HELP, I want to be a better player....

[3lapfancy 0]

Hi guys (gals). I am 29 years old and played hockey through high school, but then stopped playing until this year. I would say that I stopped playing for 10-11 years. Some other hobbies took over my life, but now I am back on the ice and playing drop in pickup 3-4 times a week and in an adult league 1 night a week.

Anyways, I consider myself to be a pretty good skater, I dont fall all the time and my speed is OK. I have some trouble catching some harder passes, and I seem to rush my play, forcing passes, not knowing exactly where to be all the time, shot is not near as hard as it should be, literally no back hand power at all. Just not playing very smart hockey.

Anyways here is what I would like from you guys....

1) Good or best hockey camp to attend in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.

2) Off ice training tools that actually work, ie skate weights, stick handling balls, net with 5 hole board and shooting mat with 100 pucks or so. Just looking for whatever I can purchase that can help me out and not waste money or improve my skills.

3) Anything else you guys can think of that would help me out.

Like I said, I am an OK player, but I just want the be the best I possibly can. I am still pretty young and getting outplayed by 40+ year old guys can get a little frustrating (no offense to anyone)

Thanks

Steve

[Chadd 916]

I can't possibly tackle it all, so I'll hit on my strengths.

Backhand shots, like all shots the power comes from your body and legs as much as it does from your arms. Make sure you follow through and don't try to cut off the follow through.

Rushing the play and vision, that will come with experience and comfort. as you get more comfortable playing in various situations, you won't rush as much. Vision is a little harder. A lot of it you have or don't have, the rest will come once you learn where you should be on the ice. Once you understand what everyone is/should be doing, your "vision" will improve greatly.

Shooting and passing are all about practice. The more you do it, the better you will get.

[GretzisGod 0]

I would stay away from a shooter tutor unless you can use in on the ice, shooting on land and on the ice are two different things. Stick handle as much as you can, if your garage or basement floor is smooth enough use a puck on this rather than a ball. Take your time on the ice, if you are playing non contact you can "look" alot of people off much like a quarterback as most will try pick a pass rather than play you like they are supposed to. The other thing is keep your feet moving on the ice, don't coast to make a pass or take a shot, taking a quick wrist or snap shot in stride will fool alot of goalies as they don't get set.

[ljbaron 0]

I looked into the Minnesota hockey camps and the best i can seem to find is the camp called "Minnesota Hockey Camps"

[Chadd 916]

The other thing is keep your feet moving on the ice, don't coast to make a pass or take a shot, taking a quick wrist or snap shot in stride will fool alot of goalies as they don't get set.

I disagree, you can skate yourself into trouble and out of potential plays. There are times when skating hard is useful and times when coasting is useful. Movement is almost always a good thing, fast movement isn't always a good thing when you have the puck. That said, standing dead still is almost always a bad thing.

[juiced 0]

I would stay away from a shooter tutor unless you can use in on the ice, shooting on land and on the ice are two different things.

i agree that they are two different things but if you shoot properly off the ice your shot should inprove on ice. I used to take a hundred slap shots a day in my garage and my slapshot improved immensely.

[epstud74 24]

I looked into the Minnisota hockey camps and the best i can seem to find is the camp called "Minnisota Hockey Camps"

Try typing in "Minnesota"

[Jarick 5]

I like the Smart Hockey ball for stickhandling. I'll use that for a while, do drills with pucks, then switch to a golf ball. The Smart ball helps build wrist strength and the golf ball soft hands. Made a big difference for me.

I go to the Richfield arena in the summer and shoot pucks for an hour or so on their outdoor net and shooting surface helped me work on my technique. It doesn't transfer perfectly to ice, but it's better than nothing.

What didn't work for me was those foam shooting targets. Too much of a pain. But shooting with a buddy and calling your shots, playing HORSE, stuff like that was more fun.

