A knock down is a blockage of the puck when it is off the bottom of the pool. This is most common when an opponent flicks the puck past a player who then blocks the flick, knocking it back down to the playing surface.
What to think about when knocking down the puck:
Knock downs take a lot of practice, good stick-eye coordination has to be developed to consistently block flicks that are shot past a player. An effective way to improve this skill out of the water is to practice bouncing a tennis ball against a wall or playing pingpong using only a stick.
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The most common time that a knock down can be used is when an opponent is attempting to flick the puck past a player to a teammate behind that player. If the player successfully knocks down the puck, they should be aware that there is likely an opponent behind them to which that pass was intended to go.
One of few situations where it may not be worth it to knock down the puck is when a player is already turned or turning to chase the pass. If that player can easily swim to where the puck is going to land in a kick or two, they will get to the puck much more consistently than slowing down to try and knock down the flick.
Black team player #5 knocks down the pass from white team player #7.
White team player #10 knocks down a pass from black team player #4.
KNOCK-DOWNS