Our Hockey Checklist

I've mentioned a few times that my granddaughter and I came up with a checklist to help us improve our game.  It's kind of a mish-mash of things, but important enough to need reminders.

The first five are fundamental skills that you want to make habits.

• Hold the stick correctly.
• Hockey stance.
• Hands out in front of the body.
• Bottom hand loose and slides when needed.
• Top hand controls the stick.  Rotate the wrist.

The next one is simple, but oh, so important.

• Tap the stick one-handed to build hand, wrist and forearm strength.

Drills can be frustrating at first, but keep practicing and you will get better fast.  Be creative!

• Ball or puck at the heel of the stick when stickhandling, for better control.
• Drill:  Around two pucks, then figure 8's.  Clockwise and counter-clockwise.
• Drill:  Stickhandle around the body: forehand, backhand, out front, in close, out wide, behind, etc.

These last two items are things to work on regularly.  They're important and will give you an edge on the ice.

• Saucer passing.
• Elevating the puck when shooting.

So that's our list.  What would you do different?  What did I miss?  Let me know in the comments, and thanks for your feedback.

Agility - Five Dot Drills

What is agility?  Here's the formal definition:

1.  The ability to move quickly and easily.
2.  The ability to think and understand quickly.

So there's physical agility and mental agility.  We're going to talk about the physical side here.

There are lots of agility drills out on the internet.  The "Five Spot" (AKA Five Dot) drill is one that I've seen used by hockey coaches and players.  To do the drills, you'll need to lay out the following pattern.

You can buy mats or carpets with the dots already there, or you can use chalk outside, or even bits of tape indoors.  The diagram below shows the standard layout, but for younger, smaller players, you can shrink it to fit their size (slightly wider than shoulder width).  Ideally, the spots should be four or five inches across.

So how do you use this pattern?

This .pdf page lays out the drills and time goals for the drills.  Clicking that link will open a file you can download for reference.

Here's an excellent video showing each exercise in action.

DIY Passing Rebounder

I built the one described in the video, and as he suggests in the video comments, I made mine three feet long instead of four.  Honestly, this takes about twenty minutes to build, start to finish.

This works great.



Details:  I used a 3 foot long length of particle board and a 40" long bungee strap.

I used the fat, wide bungees he mentions in the first comment on the video, but they're now unavailable.  So for my next one (to be built), I bought these "Highland Fat Strap Bungee Cords 4-Pack - 30" and 40" from Amazon.

Here's the Amazon link.

They're made by the same company.  Prime shipping, and only $7.99 for the set.  I do plan on making another one soon.

If you're worried about the bolts chewing up your floor or carpet, you can get non-slip material and put pieces under the legs.  The plastic dip for tool handles might work too.

Stickhandling Videos

Here are some videos I found on YouTube showing different techniques and drills for stickhandling.  I re-watch these occasionally as a refresher, and to remind myself to focus, because I will get better if I put in the work.

I'll be adding to this set over time, so check back and scroll down to see what's new.

DIY Shooting Backstop

This one is about as quick and dirty as it gets.

I have a mini-goal that I use to practice sauce passes and snap shots in my basement, kind of like the Hockey Sauce kit (instructions to come in the near future), and I needed a backstop for it.  Since it's only one foot square, it's easy to miss.  I did have a piece of hardboard behind it, but pucks would just bounce off of it and rebound all over the place.  What I needed was something to soften the bounce when the puck missed.

I cut three three-foot long pieces of 3/4" PVC pipe and connected them with 90 degree elbows into an upside down "U" shape.  At the bottom of the "U", I put two more 90 degree elbows and connected one foot long pieces of PVC to give it a little stability.

I set it into place, then put the hardboard backstop on top of the legs.  Then I took two old bath towels and wrapped them over the crossbar so they draped down to the ground.  I used some clothespins to hold the towels in place.  Like I said, very improv.



 It works pretty well.  Any pucks that missed the goal hit the towels.  Mostly they were deadened and fell right to the ground, but occasionally they'd hit straight on and thump the hardboard backing.

