There seems to be a number of different ways to control the ball while making sharp turns. One that I stumbled on today works well when turning to the side on which I hold my blade (left for me).
One observation I've made about any ball control through a turn, regardless of how tight the turn is, concentrating on angle the blade contacts the ball makes all the difference. Sounds obvious now I write it! When the turn has a large radius the angle away from 90 degrees (being straight ahead) can be small. With v. tight turns the approach that worked for me today was to block the ball completely by turning it 90 degrees to the direction I entered the turn and then slightly pull the ball in towards me (to offset my forward movement). I could then turn quickly and be back on to the stationery ball and off in the opposite direction.
This wasn't comfortable when turning to the right because of my crossed arms in front when reaching to the ball on that side ( back hand, out in front position) made it difficult to pull the ball in towards me. I found that if I changed how my top hand held the stick ( changed from thumb pointing at blade to thumb pointing in the air) it was easier to rake the ball back towards me. This needs some more practice but was the only way I've found so far to avoid feeling cramped in this move.
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