Faster stickhandling tips

[fatwabbit 93]

Holy crap 

You've got great hands kovy.

I just go the mylec street hockey ball route.  Unfortunately, I stickhandle like a jackass when I use a puck.

Thanks Neo,

try that if you want, play at least 5 minutes a day everyday for all the remain of the season with a puck at home...I'm sure it will improve your puck skills if you do it everyday. ;)

gotta admit man... super fast hands... but you need more sun bro!! :lol:

[Neo5370 132]

I am now avoiding stickhandling balls like the plague.

I had the same problem a few years back where the more I practiced with my street ball the more I screwed my on rink puckhandling. Especially seeing as I was practicing on carpet as well! (Don't even ask why guys, I was 17 and an idiot).

Anyways It was only 2 weeks that I was practicing on a sheet of wood outside with an inline game puck that I noticed the difference. Im not the greatest puckhandler. Dare say I never will be but its helped my heads up confidence dramtically. So much so I can now take shots and Slap Shots in particular with my head up the whole way. For me thats a pretty big acheivement! Thus the goals keep coming. lol.

:)

Aussie Joe, you are correct sir.

I went at it for about 2 hrs. this morning w/ an inline puck and will be back at it after lunch. (4th day of practicing regularly; let's hope I can keep it up)

The difference is very very noticable. I can almost juggle the puck as quickly as I could a ball and toe drags are actually easier w/ a puck.

I guess I'm not starting from scratch as a beginner would, but rather transferring ball skills to puck skills.................kinda like transitioning from inlines to ice skates.

However, keeping my head up and stickhandling while skating is gonna be tough :(

[Aussie Joe 0]

However, keeping my head up and stickhandling while skating is gonna be tough  :(

That can be difficult to master especially If you are afraid. But I found If I practiced my puckhandling SLOW like a beginner with my eyes closed I developed a feel for the puck. The more you practice with your eyes closed the more your brain will learn to listen to your hands when carrying the puck up ice.

Hands for carrying the puck

Eyes for avoiding the checker with the solid stone elbows!

[#1STUD 0]

I dont know if anybody has said this yet or not but, its not only stickhandling that helps you get around guys. You have to throw in some body movements too. Maybe try a small head fake or dropping one of your shoulders.

[nazer 0]

i find stickhandling a golf ball helps because it moves on you so fast; your hands need to keep up with it

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I dont know if anybody has said this yet or not but, its not only stickhandling that helps you get around guys. You have to throw in some body movements too. Maybe try a small head fake or dropping one of your shoulders.

True, a head fake help alot.

[Borsch 0]

I dont know if anybody has said this yet or not but, its not only stickhandling that helps you get around guys. You have to throw in some body movements too. Maybe try a small head fake or dropping one of your shoulders.

True, a head fake help alot.

Yeah- absolutely so. Actually these are some of the things that make this favourite of ours;) Alex Kovalev so, SO unstopable one on one: head/shoulder fakes and (he's so light on his skates!) changes of direction this way and that...all that while stickhandling. So many NHL players plant their feet in a wide stance and start dangling (they are sooo crap...they should get their salaries capped, joke) B)

[Jason 65]

So the wide stance isn't good then? I know so many people that use it.

[Chadd 916]

So the wide stance isn't good then? I know so many people that use it.

Wide stance limits your mobility but makes you more stable. You have to give up one to get the other.

[Borsch 0]

So the wide stance isn't good then? I know so many people that use it.

Wide stance is VERY usefull for some situations, even afrmentioned virtuoso Kovalev uses it to keep Ds guessing all the time. However to be a dangerous one on one player one needs to learn to head/shoulder fake, zig-zag with his skates etc...ALL THAT while stickhandling(in addition to easier wide stance). It is much harder to do, but the reward is that you'll become a very tricky player for a defender to predict when one on one.

Also body fakes are more imprtant in ice-hockey since people watch your body and not the puck. (yes,yes, i know that in roller they should do the same but somehow it is still more a puck game:) )

[Sven 1]

Also, I saw a thing on ESPN a while back showing Pierre Turgeon working out.  What he did was tape 4 ice pucks onto the blade of his stick (2 on each side of the blade).  He said he would just stickhandle with it for a while until his wrists were exhausted.  I tried it and it really works well.  It friggin' kills your wrists, lol.  And when you go to stickhandle with a normal stick and puck, the puck moves around like it is weightless.

hey this is a really good way to get better.

i just taped 4 pucks on my stick and tested it with this smarthockey ball - its heavy and taxing but definitely worth the time.

thats for this neat tip.

hey this is my 'machine', did i do it right ?

[Chadd 916]

I never saw the Turgeon bit but I put them on the actual blade when I made mine. two at the tip of the toe, two at the end of the heel.

