im terrible at controlling the puck while moving....

[njt42 0]

alright, so Ive been playing hockey since 2003. Been a d-man all my life and im 19 now. The highest level i played was varsity high school and midget A lol because of my extremely terrible abilty to control the puck when moving.. if im standing stil, i can stickhandle really well, but when im skating, i will lose the puck all the time. what could I be doing wrong? And how can i train to be better at moving the puck?

[17D1998 1]

Your stick may be too long or too short. Could also be the angle of your blade.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

There is no "reason" why. You can, to some extent, work on your hands but the fact is you just may not be that good. Please don't take offense to that - I suck - so I get it. That being said, the only way to improve is to practice and you can't practice playing in a game. You have to get to clinics where you have lots of time with the puck on your stick. The more you do, the more you practice, the better you will get. And just relax out here... don't squeeze the stick too hard!

[interpathway 9]

Stickhandle with your head down, emphasis on down, for a work week's worth of free ice. Can't imagine that wouldn't flip a switch.

[chippa13 1844]

The last thing you want to do is get used to handling the puck with your head down, well, unless you want to be the next Lindros brother.

[interpathway 9]

Would you prefer to sit glued to the bench because no one trusts you with the puck?

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

Would you prefer to sit glued to the bench because no one trusts you with the puck?

I'd prefer he practice.... with his head up....

[interpathway 9]

He's practiced for a decade. It hasn't worked. Minimize the difficulties and try to get it to click, but you might be right too, lost cause.

[crazyhick 19]

I used to have the same problem, couldn't handle the puck to save my life. I just decided to simplify my handling by pushing the puck and working on other parts of my game. Little did i know, but I decided to replace my elbow pads and all of a sudden I had some half-way decent hands. So that being said, look at your gear to see if it could just be a simple thing that's hindering your stickhandling. If that's not the case, practice moving the puck as simply as possible with your head up. While it may look cumbersome, having your head up will also allow you to make passes quicker as to minimilize the amount you actually need to.

[Chadd 916]

It depends on what is causing you to lose control of the puck. Are you turning the blade in a way that lets it slip off the heel? Does it get in your feet? Does it slide under the toe? Is it flipping up on end as you stickhandle? Does it rocket off the blade when you make a move? Everyone is better when they are standing still (cue the "not me" guy), but without more information none of us can know if it is technique, equipment or some combination of the two.

[trailboss241 1]

What I did to work on my hands was practice stickhandling while skating with one hand at a time making sure to keep my head up and rely on feel. Do it at an open stick or even on the pond. It worked for me, I feel like working with each hand individualy give you a good feel for the puck and then when your using both hands its more natural . But definitely keep your head, your eyes have a lot more to look for than the puck. Rely on your feel...it will follow with some work

[njt42 0]

let me clarify. im not useless with the puck lol... i can skate it up, its just htat im not an elite level dangler like some kids on my team

[chippa13 1844]

"The world needs ditch diggers, too."

[MountainKing 10]

I'm not a fast skater nor am I great and handling or controlling the puck or dangling the puck nor do I have a very strong shot. I practice it all when I can when I can but I'm just not great at it so I've worked on really developing other areas of my game to contribute. I'm good at getting back to get a pass in the defensive zone to start a break out, and I'm a great passer so I can move the puck up that way to either the center or other winger who has a bit more talent to move the puck up the ice. Once that takes place I haul as much as I can haul to get myself into a useful area in the offensive zone..if it's a dump I haul to grab the puck behind the net, otherwise I try to either find open ice for a pass or get up and screen the goalie if there's a chance they can setup for a shot. Generally if I have a shot on net I will take it just to get the puck up on net. Basically what I'm saying is I am missing a lot of big time skills the game needs, but there's other ways you can make yourself useful on the ice. I've played with the same line for about 8 months and we're the most productive line on the team. I get a lot of dirty goals down in front of the net which pads my stats and makes me look a little more skilled and productive.

[tareatingrat 4]

i can skate it up, its just htat im not an elite level dangler like some kids on my team

You may never be.

