In the game of hockey, shooting hockey pucks with great accuracy and speed is key to becoming a bonafied goal scorer. The best way to improve your shooting skills is through practice and repetition but with the ever increasing expense of ice times and the length of the off season, it is not always possible to spend hours working on your shooting on the ice. Practicing your shot has never been easier than with the help of the Hockey Shooting Board, an off-ice shooting surface that allows hockey players to improve their stickhandling, passing and shooting skills.
At 48” X 96”, there is plenty of room on this professional grade surface that mimics an ice surface to allow you to get more out of your off ice hockey training. The hockey shooting board will lay flat over any surface and allow you to arrange your shooting practice when and where you want. The slick surface mimics the way a hockey puck will move on an authentic ice surface and everyone knows that if you shoot more hockey pucks, you will score more goals. Hockey pucks will glide over the specifically engineered material that is only 3/32” thick and allows you to work with your hockey puck and stick to improve your hand-eye coordination.
When you combine your hockey shooting board with a tarp or a goalie net, you will create a shooting range that lets you practice precision and its size allows for a shooting experience that feels like you are on the ice.
A slap shot is the hardest shot in hockey and when done with accuracy will move the hockey puck toward its targets at such excessive speeds that it is one of the hardest shots for a goalie to stop. You can practice your slap shot until you have the power and accuracy to shoot a precise bullet that will whiz past the best of goalies to score more goals. Bounce the hockey puck off the separate rubber bumper that easily attaches to the hockey shooting board’s ample 48” X 96” surface to practice passing with accuracy and to learn to take a pass and quickly shooting toward your target. The hockey shooting board will arrive rolled up. Before you begin working with it, simply let it lay flat on the floor at room temperature for about 24 hours and it is ready to go.
For more information on this or any of our many ice hockey training aids and equipment visit our site at hockeytrain.com. We are your source for cutting edge training aids that will let you turn your home into a quality training facility and take your game to the next level.
The hockey stick weight is a great tool to strengthen your arms and improve both your hockey stickhandling and shooting. Often in games, hockey stick handling can separate the average and good players from the great ones, as a player with strong hockey stickhandling training can maneuver through a crowd of traffic and create his own chances on the ice.
So what are the keys to developing those hockey stickhandling skills and being able to rely on them late in games? First you need to form good muscle memory, which is simply a matter of practicing your hockey stick handling. However, that may not be enough towards the end of games when your whole body is dragging and your arms get tired on your stick.
It’s critical to your hockey stickhandling to have enough forearm strength to be able to stay strong on the puck throughout the game. That’s why the hockey stick weight is an essential hockey stickhandling training tool. By adding more weight to your stick, you will further develop the precise muscles responsible for all of the hockey stickhandling moves you make, which will impact your game in two ways.
First, the additional strength will allow you to make quicker hockey stick handling moves early in games, as the stick will feel lighter in your hands. Second, you will gain additional endurance so that late in games, when the stick feels heavier for other players, you’ll be able to outperform them.
Really, there’s no good reason not to use a hockey stick weight to improve your hockey stickhandling training sessions, as it’s just one more edge you can gain on your opponents.
As an added bonus, the hockey stick weight may also improve your shooting as it can help you to develop a stronger, quicker release.
We have all witnessed great hockey players as they show off their mastery of countless stick handling skills and control of the puck from side to side and from front to back around their entire body while maneuvering past opposing players and eventually the goalie. If you have ever wondered how to improve stick handling and add speed and control to your game, there are several tips that you can work on with the use of the stick handling plank, the on and off ice training tool that will take your hockey skills to a new level.
Hockey players can use the stick handling plank to improve their technique, precision and skill and develop a great set of hockey hands. It is most important when working through stick handling drills that you maintain soft hands. Use your top hand for maneuvering the puck and the bottom hand for shooting and passing. By practicing these stick handling drills, you can learn how to take your skills to new heights by passing the puck side to side from your forehand to backhand under the stick handling plank.