[opus22 0]

good topic - any way we can get that video back up? its expired.

one thing i did growing up was using a mylec ball. i used to juggle with it for an hour or so. i would do 50 taps on the forehand, fifty taps on the backhand, then fifty taps going back and forth. obviously its tough to do 50 in a row, but with practice, you'll be surprised. i find this helps spontaneous hand eye coordination. you constantly have to make minor adjustments and change your body position from time to time. after you get good, be creative and use your feet and whatever you can think of - hackey sack style. this helped my hands get softer and my creativity - as well as a huge lift in tips, deflections, and controlling bouncing pucks.

another trick i did was to scoop up the ball on the forehand, then smack it back down also on the forehand - repeat over and over. then scoop on the backhand and then knock it down also on the backhand - it requires flipping the blade over going either way. then i would try to scoop and knock it down 2 or 3 three times in a row (bouncing it off the ground by hitting it just right), rotating forehand to backhand - this gets tricky. doing fun stuff like that when i was younger has given me pretty decent hands as an adult. any of the stuff people have mentioned works, its all practice.

juggling in general also helps - i do that a lot.

[#94 3]

Make sure your head is up when you are practicing. You never want to get into bad habits.

Going alont with the PVC pipe, try stickhandling with one hand, both your top and bottom. This will strengthen your wrists and give you more feel for the puck.

There is nothing like game situation drills...

Get on the ice and practice your quick stickhandling. It will pay off.

[sherwood21 0]

Don't float when you are practicing, whether it is on the ice or off. Once you get to higher levels, no matter how good your hands are..if you don't move then you aren't going to be getting around anyone.

PVC pipe works well, as does Toilet Paper Rolls. They work better IMO, because if you don't squish them it shows that you don't choke the stick.

[jeffw 1]

After last season I decided that I suck and that I need to do something about it. My stick handling is my biggest weakness so I decided to work mostly on that.

I got one of the smart hockey balls & made up a couple drills that after only a few weeks have made a dramatic improvement in my stickhandling (people have commented on it). I do these in the kitchen in shoes & I wear my gloves.

1. of course there's the figure 8 drill. i cut the bottoms off a couple plastic cups & use 'em like cones , tho I'd like to staple them to the floor sometmes :lol: Go clockwise and counterclockwise.

2. Dribble the puck right to left & back again in a big arc as far back as I can until I get sick of it. In other words your feet stay put while you reach all the way back to your right then you dribble the ball around in front & keep going until your reaching all the way back to the left. Keep going back & forth until tired or bored.

3. I'll dribble the puck in front of me about shoulder width then reach as far left as I can & back then a shoulder width dribble then all the way right & back then a shoulder width dribble & repeat. Your feet stay put during this one.

4. I walk around the kitchen in a big circle always facing the same direction while stickhandling and after awhile I go the other way.

5. I walk side to side stepping right over left as I go left and left over right as I go right.

If anyone has any others I'd love to hear 'em. like I said these have made a big improvement in a short time. i plan to keep it up all summer then next season watch out!

[sherwood21 0]

Jeff, here is a good link for stickhandling drills from some good players.

http://www.usahockey.com/ntdp/ntdp_feature...e_drills_home//

[hockechamp14 0]

I use a mix of drills I got from sean skinner's "stickhandling beyond belief" and the USNTDP site. I use a stick weight with a smarthockey ball, and no doubt my hands have gotten tons better.

[Fedorov91 0]

OF COURSE doiung this with a d right in front of you is silly (as Chad has put it "you'll get planted every time").

And doing it with no D around is just showboating.

I've seen Bertuzzi do that a few times

[Fedorov91 0]

they rarely ever learn to take the skating lane

Could you explain what this is a little more?

[Tanner23 0]

perfect practice ;)

[mik3 1]

they rarely ever learn to take the skating lane

Could you explain what this is a little more?

too many kids now try to dick around with the puck too much instead of just looking for then taking a lane. they make the defenseman's job easier on him.

[opus22 0]

they rarely ever learn to take the skating lane

Could you explain what this is a little more?

when a player is coming at you one on one, the skating lane refers to the lane his body is using to go to the net. by staying in that lane - instead of the lane the puck is in, youre lined up to play the body, so even if you poke at the puck a bit, your body is still position to make a play. for me, i line up on the inside of the attackers body, giving him a little more room to go outside, taking away the middle. if he tries to put a puck to the outside, then slide back in, he skates right into me. dont change your position when he puts the puck outside. maybe someone can explain it better than me.

[sdcopp 1]

Kovy,

Could you please re-post your videos one more time. The site you're using for hosting has a 7 day 25 download limit, so I haven't been able to check them out and would like to

:D

[biff44 0]

If you want to build your arm muscles, try stickhandling with one of these steel babies:

http://www.wilpowerpucks.com/