Stem Variations
- Prescription
- 18 × stems · 30 s restabout 10 min
- Players
- Solo
- Equipment
- None
You run the same ten-yard stem several times in a row, changing only how you sell it. Three variations: a straight, neutral stem; a stem that attacks the imaginary defender’s inside shoulder; a stem that sells the vertical all the way before breaking. The goal is that an observer standing in front of you can’t tell, over the first eight yards, whether you’re running a curl or a post. Six stems per variation, alternating curl and post at the end.
Related routes
Key points
- The first eight yards are identical across all variations: that’s the whole point.
- Your speed has to lie too. Slowing down before a curl tips off the defender better than a hand signal.
- Have someone film you from the front once: that’s the only angle where a lie can be verified.
- In a group, with a ball: your partner throws to you as you come out of the break. Same movement, plus the catch.
Common mistakes
- A neutral stem on the post and a hard-sold stem on the curl: exactly the opposite of the job.
- Breaking earlier on the tiring variation, which shortens the route without you noticing.
Demonstrations
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Related drills
LEVELS : Intermediate · Advanced
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