Speed and accuracy in your stick handling is the way to open your game so every time you practice these stick handling drills that become the game skills, make sure you are working on moving the puck faster and faster. You can then begin to practice your stick handling drills with your head up to increase your ability to feel the puck with your stick and develop quick hands. For an added challenge, perform these drills with a partner to force yourself to be more aware of your surroundings.
When you are ready, add a great toe drag to your stick handling drills and learn how to improve stick handling to deke out an opposing player and increase your goal count. Place the puck out in front of you on your forehand and when the defenceman comes in to take it, pull the puck back with the toe of the stick and maneuver around him and down down the ice. Practice a variation of these stick handling drills by tilting your stick so that the heel of the blade goes over the top of the puck then drag it back before you maneuver around and away from your opponent.
All and all you want to make sure that you practice these puck handling skills on average for about 15 minutes a day. The peak years of off ice training start at a young age and these puck handling skills are important. They are learned at a higher efficiency rate when we’re younger. So get away from the TV for 30 minutes and work on your game! You’ll be glad you did come game time!
Ice hockey has been along for many years and many people have played, trained, and worked out for this great sport year after year. However, most of these die hard hockey players and hockey fans forget about the history of the Zamboni OR should I say Ice Resurfacing Machine?
A common mistake made by hockey players is that the vehicle that makes the hockey rink what it is today is not actually called a Zamboni! The name of the vehicle that does the ice is actually quite boring. The proper name is Ice Resurfacer. Just like Tissue paper is often called “Kleenex”, the Ice Resurfacer is often called “the Zamboni” because of the brand name that carries the most weight.
Frank Zamboni was the first to invent the Ice Resurfacing Machine and that’s where the name Zamboni comes from this day and age. Olympia, Zamboni and IceCat are some brands that produce the Ice Resurfacing Machine now, but still people prefer to use the phrase Zamboni, or are they done Zamboniing the ice yet? Funny how a name can turn into a verb isn’t it?
Without Mr. Zamboni it would be hard to imagine hockey being the same. Kids performing dryland workouts, off ice training, and more would be left with snowy ice come winter time.
Thanks Mr. Zamboni for giving us the gift of new ice in such a quick fashion. Only 15 minutes to create such a beautiful thing. NEW ICE!
Hello this is Nick and today I will be doing a review on the Hockey Train Stick Handing Plank.
About the product: The Stick Handling Plank is 2 feet long and its very strong and sturdy. It can be used alone or with the Stick Handling Snake or multiple Stick Handling Planks.
Durability: The plank is very durable. I have been using it a lot and sometimes I would knock it out of place with my stick while doing my off ice stick handling drills. The plank didn’t chip or even scratch. I also accidentally knocked it off my shelf once and it stayed intact. So after a couple months of stick handling with the plank it’s held up like a champ for me while training for hockey.
Performance: When it comes to hockey training equipment, the Stick Handling Plank performs great. It has really started to help me with my stick handling and my saucer passing skills while also making it more entertaining to perform hockey dryland workouts.
Craftsmanship: This product is very well crafted. It is a heavy duty plastic with a wooden dowel inside of it, which provides a good stable base to stick handle around. The strength of the products seems to be strong enough for someone to accidentally step on and still survive. It also has heavy duty rubber feet to help it stick to the ground. This helps the product stay in place as you’re stick handling and making passes over and under the plank. It does move a bit if you really hit it hard but for the most part it stays where you need it.
Stick Handling Drills for the Plank: The plank can be used to practice saucer passes over and to stick handle over while the puck slides under. Also you can do figure 8’s or if you buy 2-4 more you can combine them and get creative with the plank.
It’s been quite sometime since the last off ice hockey dryland workout was posted. I hope most of you have been staying in shape. Hockeytrain has been busy coming up with give-a-ways, taking in hockey tournaments, and preparing for the off season. If you’re hockey season isn’t over yet keep skating hard, but if you’re done for the year it’s time to get back on the dryland hockey workout saddle so we don’t get out of shape.
A great off season hockey workout should include both cardio and strength conditioning. I personally like the cross fit type of workouts that aren’t long and can get both types of training done at the same time. Here is one of my favorite off ice workouts that I do during the summer.
