How do you get good at hockey

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I live in Quebec and I'm currently looking for open hockey anywhere, I don't care about driving 1h30 to play hockey. I hope to find something good.

[Neo5370 132]

Are you good at any other sports? Or rather, do you enjoy any other sports.

Things like soccer and basketball can greatly help your coordination and over all athleticism.

Perhaps you can tell us what aspect you feel you need more work on.

But generally, skating is paramount. It's the one skill that can keep you competetive if you have nothing else going for you.

If you can shoot and deke, what good is it if you can never get to the puck.

How many people thought Daigle was worth a chance just cuz of his skating?

EDIT: On top of that, he doesn't really do anything else particularly well (as far as pro's go that is), but his skating allows him to play above his talents.

[biff44 0]

Kovy, I did not say public hockey, I said public skating. You know, with the little kids and moms out there in the afternoon! The type of edge drills that you do are done at a very slow speed. Things like doing a wide 1/2 circle on your right skate (only), then doing another wide 1/2 circle on your left skate...all around the rink until is is smooth and fluid. If it is too crowded, doing the backwards drills gets a little tricky, but you can do something else that day, like skating from one end to the other on one skate. Or go find a corner and practice some mohawk turns and pivots. It is all about balance and strong ankles. When you can pivot from front to back without losing any velocity, you are ready to put on the pads and do it for real.

[forsberg91 0]

Shoot 200 pucks per day at a target. Really concentrate on hitting the target! After you get good, practice shooting from odd positions (on one leg, angled toward the net, backhand).

My coach from when I was younger made us do 500 shots per week I think it was ( it was a while ago) He was a player in the NHL and he recommended it.

[awall 0]

I have been playing ice for quite some time now and i am bad... i want to know how to get better

My best advice is to look into private coach. I just started skating back in January and have a goal of being ready to play on an I-Leage team by November. I have been taking skating lessons once a week for the last 4 months and practicing on my own every saturday during public skate. While there I met with a coach who was working with some little tykes. Every so often he would offer me a tip on my skating that was really useful. I finally got to a point where my saturday practices weren't helping me improve much because I wasn't really working on the things I should have been. Any way about 2 weeks ago I ran it the coach again and asked him if we could work something out so I could get some more help. Now I have skating class on Monday for 30 min, Thursdays after work I have 1 hour with my coach, and on saturdays I have another hour with him.

The best thing about working with my coach is that no only is he teaching me new drills, but he is pointing things out that are wrong with my form and pushing me to work harder than I might on my own. Kinda like your own personal trainer. This weekend he had me pushing the goal from redline to redline on the "pond" and I got my time down to 15 seconds both ways. That may not sound like much to you young studs out there but for this old fart who is way outta shape that was a personal best.

So if you're looking to get better I would strongly suggest looking into a private coach. I would think that most rinks have bullitin boards where coaches might put up a some sort of advertisement. When in doubt ask around. Cost wise it will depend on the coach I saw some adds where coaches wanted $60 an hour and others wanted $35. My coach point blank said that since he didn't have to work as hard to keep up with me he dropped his price by almost $10 an hour for me.

Adam

[Crazy Otto 0]

The biggest shortcoming I see in a lot of players is they don't move their feet during games. Becoming a good, powerful skater is the biggest advantage you can have and it overcomes a lot of shortcomings. Even if you have weak stickhandling skill (mine isn't too great) you can still be competitive if you are a good skater and just plain outwork your competition.

I second the discusson about Turcotte; Robby Glantz power skating clinics are also very good. Private coaches can be helpful but very expensive. If you can find 2-3 guys who are at your level and want to improve you might be able to find a coach who will split the cost and make it more affordable.

Just remember, if this game were easy, everybody would do it.

[Neo5370 132]

I see a lot of people suggesting private lessons and coaches which would ideally be the best option.

However, if you're not made of money, you can always look into hockey instructional books, cd's/dvd's. Not as good as hands on training, but a great start.

I personally like Powerskating by Laura Stamm, and have read very good things on the board about Complete Conditioning for Hockey by Peter Twist and as chadd mentioned the Smarthockey Lecavalier DVD's or CD's or whatever they are.

Although all that may put you over 100 bucks but it's permanent and always at your disposal.

[Tanner23 0]

Or try at the ur local library because mine has some great skating videos with joe sakic. in case u dont want 2 pay ;)

[ktang 34]

I have to echo the other guys' thoughts about getting proper training.

Hockey is a game that needs a lot of skills. You should work on only a few things at a time, instead of everything at once. Once you have a good base you can determine the things that you do above-average. Then you can build a style based on these strengths.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I have to echo the other guys' thoughts about getting proper training.

Hockey is a game that needs a lot of skills. You should work on only a few things at a time, instead of everything at once. Once you have a good base you can determine the things that you do above-average. Then you can build a style based on these strengths.

What you say is interesting...I don't know what to say more.

[TipYourBartender<3 0]

Practice. Practice. Practice

thats what my one coach always told me but she said its not just about practicing, but practicing it RIGHT.

[biff44 0]

Private instruction is BY FAR the cheapest way to go. A figure skate instructor charges around $50 per hour, and usually can sneak you in during freestyle skating time for only $6 ice time (expect to hear a few skaters moaning when they see you strap on those hockey skates, but it is also a great way to meet some girls!).

Go to a "Skating Clinic", and you will drop $250 to $600 for the pleasure of skating around with 40 other skaters for a couple of hours each day for a week. You get to see the instructor demonstrate a move, and blow the whistle a lot. You do not get any personal attention, and could be doing the moves in a hula skirt for all the instructors care! You are just practicing doing things the wrong way, and sure enough--if you practice it enough you will get really good at doing them the wrong way!!!

The stickhandling clinics, like Turcotte or Skinner are great because they show you about 500 different stickhandling moves, fakes and dekes! You are probably not going to realize how many actual moves there are out there unless you attend or get their videos. So here is a clinic that IS worth it.

Also, acceleration clinics CAN be useful. AFTER you are sure you are skating with good form, then the 2nd task is to learn to do it all at a faster pace. The only way to do that is to skate around faster than you thought is humanly possible with a puck on the end of your stick. In these clinics you are EXPECTED to fall down a lot, because you are basically skating out of control most of the time. After a lot of this, all of a sudden you can skate that fast and be in control! But, acceleration clinics are a total waste of time and money if you are using bad form. Learning how to skate faster the wrong way is simply foolish. Get some skating lessons first.

[awall 0]

Practice. Practice. Practice

thats what my one coach always told me but she said its not just about practicing, but practicing it RIGHT.

My old band director always said, "Practice does not make perfect, its Perfect practice that makes perfect."

[sonsplayhockey 0]

The DVD from this site is good.

Its the basis for the clinic I go to on Saturdays.

http://www.laurastamm.com

You have to actually spend lots of time on the ice and actually trying to work on a skill.

I tell my kids, its ok to fall, because if your not falling, your not trying things you have never done before. Until you try things you have never done before, you will never get better.

I personnaly thing the biggest thing at first is getting an efficient forward stride. If you can't do this, then you will always get beat, and you will always be late into the action.

[UMWhockey 0]

take any coaching education classes that are offered in your area. Learn how to teach the game and then try to teach yourself.... once you learn how to teach yourslef, skate skate skate

[Mikael21 0]

Eat, sleep, hockey. ;)

Everything your team do on the ice. Think why you do that. And give 100% on every training and listen to your coach!

[Mikael21 0]

Get a job at a rink, Use dead ice...thats what I did

how old are you?