How to Develop a Powerful, Accurate Shot

 

If you are looking for an article that shows the “A-B-C’s” of how to take a shot you’re reading the wrong article. The next few paragraphs are designed to take your shot to the ultimate level. Don’t think that it will be easy because, like anything else good, it takes lots of practice to make these skills effective. I will explain and illustrate the proper techniques used to make your shot into a formidable weapon that every goaltender you face will be talking about.

 

The Hull family has been known for their formidable scoring ability and devastating shots for three generations. Now, I am going to let you in on the secrets that have made my father, uncle and brother some of the most feared shooters ever to lace up a pair of ice skates.

 

I had action photographs of all four shots taken so that you can see where the critical parts of the shot mechanics occur and just how they can be exploited. There are four major elements that need to be learned, and developed if you are to be successful in developing a big shot; initial puck position, weight transfer, hand speed and follow through.

 

I have watched many players, of every caliber, consistently place the puck in the wrong position, relative to their body, then take a weak shot and wonder why. Coupled with that, shooters position their hands incorrectly on the shaft of the stick. These two elements can disable the strongest of shooters. The first thing to realize is that, like golf, the puck must be situated in different positions for different shots. The puck starts slightly behind the shooters rear leg (leg furthest from the target) and near the heal of the blade of the stick. For the snap shot, the puck starts about 8” behind the lead skate and is situated 2”-3” back from the tip of the blade when shot. The puck is placed 2” inside the lead skate, for a slap shot, and is met in the middle of the blade on impact. The back hand shot is exactly the same as the wrist shot except all action takes place on the back side of the blade as opposed to the forehand. Positioning the puck should not be taken lightly. You can get all the other parts of the shot down perfectly and, still, not be able to shoot because the puck is in the wrong position relative to your body. Study the action photos closely and note where the puck is positioned, at the start of each shot.

 

Weight transfer gives the shooter the energy needed to transfer to the puck from the body, to the arms, then, down through the stick, to the puck. The stick is used as a lever while the body acts as a fulcrum to transfer the energy produced from the weight transfer, combined with the shooting motion (down swing of the stick on to the puck), into forward energy, or a shot. That sounds way too much like science class but that is what actually happens. I wanted to give you the scientific description because it might help but for all of you who want the laymen’s terminology, here goes nothin’. Your weight starts in the “ready” position which means half your body weight resting on each leg, knees over the balls of you feet, chest over your knees. Head and chest looking up and out. As you draw the stick back (back swing) your weight should follow so that your body leans away from the target. At the apex of the wind up about 75% of your body weight should be on the leg furthest from the target. Once the down swing begins your weight should rapidly shift toward your leg closest to the target. If you are using the weight transfer theory correctly, the force should bring 100% of your weight to your lead leg and your trailing leg should naturally rise out and away from the direction of the shot as a counter balance.

 

Hand/stick speed is the next element you must improve and perfect if you want to have a monster shot. Make sure you have a strong upper body, including stomach muscles, if you want to succeed. 50 - 100 push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups per day will do just fine. Oh yes, wrist curls too. Get a 5 pound weight tie a skate lace to one end and attach 15 ” piece of hockey stick shaft to the other. Raise and lower the weight by rolling the lace up on to the shaft, between your outstretched arms. Do a few sets palms up and then palms down. That will build up your forearms.

 

Now that you are strong enough to increase your stick speed it is just a matter of getting a big bucket of pucks then shooting, as hard as you possibly can, until you can’t hold the stick any longer. After that, rest for a few minutes then start again. Sorry, repetition is the only way to develop strength, speed and accuracy so get to work.

 

Follow through is your aiming mechanism. The height and direction the blade of your stick follows through to is where the puck will travel if you’ve got all the other elements of shooting down cold. Follow through high and the puck will fly high off the court. A low follow through will keep the puck close to the court. Point right, the puck goes right. Point left . . .  well, you get the idea. Notice that on all the shots the follow through is typified by the shooter perched on the lead leg with the body bent toward, and the stick pointing directly at the target. You will be happy to know that you can kill two birds with one puck by working on your hand speed and your follow through while shooting a billion pucks at four targets. Top right, top left, bottom right and bottom left. Once you can call your shot, on an open net, from about 20’ out in the slot, you can try it with a goaltender in the net. It should only take you an additional billion pucks to achieve greatness, but just think; you’re going to pass one hell of a lot of players on the way there!!

 

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