getting more power behind slappers

[dumbpolak9 1]

I do everything that I'm supposed to: Put the puck a little a head, Skate up, and let it rip and get the back leg up.

I've been messing around in practice trying to strengthen my slap shots, but they always seem to go slow.

I'm not a big guy, I'm about 5"9' and 170 and could bench about 100 lbs so far. Any help?

[fatwabbit 93]

Aim to hit the ice/floor about 6 inchs behind the puck, that would enable you to flex the stick a little and give it some more zip.

Maybe practice taking slapshots while stationary to get the hang of it first? Or even practice outside of the rink.

[vinceyuen 0]

have you tryed using a lower flex stick?

[mattman0369er 0]

try slowing down your stick speed and focusing on technique. it helped me. let the stick do the work.

[dumbpolak9 1]

I'm using 95-100 flex sticks, I just find lower flex sticks to flimsy, and yes, I do practice taking shots outside of the rink, on a piece of plexiglass. And yes, I do leave space for the stick to touch the ice be for the impact. Should I grip the stick as tight as I can or have it as tight as I were to take a snap or wrist shot?

[LkptTiger 1]

What do you mean by "a little ahead" as far as the puck placement is concerned? You want that sucker back between your feet a bit - otherwise your core is "disengaged" by the time you make contact with the puck.

[dumbpolak9 1]

like when I'm going one on one with the other defensemen as I enter the zone I push it up a bit so I could skate up to it, as for one timers I try to get it between my skates.

[Chadd 916]

Aim to hit the ice/floor about 6 inchs behind the puck, that would enable you to flex the stick a little and give it some more zip.

That just results in more broken sticks and less consistency for most people.

have you tryed using a lower flex stick?

That is generally a good place to start

try slowing down your stick speed and focusing on technique. it helped me. let the stick do the work.

That is usually the singe best thing you can do to improve your slap shot.

If you don't feel the stick load and release, chances are you are using a stick that is too stiff. You shouldn't be "getting the back leg up", you should be driving off the back leg and firing through the puck at your target.

[usahockey22 0]

Hitting the ice maybe 2-4 inches behind the puck is what you need. But when it comes to a powerful shot, your bench press and stick have much less to do with it than your technique. You need to get the power from the transfer of body weight when you come through on the shot; you generate your power from the ice up, first from the legs driving through and your body weight, core and torso rotation, then the shoulders and arms, and then the loading of the stick. All of this comes into play when making the shot...try watching a video of someone with a powerful slapshot to see the proper technique, and then practice.

[Chadd 916]

Hitting the ice maybe 2-4 inches behind the puck is what you need. But when it comes to a powerful shot, your bench press and stick have much less to do with it than your technique. You need to get the power from the transfer of body weight when you come through on the shot; you generate your power from the ice up, first from the legs driving through and your body weight, core and torso rotation, then the shoulders and arms, and then the loading of the stick. All of this comes into play when making the shot...try watching a video of someone with a powerful slapshot to see the proper technique, and then practice.

I agree but even when hitting 2-4 inches behind the puck, too many people put way too much force down. It should be a very shallow angle with very little pressure directly down into the ice.

[fatwabbit 93]

Hitting the ice maybe 2-4 inches behind the puck is what you need. But when it comes to a powerful shot, your bench press and stick have much less to do with it than your technique. You need to get the power from the transfer of body weight when you come through on the shot; you generate your power from the ice up, first from the legs driving through and your body weight, core and torso rotation, then the shoulders and arms, and then the loading of the stick. All of this comes into play when making the shot...try watching a video of someone with a powerful slapshot to see the proper technique, and then practice.

I agree but even when hitting 2-4 inches behind the puck, too many people put way too much force down. It should be a very shallow angle with very little pressure directly down into the ice.

Agree with Chadd, and should have stated in my first post that its dependant of people's shooting technique. I utilise more snap and wrist shots, and my goalie buddy has commented that my slapshot is a hybrid of the slap and snap. I dont shift my hand down the shaft much and dont take too much 'ice' when I shot 6inch behind the puck.

[Giroux28 0]

i was always told to only take one inch behind the puck lol but its really all in your technique and what works for you just like the other guys have said prior to me

[epstud74 24]

100 flex is too much for you honestly.

[Jarick 5]

I had trouble getting my slapper off all season until I switched from a stiffer 75 flex (cut down to about 85) to a whippier 75 flex (feels like about 75 cut down). All of a sudden I was able to get a good powerful shot off again because i could feel the flex load up rather than trying to power through the shot.

Here's a description of something else I found, which is trying to coil up the muscles like a spring. Seems to help quite a bit in warmups but I haven't been able to do it full speed in a game.

Another thing I found is that I get more power when I am moving forward and contact the puck closer to my back leg than my front. The closer the puck is to the body, the more body weight you can push into the stick to load it, and the more power you can get. Especially with a stiffer stick.

[chk hrd 164]

Should I grip the stick as tight as I can or have it as tight as I were to take a snap or wrist shot?

You should grip the stick as firmly as you need to keep it in your hands. If you are gripping it as tight as you can or to tight it does nothing but take away from your shot. It makes all the muscles in your arms, wrist, shoulders, upper back, neck to tight and you loose power. The same thing goes for stick handling, grip it to tight and you loose some control.