I need to come up with a simple, cheap way to replace the clothespins... hmmm... sew a pocket along the top and down each side to slip over the frame?  Maybe.

I like the towels because they're heavy and should be durable.  A piece of plastic tarp would probably work too, but be a bit noisier.  More netting would work too, but I don't have a piece that large and the towels were free.

If you try this, let me know how it works for you.  If you have a better way, let me know!

DIY Stickhandling Training Aids - "Dangler"

Remember the commercially available stickhandling training aids I talked about before?  Well, here's the first set of instructions on how to make your own.  I'm going to use 3/4" PVC pipe for mine, but there are numerous YouTube videos out there showing you how to make versions out of wood, broken hockey sticks, old pucks, and more.  In fact, my first set (that I still use) are made of scrap wood and a dowel bought at Wally World or any craft store.  I describe it in detail, and how to build one in another post here on DIY Hockey.

If you only have 90 degree elbows laying around, you can make a usable version, as shown in this picture.  It's kind of easy to tip over though because of the design of the legs.  It's simple to improve on it.



 First, replace the bottom 90 degree elbow with a "T" joint, and by adding short legs on each side the stability is much better.  Here's a photo of one of the "T" legs, painted but not attached.




The picture is rotated, sorry about that.  The short white piece at the top is a 1" long piece of PVC pipe, and the two side legs are 3" long pieces of the same.  I've found that by using the 1" length connector between the "T" and the 90 degree elbow above, you have enough room for a stickhandling ball to pass beneath.  Perfect.

One bonus is that by making several of the "T" foot sections, I could configure this pretty much any way I could imagine.  Add a "T" joint to the end of the crossbar, and you can add another straight piece, like so.



You can also vary the length of the top bar to change the difficulty of drills with the dangler.  Watch the video below to see what I mean.

Instead of a "T" joint, you could add 45 or 90 degree elbows to create a V or U shaped dangler.



You can use PVC adhesive to permanently fix the feet and just press fit everything else together, or you could treat everything like one giant tinkertoy set and build to suit.  It takes seconds, and is light enough that a small bag could carry a lot of pieces to use.

I still recommend the cheap spray paint though.  Because spray paint.  I went to WalMart this morning and looked through their paint section.  They were out of the red, so I got two cans of flat black for less than a dollar each.  Here's what my PVC danglers look like after a coat of paint, I think they look pretty good.



Here's a video showing some nice drills you can do with a "dangler" stickhandling aid.



If you do just ten minutes of this every day, you'll get better faster than you think.  And for proof, take video of yourself before and after!

Two Good Ideas

When my granddaughter was taking the Power Skating class, they carried their sticks with them the entire time.  The idea is that you get used to always having the stick in your hands as you move on the ice.

Likewise, when you're practicing stickhandling or other skills at home, you can wear your hockey gloves (if you have them).  Practicing bare handed is good, but getting used to the gloves is better.

Both sensible ideas.

Hand, Wrist and Forearm Strength - part 2 - Exercises

This video has more excellent, simple exercises to improve the strength in your hands, wrists and forearms. Doing these will definitely help your game.



If you don't have an appropriate weight to use, try something like a soup can (for the little ones) or even a heavy book. It shouldn't be so heavy that it's awkward.

All Around Stickhandling

Like most beginners, there's a huge difference in how well I can stickhandle depending on where the puck is.  I do ok as long as the puck is in front of me, or on my forehand.  Even if the puck is slightly behind me on my forehand side, I'm not completely hopeless.

My backhand is a whole different story.  I stink.  This is ok, because it points out exactly where I need to devote extra time and attention in order to improve the most.

In the diagram below, the two red ovals indicate where my feet are when I'm in my hockey stance.

With practice, my goal is to be able to stickhandle equally well no matter where the puck is.  Not just around, but out wide and in close, down by my feet.

