Snap shot

[Nic#19 0]

Hey guys i am trying to improve my shot i want to get mroe flex off my stick and shoot how the pros do, obversly i wont have a shot as good as them but how can i work at getting the right technique?? what muscles should i work on at the gym for this?? and how do i get into the habit of shooting off my front foot it has started to feel weird as i am in the bad habit of shooting of the back foot :( i am also thinking bout getting an 87 flex vapor V OPS i use a 100flex now will this help me getting the flex part right??.any help would be great thanks.

[Chadd 916]

Lower flex will be easier to load up but you don't want to load up much as it is a dead give-away that you're about to shoot. The strength for snappers comes from your wrists and forearms.

When I shoot them I think of it as a slapper without the windup.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Keep practicing the awkwardness of shooting from your front foot is just because you aren't used to it. What helped me other than practicing is wrist curls and cutting an old broken stick, placing a piece of rope through the middle with a weight tied at the bottom of the rope, you hold your armas straight out infront of you and roll the weight up and down. It strengthens alot of muscles and you'll feel it working fairly quickly.

[kovalchuk71 212]

Eazy, how many reps or times do u do this? I do it but i dont know how many to do and if I should do them everyday or not?

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Keep practicing the awkwardness of shooting from your front foot is just because you aren't used to it. What helped me other than practicing is wrist curls and cutting an old broken stick, placing a piece of rope through the middle with a weight tied at the bottom of the rope, you hold your armas straight out infront of you and roll the weight up and down. It strengthens alot of muscles and you'll feel it working fairly quickly.

I do the samething everyday. If you start with 5 pounds and do 5 reps it will work a lot.

[Eazy_b97 1]

ahhh I'm lazy, I did it when I was fairly young (under 10) and did it maybe 3 times a week for a summer after than it kind've faded away, but I'm thinking about making another. I've always been a guy who did as many as I could, then did 5 more. I'd just go till failure, wait a minute or so and do it again. Its the type of thing where it won't get you ripped so just try and exhaust the muscles.

[Nic#19 0]

i was thinking that if i can load up more it will help me with the technique at least?? then wen i get better i can move back to the 100flex. does anybody have pics or clips of people taking snap shots??? i reall need to work on it thanks again guys

[Chadd 916]

does anybody have pics or clips of people taking snap shots??? i reall need to work on it thanks again guys

Everyone has a different form and in a pic you won't see anything. A proper snapper you have the puck on your stick and then it's gone.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Why do you need to use a 100 flex or associate that with being better? Some of the best players in the world keep to sticks sub 100. Just use what your comfortable with and think will help your game. If you load up more it may actually hurt your technique because it'll take more time to get off thus destroying, at least my main focal point in using a snap shot, the quick release. Just try to lean into your stick and get whatever you can out of it. If you have a Don Cherry Video or other highlight package video watch the players when they take snapshots. Even some NHLers aren't perfect on there technique, but definately keep practicing and it will improve.

[Cavs019 710]

Watch Sakic, with him its just on his stick, a little flick of the wrist, goal. Its not an incredibly hard shot, but its extremely deceptive. I use it about 90% of the time.

[SB39 2]

In the gym, do heavy bicep work, including reverse curls (hands down grip) along with pullups and chins. Any heavy bicep work will work forearms. Plus, you could try deadlifting, which among other things works on your grip cuz you have to be able to hold a weight that will work your back, hamstrings, and ass muscles. Also work you shoulders hard, cuz they assist, with upright rows, pretty much any pushing movement, and lateral raises.

[LkptTiger 1]

One of the biggest things that goes into a decent snap shot, like just about everything else, is good technique.

Personally, I try to start the puck out on the toe of the blade and tug it back to the heel before I snap my wrists through the shot. This does a few things for me: 1) Turns the snapper into a very quick one-timer, with the energy from the puck transfering through to the shot, 2) it gets the stick to kick a little bit more, which makes the shot seem to be almost effortless (if you use whippier sticks as I do, you will feel the flex and kick in the lower shaft) and 3) I find it to be very accurate and quick on the release. I have spent a lot of time working on getting more comfortable with my snapper, and it is to the point where it is really just as accurate as my wrister, with a little more zing to it, which has made me a little more dangerous from the high-slot.

