what do yall do to increase vision when you have the puck

[Jarick 5]

For me, it was patience/confidence and stickhandling.

When I picked up hockey again last fall, I gave the puck away constantly. I would get it, feel like I was inadequate on my game, and try to give it to someone better than me. Of course, I would just limp wrist it right onto the opposing players stick. When I started holding on to the puck, guys would back off a bit and give me some room to move. So I started carrying the puck up the ice a bit more, and eventually I got some confidence to work.

Second, I got a smart hockey ball and did hours worth of stickhandling in the house and out on the ponds in the winter. The idea was to be comfortable with the puck, have the muscle memory to stickhandle, and to know where it is on the stick without looking down.

So put the two together, being patient and confident in trying to carry the puck, and having the skill to carry the puck down the ice. I still turn the puck over and do stupid things (like when I'm deep in the zone and no one is in position, I assume someone's at the point and sure enough, they aren't there). But I've made a hell of a lot of progress and now it's one of the stronger points of my game (relatively speaking).

[fatwabbit 93]

game sense is important too, but that comes with experience. Know and predict how the play is going to develop, and anticipate where your team mates are going to be. There will be some turnovers, but the longer you play together, the better you will gel. I've played with some of the guys for as little as a few months, and as long as 8 years on the SAME line. We are able to predict where each of us are, so a lot of the passes are instinctive.

You also need to be able to know when to pass. A lot of the turnovers on my team happen when the guy holds on to the puck for too long. Usually there is one or two other guys who are in a better position to make the play. Hockey is a team sport... make use of your team mates.

Keep your head up... it'll come to you...

[oliverloran 0]

Thank for the advices, they are the most useful what i've so far. I will try to build in this kind of thinking in my game, so i can be good next season. But still the worst feeling is that last year i was going to a team which had like 3-4 on ice trainings, and i actually feel everysince i returned to amateur hockey, there is some negative improvment.

[thorpedo26 0]

im goning to get a smart hockey ball and practice with it without looking. my team constantly changes lines so we never "gel". but ill work on seeing the play before it happens

[technophile 0]

im goning to get a smart hockey ball and practice with it without looking. my team constantly changes lines so we never "gel". but ill work on seeing the play before it happens

One thing you can do in that case is try to work on plays that everyone on the team knows.

For example, my beer league team, on faceoffs in our defensive zone, everyone knows that we're going to try to win the puck back to the D in the corner (away from the net). If we win the faceoff, the opposite-side wing heads for the far faceoff dot, so that the D can shoot the puck behind the net and around the boards to him. It's a low-risk play, and most teams don't cover it very well, so it ends up being a great breakout for us.

The best part is that because we discuss it as a team, everyone knows it, so I don't have to worry about which winger it is and we don't need a lot of chemistry to make it work.

Obviously there are some things you can't do that for, but you can at least come up with a basic playbook that everyone knows and can work from.

[thorpedo26 0]

im goning to get a smart hockey ball and practice with it without looking. my team constantly changes lines so we never "gel". but ill work on seeing the play before it happens

One thing you can do in that case is try to work on plays that everyone on the team knows.

For example, my beer league team, on faceoffs in our defensive zone, everyone knows that we're going to try to win the puck back to the D in the corner (away from the net). If we win the faceoff, the opposite-side wing heads for the far faceoff dot, so that the D can shoot the puck behind the net and around the boards to him. It's a low-risk play, and most teams don't cover it very well, so it ends up being a great breakout for us.

The best part is that because we discuss it as a team, everyone knows it, so I don't have to worry about which winger it is and we don't need a lot of chemistry to make it work.

Obviously there are some things you can't do that for, but you can at least come up with a basic playbook that everyone knows and can work from.

ill try to dicuss stuff like that with them

[santiclaws 0]

A couple of things:

1. You need to learn to be really confident with the puck on your stick without actually looking down. This will give you the confidence to look around for opportunities to make a play, rather than just dumping the puck somehwere. Also, you will have the ability to do little fake passes which will give you even more time. A tiny little move can give you just enough time to make a play instead of turning over the puck.

2. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, play with guys much better than you. Playing in a game in which the pace is much faster than you're used to will force you to make decisions quicker. When you go back to play at the level you usually play, everything will seem a lot slower, and you will feel like you have all day to decide what to do.

[hock20 0]

If you panic with the puck often, a technique that helped me a lot was watching other people with the puck it really opens your eyes to how much time you might really have.

[thorpedo26 0]

thanks guys. im strarting to look at things in a different perspective

[SCATMAN 33]

i agree with everthing thats been said. I used to always look down at the puck but now that i can use my peripheral vision more i see a lot more of the game and can pick gaps in players and goalies when im tring to deak them

[thorpedo26 0]

id like to say thanks for the advise ive been workin on it almost everyday at open hockey and i feel twice as good as i was two weeks ago

[chk hrd 164]

pratice & play. you are not going to see anything better until you are more comfortable with the puck and the speed of the game. I don't think it is so much as seeing the puck as letting your instincts take over. IMHO you shouldn't think to much on the ice because the game is to fast, you need to be able to go on autopilot.

[EndBoards 0]

In my league, I'm usually up against far better players, so I don't touch the puck much due to my well worn panic button.

One thing that helped me to calm down and take more time is to stop overhandling the puck. You don't have to tic-tac it back and forth from forehand to backhand with every skating stride.

Watch players like Sergei Zubov or Scott Niedermayer. Once they put the puck on one side of the to their blade, they leave it there until they need to change direction.

I tried to imitate this in some practice sessions and instantly got better carrying the puck down the ice. There are lots of benefits. Doing this kinda forces me to slow my brain down and hold off the panic button. Also, fewer moves with the puck makes you less likely to lose control, which makes you more comfortable with your head up - further increasing your poise. If you have it sitting there on your forehand, you're also ready to fire a pass almost instantly which causes defenders to back off a little more.

[Powerfibers 8]

Yeah, be careful of the panic button. I say push it ahead and keep your head up. Try not to dump it off and skate. That is the only way to improve. Go to skate and shoot with two buds and play in a triangle passing and moving all the time.

[Jarick 5]

Yeah, be careful of the panic button. I say push it ahead and keep your head up. Try not to dump it off and skate. That is the only way to improve. Go to skate and shoot with two buds and play in a triangle passing and moving all the time.

GREAT drill. I wish we had stick and puck here in Minny...I can't find it at least.

But in the winter when the ponds freeze, we do triangles all the time.

[Smitty34 0]

A lot of good advice so far. I've actually tried some of these suggestions myself and I've had good success :).

Something that one of my teammates told me to try to help my puck handling and keeping my head with the puck is to stick handle with a golf ball. Because golf balls are more difficult to control, if you can get comfortable with that, controlling the puck will start to become easier. It has helped me out quite a bit. Keeping my head up during games has made a night and day difference. Hope this helps.

[Powerfibers 8]

Yeah, be careful of the panic button. I say push it ahead and keep your head up. Try not to dump it off and skate. That is the only way to improve. Go to skate and shoot with two buds and play in a triangle passing and moving all the time.

GREAT drill. I wish we had stick and puck here in Minny...I can't find it at least.

But in the winter when the ponds freeze, we do triangles all the time.

It works great especially when it is a bit full. Lots of moving defenders (so they are unaware, but they are still hard to pass through).