[The Dangler 0]

I say work out more 100 leaves quite a bit of room for improvement you will see fairly quick, in 5 months of working out i went from being able to bench 145 to 200 and i barely got any bigger and spent most of my time on my biceps.

[junior 1]

100 flex is too much for you honestly.

I agree, you're too light and don't have the strength as yet for such a flex. I'm 5'6, 160lbs but I can bench 200 and I use a lower flex. I developed a slap shot really late, not until I was 17 or 18. What I found worked for me out of all the things I tried was I take the shot with the puck closer to my body. It felt and still feels really awkward, but I find I get a lot more power than what I used to.

[The Dangler 0]

100 flex is too much for you honestly.

I agree, you're too light and don't have the strength as yet for such a flex. I'm 5'6, 160lbs but I can bench 200 and I use a lower flex. I developed a slap shot really late, not until I was 17 or 18. What I found worked for me out of all the things I tried was I take the shot with the puck closer to my body. It felt and still feels really awkward, but I find I get a lot more power than what I used to.

Your size means nothing. Im roughtly 5'10 and about 180-195 and I had no problems with sticks as high as 110 flex. I think its all about your technique honestly. Im a guy who likes very short sticks and got crazy power out of all my shots. I shoot pucks for an hour or two a day and put a lot of practice into my shots. My shot wasnt always good, in fact i used to have a horribly inaccurate shot which was pretty hard but had a slow release and now about 4 years later of working on my technique and finding the right curve, its the opposite.

I think strength does have something to do with it but if your really torquing the stick and getting all your weight and strength into it, thats what makes you need a stiffer flex. My wrist shot is the best with a 85 flex and as a foreward thats what i need but i can shoot quite a bit better with slapshots on a 110 flex.

[fawn111 0]

Couple things... It;s all in your core. The upper legs, waist, hips and torso all have to control the movement. This is where your power is built from.

Also, so vital...keep your wrists locked..... this is the key to transferring the power built up through your core and transmitting it to your stick. Very hard fro me to describe but they should be as rigid as possible and kept cocked on the stick with the blade angled down to the ice.... almost as if you are planing on hitting a hook in golf.... if you golf then you will immediately get the reference.

You want to keep the wrists locked until you make contact with the ice... when the blade follows through you want to roll the wrists through the follow through. IF you break the wrists at contact with the ice (in other words, if your wrists angle upwards like your waving hello) you will lose all the inertia built up in the stick and get little power on the shot.

The wrists are there to make sure the stick along with your core does the work for you. Think of them as pat of the stick and you will be getting more zip on your shot.

Here's a another tip... when on the downswing think of using both arms to attack another guy. The top arm throws an elbow into the guy and the bottom arm delivers an uppercut.... Practice this and remember that you deliver both blows in one attack

[Jarick 5]

Good description fawn, I'll have to print that out and think of that next time I'm at the shooting range.

I absolutely cannot imagine locking wrists AND using a stiffer shaft.

[ktang 34]

Make sure you use your core and turn your front shoulder out of the way.

[BlackIce 1]

Couple things... It;s all in your core. The upper legs, waist, hips and torso all have to control the movement. This is where your power is built from.

Also, so vital...keep your wrists locked..... this is the key to transferring the power built up through your core and transmitting it to your stick. Very hard fro me to describe but they should be as rigid as possible and kept cocked on the stick with the blade angled down to the ice.... almost as if you are planing on hitting a hook in golf.... if you golf then you will immediately get the reference.

You want to keep the wrists locked until you make contact with the ice... when the blade follows through you want to roll the wrists through the follow through. IF you break the wrists at contact with the ice (in other words, if your wrists angle upwards like your waving hello) you will lose all the inertia built up in the stick and get little power on the shot.

The wrists are there to make sure the stick along with your core does the work for you. Think of them as pat of the stick and you will be getting more zip on your shot.

Here's a another tip... when on the downswing think of using both arms to attack another guy. The top arm throws an elbow into the guy and the bottom arm delivers an uppercut.... Practice this and remember that you deliver both blows in one attack

+1 very nicely worded!

[Jarick 5]

Following Fawn's advice, felt more comfortable at the shooting range today. Focused on:

- Position the puck in front of me between the legs

- Shift weight over the back leg to the front leg

- Keep the stick below the waist on the backswing

- Keeping the wrists cocked and locked

- Driving the bottom hand down and through the puck

Overall had good power and much better accuracy, and got the shot off a lot quicker. I'm looking forward to using it in-game.

[Cove 39]

I'll try to help with my bit of knowledge about biomechanics.

When you wind up don't try to swin REALLY hard at the top all the power will be wasted at the top of the shot and when you hit the puck the power will be gone. You need to be low(bent knee) to ensure you have a good stable base and bring your center of gravity down. You need to be able to get your entire body into the shot, rotate your hips/legs with your shoulders to ensure your entire body is working for you, use your bigger muscles and joints (hips, shoulders, core) before the smaller joints/muscles(wrists and ankles)

Its science/ Technique > power.

[dw91 0]

its all in the weight transfer, and keeping your knees bent. the lower you are, the more power you can get into the whole motion. and i wouldnt worry a whole lot about what you are benching vs stick flex, i max out at at least 220, idk, maybe more, and i use a 100 flex, probably more like a 95 flex after all these years. Just experiment with anything you can think of, theres no "perfect" way to take a slap shot that works for everyone. I got my slapper by seing how big of a dent i could put in an old volkswagen hood in my backyard.