You could, if you wanted, "draw" this diagram on the floor or ground where you practice.  Use chalk outside, or electrical tape or masking tape indoors on tile or hardwood floors.  I've never seen the need to have this diagram drawn out for me, because I have it in my mind while I'm practicing, but I can see where it would be handy if you're working with someone else (like a younger player).

Here's another excellent video showing what I'm talking about:



Have fun.

Hand, Wrist and Forearm Strength - part 1

Your top hand does most of the stick work in hockey.  I found that I needed to be stronger, especially since I'm "wrong handed" and use my non-dominant left hand on top.

Regular practice will help, but especially for the younger players, they need something more because the sticks are comparatively heavy for their size.

Here's a simple drill my granddaughter and I set up for her.  Just inside the door of her bedroom, her hockey stick is leaning against the wall.  On the floor is a puck.  Every time she goes into her room, she grabs the stick with her top hand only (checks her grip), steps back from the puck, and taps ten times on each side of the puck.  Back and forth, ten times.

It only takes seconds, but by doing this several times every day, it helps build up her hand, wrist and forearm strength, and teaches her fine control using just her top hand.  After a few weeks it's already become easier for her, and she's increased it to twenty taps on each side.

Here's a (low-quality) video showing you what I mean:



Remember, this is my top hand only.

A couple of things to notice here.  First, I'm tapping near the heel of the blade.  You have more control of the puck closer to the heel.  Secondly, when I tap on either side of the puck (or ball, either works), I'm twisting my wrist so that the blade of the stick "cradles" the puck.  You can see how the blade rotates as I tap on either side.  Cupping the puck like this gives you more control over it as you stickhandle, shoot, make passes or receive passes.  It's another habit to get into.

If you found this useful, please leave a comment.  Let me know if you do these kinds of strength drills, or if you do other kinds.  I'm just a beginner, so I'm always open to learn new ways.

Balance - Standing on One Foot

Obviously, good balance is key when playing hockey.  You're on skates, on ice, trying to maneuver around other players while controlling the puck with a stick.  If your balance is good then you can do it all without worrying about whether or not you're going to fall on your butt.

Off ice, there are some easy exercises you can do that will help you improve your balance.  You can do these with shoes on, but it's better and a little harder to do them barefoot.

The first one is simple.  Stand on one foot.  For one minute.  You'll feel all those little muscles in your feet, ankles and legs working to maintain your balance.  Do this a couple of times a day for a week or two and you'll start to notice a big difference in how stable you feel.

When that seems easy, then do it again while standing on a pillow.  You want a little bit of instability in the surface you're standing on, so a bath towel folded three or four times works well too.  The soft cushion under your feet gives your body something new to deal with while maintaining your balance.

To make the above even harder, do them with your eyes closed.  Then try again with your eyes closed and your head tilted back as if you were looking at the sky.

These little exercises will lead to a huge improvement in your balance.  Bonus because I find I can do these any time during the day when I'm standing in line or waiting for something.  Even if I can't do a full minute, every little bit helps.

Hand and Stick Speed

Doing your stickhandling with good technique is more important than doing it fast.  Work on the details like keeping your hands out front, sliding the bottom hand, cupping the puck, keeping your knees bent, and so on.  As those key things become habit, your speed will improve and you'll get faster.

Doing it fast without the fundamentals means you'll be sloppy and out of control.

So do it correctly first, and before you know it you'll be doing it fast and right.

Evidence of Improvement

If you do a stickhandling drill every day, you will get better at it.  But the improvement can be so gradual that you don't feel like you're making progress.  Here's how to prove it to yourself, since seeing is believing.

Take a video of yourself doing the drill.  Phone camera, GoPro, video camera, whatever.  Just get at least thirty seconds of you doing the work.  A minute is better.  Don't worry if you mess up the drill, that's what this is for.  Don't stop it and start over again, just get a minute of you doing the drill today.  Save that video.

Practice that same drill for two weeks.  Put in the work.  Don't video it, don't watch the original video, just do the drill every day.

