc in the Figure above. This way, if you overshoot, your disc will hit a peg and remain in the 15-point circle instead of passing the twenty-hole and falling out of scoring range.
Training Session Two: Precision Knockout Shots
In your second training session, you'll practice knocking an opponent's disc off the playing surface. The red discs are positioned directly on the opposite side of the twenty-hole. The challenge here is avoiding the twenty-hole, which can cause your disc to rebound unpredictably.
 |
| Training Session Two: Precision Knockout Shots |
To avoid this problem, you have two options:
Power Shot: Shoot your disc with maximum force so it glides over the twenty-hole and hits your opponent’s disc. This approach may cause your disc to end up in the ditch, but it ensures contact with the opponent's disc.
Controlled Aim: Aim your disc so it passes approximately fifty percent to the left or right over the twenty-hole, minimizing the risk of it falling into the hole while continuing toward the opponent’s disc.
Start by attempting to hit the red disc directly through the twenty-hole to observe the negative reactions. Then, use more force until you can reliably hit the red disc. Finally, practice aiming fifty percent off to the left or right, and once comfortable, try with the red disc positioned further back.
Training Session Three: Perfecting the Hanging Twenty
In this session, you'll practice making a hanging twenty, a common and valuable shot during games.
 |
| Training Session Three: Perfecting the Hanging Twenty (1) |
Straight Shot: Begin by placing a red disc slightly over the twenty-hole. Your goal is to knock the red disc away while your disc drops into the twenty-hole.
Angled Shot: This shot is more difficult than it looks and is frequently encountered in games. Start by making the shot from the side of the quadrant where you are most comfortable. Then, try from the opposite side. Your goal is to achieve a hanging twenty from this shot.
Training Session Four: The Bounce-Back Twenty
In your fourth training session, practice the bounce-back twenty. The goal is to score twenty points by rebounding your disc off an opponent’s disc located inside the 15-point circle. To increase the difficulty, place the opponent’s disc so it is touching the inside of a peg, also known as a freeze.
 |
| Training Session Four: The Bounce-Back Twenty (1) |
 |
| Training Session Four: The Bounce-Back Twenty (2) |
Rebound One: Start by placing one red disc touching peg number four and another touching peg number five as shown in Figure (1) above. Try to rebound your disc off each red disc. Then, move closer to the shooting line by placing blue discs on peg number three and peg number six. Once mastered, try with pegs number two and seven. Ensure the blue discs are touching the pegs.
The pegs aren’t officially numbered, but for clarity, I always assign the peg immediately to the shooter’s left as number one, then count clockwise from there.
Rebound Two: Repeat the same rotation, but this time, put some distance between the red discs and the pegs. Use a disc placed on its side as a measure to ensure uniform distance. Be cautious as the red disc may rebound towards you.
Training Session Five: The Bump and Run
In this session, you'll practice the bump and run shot. This involves shooting at your own disc to propel it into the 15-point circle or the twenty-hole. This shot is useful when multiple discs obstruct your view of the center, and there are no opponent discs on the playing surface.
 |
| Training Session Five: The Bump and Run (1) |
 |
| Training Session Five: The Bump and Run (2) |
Bump and Run One: From left to right, bump your disc so it lands in the twenty-hole.
Bump and Run Two: Now, aim to bump your disc into the 15-point circle. If it ends up in the twenty-hole, even better.
Stay tuned for Part Three, where we’ll dig into five more training sessions. The more you practice, the more these shots become second nature. Until then, keep your fingers steady and your eyes on the twenty!
Join the Discussion: Have you played crokinole before? Share your experience in the comments below!
0 Comments