When practicing your hockey skills, try to use the same slogan that Apple uses,
“Think Different.” Most players think of scoring a highlight reel goal, coming down
the slot and sniping top shelf. Very few hockey players challenge themselves to go
about things from an alternative perspective.
The quote by Dennis Waitley “Expect the Best, Plan for the Worst, and Prepare to be
Surprised “ are words every player should live by. Don’t only dream and practice
hockey plays or hockey shots that are common and happen regularly in games.
Dig deep and find uncommon scoring opportunities that have happened to hockey
players in the past. Go to YouTube and search for best NHL goals of all time and
that will give you a good starting point. You’ll see some nifty stick handling
sequences and awkward desperation hockey shots. The one thing you’ll notice, is
that wherever the shot was taken from, they never gave up on the play.
When practicing off-ice stickhandling and shooting, focus on creating drills that are
Chaotic. Come up with multiple pattern progressions that include cupping, slip
unders and popovers, side-to- side movement and puck position changes around the
body. Finish each drill with bad angle, uncommon shots, both close to the net and
far out.
I’ve included a video of a simple hockey shooting drill, where we’re simulating
goal-line shooting from the corner when it’s late in the game, down by 1 and need to
get the puck to the net before time runs out.
As you’ll see, we work on perfecting both forehand and backhand shots. As I told
the girls, you have to create off-ice situations that may happen on the ice. By doing
this, when the opportunity presents itself, you’ve already been there and have a
much higher probability of making the play under pressure.
Thanks for stopping by and remember to Work Hard and Dream Bigger than
everyone else!!
Coach Pitlick