In two weeks, take another video of yourself doing the exact same drill.  Same angle if you can, same length of time.  Once again, just let the video run, don't worry about messing up.

Prepare to be amazed.  Watch the new video.

Now, watch the first video you did two weeks ago.

By contrasting the old and new videos like this, you'll see the huge improvement you've made, even if it doesn't feel like you've gotten better.  Look closely at the two videos, and make note of what you could do even better from here on.  Maybe you're not holding your hands out front enough, or you mess up your backhand too much.  Keep doing the drills, and concentrate on those weak parts of your stickhandling.

If you'd like, take another video in two weeks, and see if you still see improvement.  You will.  The main point here is to prove to yourself that the practice you do every day is working.  It does work.  You just saw it in two videos.

Have you tried something like this before?  Let me know in the comments below.

Hockey Stance

As an older guy, one of the toughest things for me to do is the "hockey stance".  I'm just not as flexible as I used to be, but I'm working on it and getting there.

So what is it and why is it important?

In the basic hockey stance your feet are shoulder width apart , or a little wider.  Your knees are bent.  Your weight should be over your feet.  Keep your upper body and head up.

Here's a great image from HockeyShot.com and HowToHockey.com.



Compare the stance of the player in black with what I described above.  This, "get into hockey stance" comes right after "check your grip" on our hockey checklist.

There's a lot of good things that come from being in this stance.  First, your center of gravity is lower and centered over your feet, which makes it harder for another player to bump you out of the way.  Secondly, with your knees bent like that, you get more power from your legs as you skate.  More power equals more speed.  This applies to all motion too, whether it's side-to-side or even backwards.  The bent knees also act as shock absorbers, so your movement is smoother and you'll have better balance.

If you watch video of Sidney Crosby, you'll notice that he stays really low as he moves and protects the puck.  It's really hard to knock him off the puck or take it from him because of that.  He generates a lot of power from his legs too, which means faster acceleration and better speed.

Younger players need to be reminded of this.  My granddaughter's coaches constantly tell the kids to get into their stance (sometimes they call it the athletic stance), but there's so much going on that many of the kids don't, and the coaches miss it.  So, if you're the parent of a youth player, or a player yourself, make it a point to drill this into your head until it becomes habit, like gripping your stick correctly.  It may feel a little weird at first, but it soon becomes second nature and it'll feel wrong not to be in the proper stance.

Personally, I'm working on flexibility and leg strength.  I do squats and wall sits.  I walk a lot.  Try climbing stairs.  Squat jumps and box step-ups work too.  These kinds of exercises aren't just for hockey players, they're a good thing for adults of any age.

Practice Pucks and Balls

A standard six ounce hockey puck slides nicely on ice.  Since you probably don't get as much ice time as you'd like, it helps to have a way to simulate the action of a puck on ice at other times.  There are quite a few tools to do this.  In this post, I'm going to talk about balls and pucks, in a future post I'll talk about synthetic ice.

 (top row, left to right)  regulation puck, Flypuck Pro, Green Biscuit Snipe, Green Biscuit, (bottom, left to right)  Swedish Stickhandling ball, muscle ball, Smarthockey stickhandling ball.

You can see that the practice pucks are all the same size as a regulation puck, but their weights vary.  The balls are all about two inches in diameter, you can see them compared to a standard puck.  There's a reason for that particular size ball too.  A two inch diameter means that the ball will hit the blade of your stick one inch off the ground, and a regulation puck is one inch tall.  So the balls are that size to feel closer to what a real puck feels like on your stick.

Personally, I consider the first three below to be essentials for stickhandling.  The next couple become essential when you start learning to shoot.

1.  Smarthockey Stickhandling Ball (lime green ball in the photo).  This training ball weighs slightly less than a standard puck and hits the blade of your stick in the same way as a puck.  I use one of these every day when I practice on carpet.  They come in many colors.

