Shooting to Score

[flyerman 0]

I'm sure there must be a thread covering this, but I couldn't find it when I did multiple searches using various key word combos.

I consider myself a decent intermediate level player at this point in my life (played as a kid through Bantams, quit, then came back to the sport about 10 years ago, now I am 37 and play rec 2-3 times/week), and I have a pretty decent shot.

But in most of my games, esp. the higher level ones, I simply can't finish. It's incredibly frustrating, and it erodes my confidence in my abilities. I never seem to shoot "where the goalie is not." My biggest problem is, I think, I get in my head and a little flustered when I'm about to shoot. Thus when I am releasing the puck my head is down and I'm not aiming for a spot to shoot. I usually end up shooting at the goalie's chest or mask, or wide (esp. slap shots). This habit has been extremely hard for me to break, esp. the faster the game is. I know I can shoot because during stick and puck I can pick corners, posts, cross-bars almost at will -- 'cause my head is up! Any and all advice and tips welcome (including, "see this topic" if this has already been covered before). Also, if you know of any drills that will force me to keep my head up and shoot where I am aiming (where the goalie is not), that would be much appreciated.

[chippa13 1844]

Mike Bossy once said that he aimed at the goalie because you never hit what you're aiming at.

[flyerman 0]

Mike Bossy once said that he aimed at the goalie because you never hit what you're aiming at.

:lol:

I guess aiming at the goalie would be better than not aiming at all. I gotta start somewhere!

Seriously though, if it's an easy skate or drop-in, it's easier for me to remember to keep my head up and shoot for a spot I am aiming because I know I have time. But once it picks up, and I've got a D on me and have a second to shoot, then it's right in the bread basket, straight in the glove, a foot wide, or two feet over the net -- unless I hit him in the noggin (3 times in one game last week)!

[number21 3]

can you get a buddy to put some D pressure on you at a stick and puck time?

[scorer75 9]

Disclaimer: I am not a coach or psychologist.

Here is my take based on your explanation.

You can shoot and hit the right spots, just not under pressure. So, assuming you can actually hit the spots you want with regularity, the only thing missing is the pressure.

At stick and puck it's easy to keep your head up and aim your shot. In a game, it's not as easy. I think you need to practice at stick and puck shooting under pressure.

One way to do this is to keep the puck as far away from you as you can, while still reaching it. Then, toe drag the puck to your stick and fire. Similar to how you would corral and shoot a loose puck in a game.

Obviously having someone pass you a puck and firing it quickly would work. If you have a partner, that person could also call out a portion of the net to fire at, then you would have to receive the pass and hit a certain portion of the net.

Ultimately you will improve both the ability to hit the spot and release the shot quickly, which is what you are looking to do.

Good luck

[chippa13 1844]

I'm sure Bossy's comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. The only suggestion that I can make is for you to practice shooting at full speed, maybe at the beginning of your pickup sessions you can work on it a little while you're warming up the goalie. A trick that works for the pros is repetitious shooting from certain spots on the ice. It trains you to know where the net is so instead of having to look to pick the spot you know where the corners are and can shoot for them quicker.

[shooter27 116]

I'm sure Bossy's comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek. The only suggestion that I can make is for you to practice shooting at full speed, maybe at the beginning of your pickup sessions you can work on it a little while you're warming up the goalie. A trick that works for the pros is repetitious shooting from certain spots on the ice. It trains you to know where the net is so instead of having to look to pick the spot you know where the corners are and can shoot for them quicker.

+1

This is dead on the money. If you ever watch the end of a practice or a morning skate at the college or pro level you will see guys spend a ton of time doing just that.

Take a bunch of pucks to a spot and shoot a few times at each corner, move to another spot, repeat, etc. etc.

[AWE46M3 0]

Maybe try not over-thinking it. Just take a quick look where you want to shoot and let it go. The more/longer you think about it, the more time your mind has to F with you.

[Chadd 916]

Problem number one:

Thus when I am releasing the puck my head is down and I'm not aiming for a spot to shoot.

You should always be aiming for a spot and not just shooting. Beyond that, there are two though processes for trying to score. One is to see empty net and to try and hit it. Personally, I think this is the better way to look at it, it's positive. The other is to try and avoid hitting the goalie when you shoot. I'm not a fan of this method as you're focusing on the goalie and he's not the target. Obviously in either case, you have to be looking to see what he's giving you before picking your spot.

Also, you don't have to put the shot through the back of the net. Accuracy is more important than sheer velocity in many cases.

[flyerman 0]

All of this is very helpful....great tips. Yes, it's definitely the "pressure" element and "over-thinking" the action instead of just doing it more instinctively -- quickly looking up and shooting for a spot without thinking "I am going to screw up" or "I am going to score a goal - yea for me". I'll have to practice with a couple buddies, one D, one passing the puck to me for the finish, being mindful to actually aim before I shoot. The other ideas of shooting from different areas of the ice repeatedly is also a great drill. Thanks and keep 'em coming!!!

[Jordan 13]

Ryan Walter tells a story about one time while he was playing for Montreal; he was enduring a terrible scoring drout.

One day at the end of practice one of the coaches pulls him aside, as the other players leave the ice, and tells the goalie to get back in the net. The coach then tells Ryan to come in on the wing at half speed just like he would in a game.

So Ryan starts cutting in over the blue line, and after he crosses it, the coach stops him and asks, "what do you see ?". Walter responds, I see a big goddamned goalie, that's what I see!"

The coach says, "When you were scoring, you saw nothing but net !", and proceeds to skate off the ice.

The point is make a move, cut left, or right, dip your shoulder, delay...do something to get to a position where you see an opening and then aim for it, and let 'er rip !!!

PS If you can make your last move after the goalie moves...you win !!

[Jarick 5]

Last week I wrote the Lemaire quote from the post above (well paraphrased) on my water bottle to remind me while playing to shoot at the net and not the goalie. Of course I never looked down to read it, so I'm going to have to think of a better way!

That comment about keeping the puck to your side might have something to do with it. I notice usually I hold the puck too long and have it in front of me when shooting. This seems to limit my angle and give the goalie a better idea of where to go to block my shot (which happens a lot).

Last week I tried to remember to keep the puck to my side while shooting and it seemed to work well enough. I need a lot more practice, but it seems to me that you can go anywhere on the net if the puck is behind and to the side (in the wheel house, whatever), but if it's in front of you, it can pretty much only go to the far side. At least that's my experience.

Sorry to get off topic.

[flyerman 0]

Problem number one:

Thus when I am releasing the puck my head is down and I'm not aiming for a spot to shoot.

You should always be aiming for a spot and not just shooting. Beyond that, there are two though processes for trying to score. One is to see empty net and to try and hit it. Personally, I think this is the better way to look at it, it's positive. The other is to try and avoid hitting the goalie when you shoot. I'm not a fan of this method as you're focusing on the goalie and he's not the target. Obviously in either case, you have to be looking to see what he's giving you before picking your spot.

Also, you don't have to put the shot through the back of the net. Accuracy is more important than sheer velocity in many cases.

Great points. I think "shooting where the goalie is not" is about seeing only open parts of the net, the former of your two processes. Sometimes when I do look, esp. against big goalies, all I see is goalie, though. So, it's like I just blast it as hard as I can or try to get him moving because I see no net whatsoever, and I usually screw that up too under pressure when going full speed. So much of it is mental though. Confidence goes a very long way in this game. I can score, therefore I score (and visa versa)....

[Patrick67 1]

I look from time to time at the goalie while shooting, but usually I don't pay much attention to the goalie, I'll focus more on my own shooting motion trying to mask my shoot, and the postion of the goal posts.

High-level goalies usually don't have a chance to see the puck, but have to guess/read where the shooter is aiming.

In regards to training, my best suggestion if your alone is to do everything at full speed during stick and puck instead of goofing around at half-speed and shoot.

[sjsharks11 0]

if all else fails go to the net and try to bang in a rebound to get some of your confidence back. i find that scoring has a lot to do with confidence. if you are doubting yourself when your about to shoot, you most likely aren't going to score.

[houk 0]

I'm no expert but sometimes I find it useful to think about where i'm going to shoot while sitting on the bench or during warmup. I sometimes find that during a breakaway there is too much time to overthink. Just go with your instincts. It never hurts to aim at the goalie or try hitting a certain spot of the net that you like. If you always aim at the one spot, the puck is eventually going to go in

Hope this helps

[chippa13 1844]

Never underestimate the power of visualization.

[-brady2 0]

+1 with the visualization.

another huge thing that helped me a lot, i always had a snipe during practice and got nicknamed "practice man" but i learned to try and shoot it there when im not looking, learning the feel to do it so it's more natural, i'd take 10 shots with my eyes open, then i'd take a few with my eyes closed, then try doing it more.

and another big one now that i think about it was i used to take the puck too far back, instead of shooting it closer to neutral with my body, that helped a lot.

[thejackal 46]

i find at almost any level you can be a great scorer if u have 2 great moves and u alternate between as long as your execution is good (jussi jokinen for example). im right handed and this season i've scored probably 75% of my goals on wrist or snap shots over the goalie's catcher. if you're shot is good then just pick a spot and go for it. if u get enough on it then nothing else should matter. also, think about the rest of your game and try to find a spot on the ice where you are most comfortable shooting to score or creating offense in general (for gretz it would be behind the net, for brett hull pretty much anywhere on the off-wing near the faceoff dot), then, go there whenever you can with u have the puck in the zone. this will give u a lot more confidence since with repetition, there will be no hesitation on your part when you have a chance to score.

also, an interesting thing i found while playing goal at shinny, is that some guys have a set "pattern" right before they shoot. now, i cant goaltend worth a dime, but i stopped 1 guy 7 straight times on breakaways because everytime he went for a shot, he'd take a look down at the puck, LOOK WHERE HE WAS GOING TO SHOOT, another peek at the puck, and then finally shoots. he couldnt believe it when i told him, but try to notice what you're actually doing with your eyes.

[Clark12 0]

Get your head up and pick a spot is the best advice I can give you. Also use the natural obstacles around you such as using d-men as a screen.

[Jarick 5]

I have a quick question for you guys,

When you're going to take a quick shot off a rush, where do you usually shoot from (i.e. top of the circles, hash marks, just across the blue line, bottom of the circles)? I've been told to shoot the puck earlier, even though I don't see any net to shoot (and I usually let it go below the hash marks).

[iggy777 0]

The advantage of shooting the puck a little bit earlier, (in your case i would say top of the circles), is if the goalie makes the save you have enough space to react for a rebound, so if you're going to shoot a bit earlier i would recommend that you shoot low.

I like to look for the top corners first and then if there's no room i'll shoot low to give myslef or a teamate a chance for a rebound.I like to shoot so i release the puck right around the hashmarks depending how much speed im coming in with

[Hoffer 0]

I always look for the open spot glance at it and then look somewhere else and shoot the open spot. Not sure if that makes any sense though by reading it.

[thejackal 46]

i find that if i dont release by the time im past the hashmarks, it's harder to score since the goalie has less net to defend. i like to put it right under the crossbar, but from farther out like when i play point i aim 5 hole for the big rebound.

one really devious trick i use sometime coming down the opposite wing (LW, as im right-handed) on a 2 vs 1 is to look at my teammate, and then shoot it short side without looking at the net. basically if you shoot accurately enough it's very very hard for the goalie to cover, especially if he's already cheating to cover the pass. i can do it on the RW also, but it's a bit more difficult.

[AWE46M3 0]

I have a quick question for you guys,

When you're going to take a quick shot off a rush, where do you usually shoot from (i.e. top of the circles, hash marks, just across the blue line, bottom of the circles)? I've been told to shoot the puck earlier, even though I don't see any net to shoot (and I usually let it go below the hash marks).

I dont look to shoot by a certain point. I normally shoot when I see an opening the goalie has given me or if you see cheating or something then I'll shoot. I also won't waste a shot for the sake of just putting the puck on net unless there is traffic in front. For some reason, I think you really read too much into it. Im not sure how long of a slump you've been in but if you over think this you'll drive yourself crazy... haha As long as you're getting chances you're doing something right and as long as you keep shooting you'll get your goals. If you weren't getting chances thats worse than not being able to finish IMO.