...Chadd is right, wrist and forearm strength is crutial to the snapper. But the shoulders are also very important; maybe not so much so in strength, but more with the mechanics of the shot. Along with my wrists, I usually try to snap my shoulders through the shot as well, almost like a very violent shoulder-fake (I think part of this is for timing purposes, but this is primarily to get the most I can out of the whippy sticks I use).

As for shooting on the wrong foot: it can be very, very deceptive to the goaltender. I use the wrong-footer a lot, and it works damn well. For some reason I think it might hide the release of the puck a little better, don't ask me why. I know the goalies on my team have told me that they have a hard time picking them up, even though they are a tad slower then the conventional snapper, so even when they do make the stop they usually aren't able to smother it or control the rebound the way they would want to.

[kovalchuk71 212]

should i do the curls every day or every other day? Will it hurt me if i do it everyday?

[LkptTiger 1]

should i do the curls every day or every other day? Will it hurt me if i do it everyday?

...I am not sure if it will hurt you or not, but I alternate days between strength and conditioning, just to make sure I don't overwork my muscles. Every other day should be sufficient.

[Eazy_b97 1]

The muscles will need time to recover if you are pushing yourself.

[Chadd 916]

should i do the curls every day or every other day? Will it hurt me if i do it everyday?

That works the biceps more than the forearms.

[thejackal 46]

A curve with a higher lie and more loft (i.e. Drury clones) tend to work well for snap shots. I was shoooting with a Modano clone at my school rink today and couldnt do snap shots properly because i'm used to pulling the puck closer to my body to get more flex on the stick. IMO the Hull pro is the ultimate snap shot blade, it pretty much blows for anything else except slap shots/one timers.

[Chadd 916]

Toe curves are great for snappers.

[SB39 2]

should i do the curls every day or every other day? Will it hurt me if i do it everyday?

Only lift weights with any given muscle group once a week unless you have a SOLID diet and are using at least protein powder for postworkout nutrition, then you can formulate a workout schedule around hockey for it. Thing is, there is WAY too much info to explain right now. If you really want to know, camp out for a couple hours on bodybuilding.com and read their articles on sprots nutrition, sports training, sports supplementation, etc. Their forum is also full of intelligent bodybuilders and athletes, so check that stuff out too. Not to get off on a reant or anything...

[Nic#19 0]

Hey guys i i am not talking bout the lil snap shot with the no wind up i m talking the kinda or wrist shot snap shot thing. do u guys know wat i am talking about??? i thought it was just called a snap shot. i was working on the last night and it is getting a lot better but still room for improvement on the technique. so if you guys have any suggestions bout this type of shot.

[Chadd 916]

A snap shot has no, or almost no, windup. If you wind up, it's a wrist shot.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I always considered that more of like a mini-slap shot. I know exactly what your talking about, it kind've defeats the purpose of a snapshot to me and I don't find I get any extra power. If I have that kind've time I'll generally go for the glory with a full slap shot.

[Nic#19 0]

i think u guys r still thinking of like a snap shot like a lil slap shot wind up though i mean pretty much a wrist shot with a snap at the end.

like pull from behind you then snap getting the flex.

[Eazy_b97 1]

The snapshot from the wrist shot you are talking about should be the same as as a general snap shot. It's how I take mine, a little quick pull and snap, follow the thread and the hints and it should improve it. There's no magical solution. In order to get more flex you need to lean into it, get stronger, keep practicing and possibly lower your flex.

[Nic#19 0]

yer a wrist shot untill it gets bout level with the legs then u snap it to get the rest of the flex. i use a 100flex zbubble so i am thinking bout trying an 85 flex z bubble.