2.  Swedish Wooden Stickhandling Ball (brown ball in the photo).  This ball is the same diameter as the Smarthockey ball above, but it's made of solid wood and much lighter.  I like to use this ball to improve my hand speed, since I can stickhandle faster due to the lighter weight.  Surprisingly inexpensive, but even better, you can go to a craft store and buy a four-pack of two inch wooden balls for a few bucks.  They're the same thing.

3.  Green Biscuit Practice Puck (green puck on far right).  This is the best "dryland" puck out there.  The Green Biscuit is the same size as a regulation puck, but it's a little lighter so it slides easier to simulate the action on ice.  A good portion of each face is also inset to reduce friction.  The best part though, is the unique two-piece design, with rivets loosely holding the top and bottom together.  What this means is that the puck stays flat when it travels over concrete sidewalks or asphalt roadway, because the two halves dampen any vibrations that would normally lift the puck onto its edge.  The only drawback is that the Green Biscuit is not made for shooting.  The special plastic is rather brittle and can chip and crack if you use it to shoot with.  It also comes in various colors besides green, including pink (my granddaughter has a pair of these that she practices with).

4.  Green Biscuit Snipe (dark green, second from right).  This companion to the original green biscuit is made out of a slightly different plastic that allows you to shoot away.  The trade off is that it doesn't slide quite as nicely as the original.  Standard color is a darker green, but other colors are available.

5.  Regulation Hockey Pucks (far left).  Eventually you'll be practicing shooting, and having a few (or more) real pucks make it easier.  Rather than having to retrieve your Snipe after every shot, imagine having a bucket with 10 or 20 pucks that you can shoot all at once before having to gather them up again.  I've heard that Canadians can buy pucks inexpensively at any Canadian Tire store.  I buy mine on Amazon by the dozen when they're on sale.

6.  The Sweet Hockey Muscle Ball (silver ball in the middle).  This beastie is the same size as the other balls, but it's made of solid steel and weighs three times as much as a regular puck!  Just as the wooden ball allows you to practice speed because it's lighter, this ball is designed to strengthen your hands, wrists and forearms.  A few minutes with this ball is a real workout.

7.  "Practice" Pucks (orange puck).  You can get pucks that are lighter than standard pucks, the same weight, or heavier.  The idea behind this is the same as for the practice balls.  Green Biscuits aren't the only type of these pucks, just the best (in my opinion).

Note:  All of these are available on Amazon, but you'll probably find them at your local ice rink shop, sporting goods store, online hockey retailer, etc.  Sometimes they'll be cheaper than Amazon too.

You can also use a golf ball or even a tennis ball instead of the stickhandling balls above.  They won't feel as close to a real puck, but they're better than nothing.  The main thing to remember is that you need to work on your stickhandling on a regular basis.  Regular practice is way more important than the kind of ball or puck you use.  I try to practice for 10-15 minutes every day.  It's a nice stress reliever after a long day at work.

Do you have a favorite?  Something I didn't list that you like?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Why "DIY Hockey"?

I started learning hockey as an absolute beginner.  Everyone does, but at 57 years old, being an "absolute beginner" seems a bit more daunting.  Maybe it's because I know just how far I have to progress just to get from hopeless to just plain lousy.

This blog is here to track my progress and collect stuff I've found all over the internet into one useful  place.  Except for personal experiences and opinions, everything here is from other, better, more experienced hockey people.   For beginners of any age, maybe you'll find some answers here, or at least get pointed to other places to get answers.

The "DIY" part is about making progress on your own.  I'm not worried about the skating part, for that you need ice time.  But I can practice stick handling at home, I can work on skills and do drills to improve my balance and agility.  I can focus on certain things to get stronger in ways that will help my game improve, without needing to be on skates.  You can too.

As far as practicing at home, I don't consider that work, although I am working at my game.  This stuff is fun, and the better you are at it, the more fun it is.

Finally, if you've looked online at the training aids that are out there, well, they're expensive.  I'm sure they're worth it, but I'm also sure that more than a few can be improvised at home for a lot less money.  So the "DIY" will also mean putting together my own training aids that will work as well as the ones online.