looking at the puck

[Kirsch 1]

Great stuff MDE3. I am going to have to try this. I am pretty good about keeping my head up to watch how the play is forming but I will definitely try this to improve.

[crosskore 0]

If I were you i would ware skates when u practice in ur basement or wherever. that way when you go on the ice you dont have to adapt to your new stick length.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

In response to the original post:

I found what helped me keep my head up better was to get in a lower skating posture and to really work on making stickhandling second nature. Moving my lower hand further down the shaft helped me leverage the stick and puck a bit better, as was lots of stickhandling a ball off the ice. Practice stickhandling to your sides, in front, close and wide, different combinations of each. It's important just to keep at it till you get used to knowing where the ball is in relation to you. And always keep stickhandling to feel the weight of the puck on the stick. I usually work on it about 15-30 minutes a day.

[SB39 2]

Try stickhandling while looking at the ceiling, then golf ball while looking at the cieling... Basically, make it harder on yourself as you get better, and you will continue to get better at a rapid pace. Also, develop more strength and coordination in your arms and especially forearms, cuz belive it or not, that will improve your dangles by way of having more overall confidence, and when you're skating faster, you're pushing the puck harder and you're bound to feel it more... All things considered, just bust your ass.

[Harrycaray 0]

stick handle with a golf ball, it helped me now i never skate with my head down

[Chadd 916]

I use a low lie and a long stick so I can see the puck in my peripheral vision most of the time.

[MDE3 0]

  2048 said:

Practice 20 minutes and you should be golden.

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20 minutes a day....

But just using the discipline of the "eyes closed" and keep moving your head around while holding it up will work fine...Those toys are ok, but the glasses helped us more as coaches to see who was having problems in the group, than it really did the kids..it did help make believers out of those who doubted the drills..as though there was some special magic in the glasses. A blindfold is fine, but eyes closed works as well...just means you have to be a little more disciplined...and costs nothing.

Learning by "feel" will really free up your vision for those situations where you need to be aware of incoming checks along the boards, allowing you to make moves away from the check, while still keeping control of the puck...that's why even depending a little on peripheral vision is not as beneficial..there's plenty of times you need that vision for other things.....like two checkers coming at you from different angles.

The eyes closed drill while keeping your head moving will definitely impact your sense of balance too..so there is additional benefit when you become comfortable doing it this way..you will get more familiar with your center of balance at the same time.

As far as goalies go, your critical awareness outside of your vision is even more difficult..knowing where you are relative to the net, without looking at it, may be the toughest discipline.

You can do the same thing....to develop an internal picture of where you are at all times...make lateral and forward movements with your eyes closed..and then check where you are versus where you thought you would be (eyes open lol)....that is practice practice practice.....and this will also help your balance too.

Goalies first rule..eyes never leave the puck..even when in the offensive zone so your positioning must be from an internal "map" you develop of the goal and crease area.

[Whip 0]

Why golf balls? Can i do this with different types of objects? What is so benifical using a golf ball instead of a ball?

[Fire0nIce228 1]

weight and it being small I think.

[bulletproof_funk 0]

  Whip said:

Why golf balls? Can i do this with different types of objects? What is so benifical using a golf ball instead of a ball?

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Golf balls are good for developing quick and soft hands because the balls bounce alot really easily if you hit them too hard and roll really fast.

Developing soft hands and stickhandling with your head up are skills that can be learned separately. You can put them together once you get comfortable with both.

[Nacho 0]

Something that has helped me 100% is playing street hockey outside. In four or five days in a row of playing I really could notice a difference when I stepped on the ice. I also have tried the golf ball thing but that didn't help me at all. Another one is the neck brace. I tried this with my moms neck brace and i noticed a change. I like to practice it with a soft practice golf ball on plexi-glass. As someone said before the soft ball makes you need to get a feel for the puck in a game.

[Whip 0]

Just had a game today and Looking down really costed me some opurtunies, I looked down and took a snap shot and it hit the goalie flat on the chest, if i had looked up i coulda seen an open spot so i definitly need to get this skill. But i dont have golf balls so what is the next best thing to use other then the golfball?

I have a cotton puck, which is meant to be a toy but i use that, i can barley feel it so maybe i should give that a try

let me kno what u think

thnx

[Chadd 916]

Ping pong balls work better than golf balls, much more lively.

[Gongshow11 1]

I've used golf balls, tennis balls, raquet balls...all very hard but I don't find them to be like a puck, not because they're round, but because they dont weigh the same, that is why i just purchased a smart hockey ball, which hopefully will help

[Whip 0]

  Theo said:

And if you don't have the ping pong balls, I use the tiny practice golf balls (have many holes in them, which really give you a good response.

Whip- If those cotton pucks (black foam ones?) are what you are talking about, I honestly wouldn't reccomend them for anything.

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The cotton pucks i was refering to is meant to be a stuffed toy (like a stuffed aniaml) but its shaped like a puck and has a team logo on it. Its real light.

[Gongshow11 1]

  Whip said:

  Theo said:

And if you don't have the ping pong balls, I use the tiny practice golf balls (have many holes in them, which really give you a good response.

Whip-  If those cotton pucks (black foam ones?) are what you are talking about, I honestly wouldn't reccomend them for anything.

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The cotton pucks i was refering to is meant to be a stuffed toy (like a stuffed aniaml) but its shaped like a puck and has a team logo on it. Its real light.

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they would probably do nothing

[Whip 0]

But if the object is light wouldnt it take more effort to actually feel it therefore making u work harder to feel a lighter object?

[Fire0nIce228 1]

yes.

[crosskore 0]

Why dont you just take 5 bucks and go buy some golf balls or ping pong balls? really?

[BPPdankplayer21 0]

Keeping your feet moving while stickhandling and looking up. Do small figure eights in tight and out while keeping your head up (Does not have to be fast just get the feel without messing up). There are alot more things you can do but these are easy, and will help alot.

[Whip 0]

Just got some ping pong balls, man they are crazy, they are so hard to handle, they bonce like crazy and if u stickhandle it and hit the ball too hard it goes flying out of reach so i gotta go soft, this might help me develop soft hands.

Just curious what good is soft hands? I hear alot of ppl talk about it but what are the benfitis of haivng soft hands?

[Kyle_M 0]

  Whip said:

Just curious what good is soft hands? I hear alot of ppl talk about it but what are the benfitis of haivng soft hands?

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Soft hands allow you to recieve passes without them bouncing off your blade.

[kosydar 0]

  S_Pump44 said:

  Whip said:

Just curious what good is soft hands? I hear alot of ppl talk about it but what are the benfitis of haivng soft hands?

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Soft hands allow you to recieve passes without them bouncing off your blade.

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Or you could just buy a Si-Core

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Too bad that wont work. I had one and if I just stood there stone haneded the puck would bounce off when a pass came or me or anything else. Si cores wont fix soft hands

[biff44 0]

If you really can't break the habit of watching the puck (a sure trip to the hospital in Juniors), go buy this "puckhandler stickhandler training device"

http://www.epuck.com/webapp/wcs/stores/ser...egory_rn=891747

It looks goofy, but it will stop you from looking at the puck.

You could try other things, like paint the puck bright orange so that everytime you look down, you see the weird bright orange color and realize that you peaked at the puck again.

Realize that just before you take a shot, you do want to look down MOMENTARILY to see that the puck is in the right position.