Football Field Fun!
Jump on a football field with some teammates or friends. Bring a football or soccer ball to warm up your bodies. It’s more fun to kick or throw around a ball than running a lap or two.
To start the off ice workout, you’ll want to line up on one of the goal lines. Two groups will be alternating between running and doing either pushups, situps, or air squats so decide who will run first and who will perform the other exercise first.
THE DRILL:
- First runner takes off running from goal line to 10 yard line and back to the goal line. While runner is away, other person is doing air squats until partner gets back to the goal line. (Once the runner arrives back they start air squats while partner takes off running to 10 yard line and back.)
-First runner will now run to the 20 yard line and back to the goal line. While runner is away, other person is doing pushups until partner gets back to the goal line. (Once runner arrives back they start doing pushups while partner takes off running to the 20 yard line and back.)
-First runner will now run to the 30 yard line and back to the goal line. While the runner is gone, other person is doing situps until partner gets back to the goal line. (Once runner arrives back they start doing situps while partner takes off running to the 30 yard line and back.)
Continue this pattern all the way to the far goal line. Alternating air squats, pushups, and situps while you’re not running. You will get tired and you run will become a jog, however, remember you are doing your off ice training for hockey and that this is a good way to stay in hockey playing shape. Encourage each other to keep up the pace and to not quit.
I always try to find a workout partner that likes to push me to my limit. It hurts while working out but I feel great after it’s all said and done. Hockey workouts should be tough; they should push you to the limit. However, make sure to have plenty of water on hand and try to workout when the sun isn’t beating down on you.
Enjoy the workout and feedback is encouraged! Also, if you have any workouts relating to hockey feel free to comment. It’s always nice to hear new hockey workouts to keep everything fresh and fun!
For any team to be successful on the ice, it’s important for its players to control the puck. Whether you’re buried in the corner with an opponent on top of you or if the other team’s line change has given you a lot of room to work with, the ability to handle the puck with ease and agility will strengthen your chances for success in any situation.
A reasonable concern, then, for any player is how to improve your stick handling abilities. There are a lot of small habits to build, as well as high levels of coordination to hone, in order for a player to master how he moves with the puck. Fortunately, there are just as many on and off ice stick handling drills that can help a player finely tune his stick handling.
One such stick handling tool is the Stick Handling Plank. This is a tool that can be used either on or off the ice, alone or with other stick handling aids. The Stick Handling Plank is composed of three heavy duty rods that sit just a few inches above the ground. Each rod comes with a removable end cap so that they can be placed or assembled into numerous combinations, allowing the Stick Handling Plank’s user to practice handling the puck in many ways, such as regular forehand to backhand patterns, a figure-8, or alternating the puck over and under the planks, ultimately simulating multiple on ice situations. Additional planks can be purchased at Hockeytrain.com so that the patterns available to the user can be even more numerous.
The key to effectively using the Stick Handling Plank is practice. Keep using it, and you will see improvement. Just as with any other hockey training aid, however, it’s important to remember that the Stick Handling Plank is merely one tool among many others. You need to have a range of resources both on and off the ice so that your stick handling skills can be sharpened to the fullest. Perhaps most importantly, though, in the wise words of TV icon Red Green, is to always “Keep your stick on the ice”.
It’s that time of year. Minnesota State Hockey Tournament is in the air. Some kids that have been training for hockey all their lives get a chance to play in front of thousands of fanatic hockey fans this coming week. The State Tournament kicks off this Wednesday at 11am with single A teams starting off. The Game schedule goes as such: Little Falls vs St. Thomas Academy (11am), Duluth Marshall vs Breck (1PM), Rochester Lourdes vs Hermantown (6pm) and New Ulm vs Thief River Falls.
The number one seed in this hockey tournament is Hermantown. The rest of the seeds go as follows:
2. St Thomas Academy 3. Breck 4. Thief River Falls 5. New Ulm 6. Duluth Marshall 7. Little Falls 8. Rochester Lourdes
The Single A tournament normally has some high end talent on all teams but not the depth of the AA tournament teams. There will be top notch players in the single A tournament. My prediction for the finals is Hermantown vs Duluth Marshall, with Duluth Marshall taking the title down. St. Thomas Academy is always tough to pick against.