Don't know much about hockey camps, but I know Total Hockey has dryland training going on right now. Located in Eagan. I'd go if I thought it'd do me any good but I don't think my lungs and blood sugar would let me push myself enough to improve.

Where do you play?

[3lapfancy 0]

I skate at the Super Rink for my league. I play drop in at Minnetonka, Champlin, Eagan, Plymouth, Chaska, Super Rink. Pretty much anywhere I can find a good open hockey game.

OK, To the people that suggest not shooting off ice......

Are you saying that I should not get a goal and and 5 hole board to hand on the goal? I am not talking about anything "foam" I was more interested in getting something similar to what they actually have at an ice arena. I am surprised to hear that may not improve my shooting accuracy and power. Unless I misunderstood what you guys are saying.

Thanks

Steve

[heatley015 0]

Shooting off ice would help you out for sure. It is a bit different from shooting on ice , but if anything , shooting off ice will help build up your muscles, which is great. I find shooting off a peice of plexiglass is the best as it doesn't wear down your stick like pavement. Also it is pretty slick so it is a bit more like shooting off of ice.

[biff44 0]

If I were starting up again as an adult (with some cash available), I would do 2 things first:

1) hire a personal trainer and really work on core and flexibility, so that I would not end up in the orthopaedic ward of the local hospital. Also, odds are I would have a poor body fat%, which is a killer for speed and overheating in a game--have him work on that.

2) hire a skating instructor for one on one training. It would probably be a figure skating instructor, as they are set up for one-on-one instruction. He/She would cure me of any bad habits, make sure I could skate on all 4 edges, give me drills to practice on, get my balance back.

After around 4-6 months of that, it is back to hockey practice: stickhandling, puck shooting, etc etc.

[juiced 0]

OK, To the people that suggest not shooting off ice......

Are you saying that I should not get a goal and and 5 hole board to hand on the goal? I am not talking about anything "foam" I was more interested in getting something similar to what they actually have at an ice arena. I am surprised to hear that may not improve my shooting accuracy and power. Unless I misunderstood what you guys are saying.

Thanks

Steve

for me i have a board and a net and i use a wooden stick. it's the motion and the muscles that you are training so even if it isnt exactly the same as on ice, your body will adapt once you are on the ice.

[heatley015 0]

Also, when I was making a switch from forward to D at the beginning of the season, I went to watch my local junior team play(PEI Rocket-QMJHL)I paid very close attention to what the defenseman were doing in certain situations like breakouts, avoiding getting creamed on dump-ins, and positioning on 3 on 2's etc. I found this extremely helpful. I would suggest this for you as well, then you will get a general idea of what forwards are supposed to do in different situations.

Edit: Assuming you play forward, you can do the same thing if you play D though.

[GretzisGod 0]

The other thing is keep your feet moving on the ice, don't coast to make a pass or take a shot, taking a quick wrist or snap shot in stride will fool alot of goalies as they don't get set.

I disagree, you can skate yourself into trouble and out of potential plays. There are times when skating hard is useful and times when coasting is useful. Movement is almost always a good thing, fast movement isn't always a good thing when you have the puck. That said, standing dead still is almost always a bad thing.

I didn't say you had to skate hard, I said keep you feet moving. If you watch a beer leauge game you can tell when 95% of the guys are going to pass or shoot cause they coast. If you can shoot/pass in stride you will be more effective. Hockey is a game of timing, you want to be going full speed most of the time you have the puck, when you don't, read and react.

[Jarick 5]

Personally, I feel like I'm playing better when I'm moving my feet. Those transitions, forward to backward, backward to forward, being able to use all my edges, those are incredibly helpful. When I keep my feet moving, I use less energy than stopping and starting, and I can usually get to where I need quickly.

It's probably really basic for those of you who played a decent amount of hockey, but for a novice like myself, I have to remind myself to do that sometimes.

[avery16 5]

i agree keep your feet moving, maybe not too fast, but if you stop moving your feet you limit your options.. if you move your feet you have more options..