All you can do is work on it.

What has helped me:

-Stickhandling kit/aids (I used Kwik Hands every day for a month and it made a ridiculous difference. I lost a bit of it, but retained most of the motion and muscle memory. I'm a lot better than I was). I'm lucky I have an unfinished basement and and a forgiving girlfriend, though. I'll put on an NHL game downstairs and just do whatever I feel like doing, juggle the puck, go through chairs, shoot at a net, whatever. Point is, you're practicing. Try stickhandling with a reaction ball and you definitely won't be standing still.

-Changing to white tape. Sounds stupid, but it lets you keep your head up more and see the puck with your peripheral vision.

-Contacts. I used to wear glasses while playing and that was terrible.

-Pickup. I won't try 90% the stuff I can probably do with a puck in an actual game. If it's a group of guys you know, you can goof around and try things in a semi-game situation. Really improves your skill and confidence.

[tareatingrat 4]

Basically what I'm saying is I am missing a lot of big time skills

the game needs, but there's other ways you can make yourself useful on

the ice. I've played with the same line for about 8 months and we're

the most productive line on the team. I get a lot of dirty goals down

in front of the net which pads my stats and makes me look a little more

skilled and productive.

I really think that the majority of goals are scored not because of skill, but because of will.

Everybody has those goals where everything works out and they put the puck right where they want to, but I'd say those are the rarity compared to guys just working hard and getting the puck at the net. I've scored some really nice looking goals where I was like, uh, yeah, I was actually trying to pass back to the point, but I'm glad it went top shelf :)

So, yeah, most guys always have something to contribute. If it's not raw skill, it's positioning, or smarts, or presence, or whatever. Find a strength, and go with it.

[smcgreg 81]

"The world needs ditch diggers, too."

I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe

that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with

it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the puck.

[MountainKing 10]

I really think that the majority of goals are scored not because of skill, but because of will.

Everybody has those goals where everything works out and they put the puck right where they want to, but I'd say those are the rarity compared to guys just working hard and getting the puck at the net. I've scored some really nice looking goals where I was like, uh, yeah, I was actually trying to pass back to the point, but I'm glad it went top shelf :)

So, yeah, most guys always have something to contribute. If it's not raw skill, it's positioning, or smarts, or presence, or whatever. Find a strength, and go with it.

That's pretty much it. Everybody has their strength in this game, if you're currently on a team you guys need to figure out who is good at what and pair up with guys that you all can compliment each others skills and then continue to work on the weak areas in stick & puck or rat hockey. It's a heck of a lot more fun playing the game this way than trying to be a player you are not. At the end of the day some of us just don't have the hand eye feet coordination required to be a great puck handler. I will say this, on the line I play on we are the most productive line on our team, I have the worst shot and terrible puck handling skills yet I have the most goals on the line. I work down in front of the net and anytime I get the puck in the offensive zone my objective is to just throw the puck at the net rather than skate with it, within reason of course..if a D guy is right in front of me I'm not going to toss it at him. A puck that's being skated around with in the offensive zone has a 0% chance of ever going in the net. A puck that you toss up at the net has a chance, even if it's a 1% chance it's still a chance and then there's always that juicy rebound that most goalies at our level will give up if you knock it on their pads.

[Chadd 916]

let me clarify. im not useless with the puck lol... i can skate it up, its just htat im not an elite level dangler like some kids on my team

I see a lot of kids and younger players with far more stick and puck skills than I do, but never seem to put them to good use. You can be effective without being flashy. In fact, the flashy guys are rarely the most effective players on their team.

[MountainKing 10]

I see a lot of kids and younger players with far more stick and puck skills than I do, but never seem to put them to good use. You can be effective without being flashy. In fact, the flashy guys are rarely the most effective players on their team.

This is the truth. The best skater & stick handler on our team likes to throw a few to many moves out there when he's running up the ice, in 24 games he's put 2 goals on the board. Like most of the flashy players he puts so many moves on the puck that the goalie can get an easy read on it. Not gonna lie tho, I do wish I had that ability to move around like he does.