The AA tournament looks like this: Maple Grove vs Hill-Murray (11am), Eagan vs Moorhead (1pm), Duluth East vs. Lakeville South (6pm) and Edina vs Benilde-St. Margaret’s (8pm).
The number one seed is Duluth East, followed by:
2. Maple Grove 3. Eagan 4. Edina 5. Benilde 6. Moorhead 7. Hill-Murray 8. Lakeville S.
The best match up of the first round will be Edina vs. Benilde. This tournament will also bluster many division 1 players that will move onto college. Players to watch are:
Jake Guentzel of Hill-Murray (22G 50A = 72pts)
Dylan Steman of Maple Grove (28G 38A = 66pts)
Tony Uglem of Moorhead (23G 13A = 36pts)
Nick Kuchera of Eagan (17G 37A = 54pts)
Justin Kloos of Lakeville (39G 60A = 99pts)
Jake Randolph of Duluth (34G 38A = 72pts)
Grant Besse of Benilde (44G 38A = 82pts)
Connor Hurley of Edina (24G 31A = 55pts)
My prediction on the AA tournament is Duluth East vs. Hill-Murray in the Finals with Duluth taking it all. The hockey skill Duluth possesses is very high and they should be a tough team to beat. However, they do have a tough road playing the top scorer in the tournament first and will have to battle either Benilde or Edina in the semi-finals.
Good luck to all teams and hope to see some of you fans at the hockey trade show going on Friday and Saturday from 10am-6pm both days!
When you watch some of the superstars of the National Hockey League, many share one thing in common: tremendous stick handling abilities. Magicians with the puck like Claude Giroux could stick handle their way out of a telephone booth full of defending players. Many of the all-time greats shared these skills, and you can improve yours as well.
Obviously, stick handling doesn’t come over night. The abilities are developed by practicing with stick handling drills over and over until you too are an expert with the puck. With the right combination of stick handling drills and hard work, you’ll soon find yourself weaving through traffic and keeping control of the puck in tight spaces.
It’s tough to get on the ice every day for many players, so you may be searching for a way to do your hockey stick handling drills off ice. The stick handling plank is a great training tool for both on and off the ice dryland training, as it can be set up anywhere and used with either a traditional puck, an outdoor puck or a swedish stickhandling ball that is small enough to fit under it.
Once you add in hockey stick handling drills off ice to your on ice repertoire, you’ll find yourself wiggling through tight spaces with the puck due to your increased creativity. The stick handling plank can be arranged in a variety of ways so that you can practice stick handling from different angles and commit a wide array of stick handling moves to your muscle memory. It is also a great stick handling tool for making passes in tight areas or working on your saucer pass.
Keep in mind that your opponents are practicing too, so you need to maximize your opportunities to spend time working on your game. That’s why its absolutely critical to practice at home too, so doing your hockey stick handling drills off ice may be just what it takes to gain the edge you need from the competition.
Hockeytrain would like to say CONGRATS! to both Wyatt Burt and Hans Nuque for joining our February Hockeytrain.com Give-a-way contests.
Wyatt’s mom won the Facebook- Celebrate and Win – contest by getting the most votes for her picture! They will be receiving a free one time passer for entering the contest! This will hopefully help Wyatt’s hockey training routines at home!
Hans won the Twitter - How Would You Celebrate Contest – by tweeting how he would celebrate if he won a hockey stickhandling plank from Hockeytrain.com! He was entered into the random drawing, and he Won! Hopefully Hans can develop some new stickhandling skills with his new hockey training tool.
Thanks again to all those that entered into our February contests! We appreciate all the support and keep it up!
Also, make sure to take a look at our store. We provide top hockey training equipment, hockey gear, and hockey supplies to help you and your kids improve their overall hockey game!
Let us know your ideas for future competitions by either: facebook, twitter, or email! (Hockeytrain.com, hockey_train, info@hockeytrain.com)
