How To Land Like Gretel Bueta

Australian Diamond, Gretel Bueta, was named ‘Player of the Tournaments’ after four impressive international performances in the Vitality Quad Series held at The Copper Box, January 2022. 

It is no surprise that Bueta was named player of the Quad series this January. Despite having some time out, having a baby and covid delays to the international game in Australia, her athletic superiority during the tournament was beyond impressive. 

Bueta offered Australia both movement and strength in the attacking circle making her almost impossible to defend. Her speed and agility allowed her to create space in the shooting circle, her core strength allowed her to take the most impressive passes and her mobility allowed her to make the most incredible split landings. 

So how can we be more like her?

Let’s look at her split landing. This is a key skill for any shooter to have in game. It allows you to receive the ball further away from the post whilst maintaining control of the circle, keeping you in a favourable shooting position as the landing foot is rooted as close to the post as possible, without committing ‘footwork’. 

In order to split land effectively, you need to develop both mobility and stability in your hips, knees and ankles. These are important as they are vital to landing safely whilst under pressure, holding your keeper and winning more ball in the circle. The major muscle groups needed to execute this skill are; 

• Quadriceps – these will stabilise your knee and help absorb the load in your lead leg after landing, reducing your chance of injury. 
• Hip adductors and glutes – working together, these muscle groups stabilise your hips enabling you to drive back to a shooting position after you have gained possession. 
• Core – having an actively engaged core is vital to keeping yourself upright, balanced and to not commit footwork. 
• Calf – this muscle will keep your ankle secure whilst your foot is grounded.  

If you’re looking to add or improve this aspect of your game, try out the session below in your weekly programme.

Warm Up 

10 x Walk outs

10 x Spidermans

10 x Lunge with Reach

Plyometrics 

Complete as superset 3 rounds 

A1 – 10 x Drop Box with Single Leg Land

A2 – 10 x Lunge Jumps

Complete as superset 3 rounds 

B1 – 10 x Single Leg Bounds 

B2 – 10 x Pogo Jumps

Strength 

A1 – 5×5 Deadlift (Barbell) @ 8-9 RPE

B1 – 8 x 3 Front Squat (Barbell) @ 7-8 RPE

Complete as superset 3 rounds 

C1 – 10 x DB Single Leg Deadlift @ 8 RPE

C2 – 10 x DB Cossak Squats @ 8RPW

Core 

40s work:20s Rest – Complete 4 Rounds

A1 – Rotational Ball Slams

A2 – Side Plank (Left) 

A3 – Hollow Hold

A4 – Side Plank (Right)

You can find more sport specific strength training on the NETGym membership. Easily access over 100 sessions and sport specific programmes for all abilities and start to learn, train and perform like an athlete!

Looking to improve your split landing skill on the court? Take a look at these training videos: