off-ice stick training

[pong 0]

what type of ball would be good to use for stick handling exercises?

golf ball? tennis ball? squash?

there are no hockey shops here so i would have to

use what i can easily find.

thanks!

[DamnLocust 0]

Smarthockey balls are said to be really good, and they even come with a cd with drills on it. You can get them online, I believe epuck has them.

A lot of people also use a puck on plywood or surfaces made to mimic ice (not sure what they're actually called)

[sharpie 0]

I bought my son a ball at our LHS it was about $15 and it weighs the same as a puck and is the same height and has the same bounce,

So its basically stickhandling with a puck.

But since you have no LHS I would use what ever feels about the same as a puck.

[pong 0]

what would simulate the feel of a puck?

im just a beginner so i dont really know...

my guess would be a golf ball... but its kinda faster... i think...

[All Torhs Team 0]

Yea those smarthockey balls are amazing. I'll just stickhandle on my carpet like in between commercials. :D

Go to a black smith (if theyre even called that now days) get yourself some heavy pucks.

Ive got like five 5 pound pucks. really hard to stickhandle fast with. really great tool.

Golf ball increases quickness.

If your up for a real challenge try to stickhandle a ping pong ball. Thats really tough

[DamnLocust 0]

a golf ball is too pingy and too light. smarthockey or a synthetic ice sheet is the way to go if you can order online.

edit: you could try an inline puck ifyou know of a place with smooth concrete/asphalt, but it's still not the same.

[Aussie Joe 0]

You can get inline pucks the same weight as an ice puck... Millennium Pro Puck $5.95

These suckers are pretty darn close I reckon, bouncy on rebounds as well!

[DamnLocust 0]

they're slightly less heavy (ice puck is 6 0z., propuck is 4 oz.)

but the dimensions are damn near the same, and because it's made of rubber it feels a lot like an ice puck. They glide really well, too. We use them indoor, outdoor, league and pickup here in NY. A good puck.

[Muzza_77 0]

Yeah the propucks are really really good

[Roach 0]

Pong, a few of us swear by the Smart hockey balls we got on epuck. Before them we were using golf balls. If you're interested in getting one, get in touch with me asap.

[KYHockey3 0]

Yea those smarthockey balls are amazing. I'll just stickhandle on my carpet like in between commercials. :D

Go to a black smith (if theyre even called that now days) get yourself some heavy pucks.

Ive got like five 5 pound pucks. really hard to stickhandle fast with. really great tool.

Golf ball increases quickness.

If your up for a real challenge try to stickhandle a ping pong ball. Thats really tough

i love my smart hockey ball!!

they are great for any surface and are very helpful in making your stickhandling better.

[bruins3701 0]

I use golf balls and smart hockey balls

smart hockey balls give me the weight of the puck and after using that for awhile i will grab a golf ball to speed things up a bit

[TBLfan 25]

i broke my smarthockey ball :(

Apparently they don't like repeated shots to a wall. :(

[mt2mn06 0]

smarthockey ball is the way to go, i think. mine has held up to numerous encounters with a wall.

[jbyun04 7]

smartball is the best, mines endured repeated shots to a mattress, not a wall :P

flypucks are good as well as golf balls. When I'm in the house and I'm bored or watching tv i'll just stick handle with the golf ball or smartball. Occasionally i'll use a racquet ball but smart ball and golf ball is the way to go.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I talked to Sean Skinner once and he told me that the Swedish stickhandling balls are the best for everyday off-ice stickhandling practice.

[Chadd 916]

That's because he sells them

[pantherfan 0]

LOL They are good though, they don't bounce like a golf ball and really help your quickness, I also like the smart hockey ball but I wouldn't reccomend shooting them as they can crack if you do it hard enough.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

That's because he sells them

Are you saying his opinion is biased ? There's two sides to that coin. He could be selling them precisely because he really and truly believes that they are the best ball to learn with. If you don't believe in the products you're selling you probably shouldn't be in that business.

When I talked to him I knew he sold them but he wasn't in a position to sell me them. He also told me that if I didn't have a Swedish stickhandling ball that I could use a golf ball. He wasn't working a sale on me.

I am not positive how SmartHockey works, but I'd guess if he wanted to sell SmartHockey balls he could, given how popular they seem to be, at what I would also guess would be a fair to healthy profit margin.

[TBLfan 25]

LOL They are good though, they don't bounce like a golf ball and really help your quickness, I also like the smart hockey ball but I wouldn't reccomend shooting them as they can crack if you do it hard enough.

yeah, mine has a crack from one pole(think north pole) to the other pole. It still works fine but I find myself trying to finish it off instead of practicing :lol:

[hockechamp14 0]

I had a smarthockey ball and don't use it anymore. It was good to get my forearm stregnth up, but isn't good for much after that. I use a sweedish ball and golf ball for off ice stuff now.

[TBLfan 25]

I'm sick and bored so here's a pic of the aforementioned dead smarthockey ball... I plan on resurrecting it with some epoxy later today :D

Can't let $8 go to waste :lol: