DIY "Off Ice" Training Tools

[Darkbyte 0]

Lately, I've found myself being under motivated/bored of doing figure 8s between my legs/cones, and other things from here.

Therefore, I was wondering what "off ice" training tools poeple have made for themselves (or brought) and what they think/how it was made.

Shooting/stick handling pads have been done to death, so I was thinking about things like attack triangles, stick handling triangles/horse shoes and passing tools, etc.

I havent seen any of this stuff in Australia, hence the question.

I like toys, so having something new to play with should get my ass down to the stuffy, hot* basement carpark (read apartment living) for some practice.

* 38 degree summer days with 20 degree nights

[SolarWind 23]

If you've done all the drills from the section then I don't need to tell you about the balance board (it's last on their list), but if not then in my opinion it's an awesome home training tool

they used 2 2*4 boards - didn't try that

I used a sheet of plywood & a pvc pipe (same was Skinner does it - there's a bunch of videos on how to make it availabe online) - very inexpensive setup

[iamcanadian 0]

I was doing this same stuff but then I somehow stopped. I enjoyed it so I must go back.

[armada 0]

I've spent countless hours doing those and Skinners drills in my garage this summer. One thing that helped is purchasing a goal and 100 pucks to alternate between the two. But motivation/boredness shouldn't be a problem if you really want to get better, the excitement of improvement far outweighs the work for me.

[biff44 0]

I tried a few over the years. I once took a 25# weight plate, put 3 casters on it, took a shaft and put a metal post at the end of it to go into the weight plate hole. You could move it back and forth and in figure 8's, and it really built up your arms/wrists. Worked surprisingly well.

I also took a shaft, put an eyelet at the end, and hooked it to a cable on a weight machine. Thought it would help to build up muscles for shooting, but the mechanics were not too good--a bust

I bought some big steel ball bearings for stickhandling practice once, didn't like them.

I got a cheap ball throwing machine once at Dicks--the type that throws plastic balls out for hitting practice with a bat. I modified the electronics so the 2 wheels turned slower, and put in some golf balls. The idea was for one-timer practice. It did whip them out, but the balls were harder to see than a puck, and it was a little too close to really practice one timers with--a bust.

I once set up 3 slaved strobe lights to see if you could develop quicker ability to pick up a puck coming at you,. Was interesting, but did not really help much.

[reyno2ac 0]

Don't really have any suggestions on how to make you better but I was just wondering if anyone has use a balance board that was like the exercise ones where it is a half sphere on the bottom of a board so you have to balance every direction instead of just left/right

[Darkbyte 0]

Cheers SolarWind, I have a balance board that I have been using.

Don't really have any suggestions on how to make you better but I was just wondering if anyone has use a balance board that was like the exercise ones where it is a half sphere on the bottom of a board so you have to balance every direction instead of just left/right

I have an Indoboard with the IndoFLO cushion (as well as the standard roller). I brought it to improve my disfunctional ankles and awfull balance a few years ago (pre-hockey). The cushion is definately harder to use than the roller, especially when you try to do squats on it. You will find that your muscles fatigue a lot faster having to balance in all directions rather than being restricted to sideways motion.

The roller and cushion have definately improved my balance and ability to regain my balance should something go wrong, but its important to keep in mind that my balance was significantly below that of an average person to start with (and it still below most beginner hockey players).

Impressive list biff44, shame about the ball throwing machine, that would have been awesome.

Id love to buy a goal armada, but unfortulately, there isnt room to use it without interrupting the flow of traffic through the carpark :( Re: skinner drills was this it?

[biff44 0]

Yeah, I had seen those boni puck machines that goal tenders practice with, but could not find one on ebay for cheap. So I started thinking about how to build my own, and it dawned on me that if you could stickhandle golf balls, that maybe you could shoot them too. It technically worked, but one timers require a bunch of stuff to practice:

you have to see the puck coming at you, which means it has to be similar to the size of a puck to be seen well

you have to get the shot off properly, which means hitting something around the same mass and size as a puck

If you do not get those details right, the experience is not that realistic and you are not developing your timing.

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

A cheap and inexpensive skating training drill/machine is to take a melamine board approx 4 feet wide by 6-8 feet long and screw stops to either side (on the short ends) (shiny smooth side up)

then get grandma to knit you some really wooly slippers and you can stride back and forth watching TV for a half hour to hour and you legs feel like they are going to fall off after. But no pain no gain right? ;)

[CTK30 0]

A cheap and inexpensive skating training drill/machine is to take a melamine board approx 4 feet wide by 6-8 feet long and screw stops to either side (on the short ends) (shiny smooth side up)

then get grandma to knit you some really wooly slippers and you can stride back and forth watching TV for a half hour to hour and you legs feel like they are going to fall off after. But no pain no gain right? ;)

I guess

It's not going to help much with power through

You also need to focus on the muscles that bring your legs in, so that you don't have muscle imbalances that could lead to injuries

[JohnnyCanuck 0]

It sure does help with power, it is a cheap power sliding board. You stride from one side to the stops, when you hit the stop you stride to the other side. It is a mock skating motion without the cost of expensive ice time and damaging your skates on something that is not ice. You still move on the board as if you were skating, just thrusting side to side instead of on a slight angle back.

A former power skating instructor to the pro's gave me the idea for mine that I built years and years ago.

[brooke1013 0]

The only problem with slide boards on the market is that they are too short. I suggest building your own. Also visit http://www.overspeed.info/ for off-ice tips.

Jack is the Washinton Capitals Physiology and trains College and Pro Hockey players in the summer in Minnesota

[s4gobabygo 0]

i had a spare goal in my basement, so i stretched the netting to be almost competely taught. every shot i take gives a different rebound. when playing up close with a ball, i can work on swatting the ball out of the air after the rebound bounces directly off the floor in front of the net. sometimes i can swat the ball out of the air 30-40 times before "losing it".

on longer shots with a ball or puck, it helps me work on settling the puck with my feet/stick or getting quick shots off of poor quality bouncing/rolling rebounds. even with a full slapshot, the puck comes screaming back at me. i guess for me it's more about stickhandling and receiving than it is about shooting, but my hands are definitely improving, and on tuesay night, i scored my first ever "swat the puck in from waist height" goal ever.

i also use a ~800g stick for this, so it actually tires me out...

[dsjunior1388 81]

take a bucket of pucks, an old piece of furniture you want to destroy, and a basement. Fire away and enjoy destroying the old dresser/table on it's side. Clean up debris, and go to a garage sale to find another target. (i would suggest cheap sticks or a board that will protect your sticks)

[iamcanadian 0]

take a bucket of pucks, an old piece of furniture you want to destroy, and a basement. Fire away and enjoy destroying the old dresser/table on it's side. Clean up debris, and go to a garage sale to find another target. (i would suggest cheap sticks or a board that will protect your sticks)

sounds fun