DIY Hockey is a place for this beginner to collect information and ideas from all over the internet into one place. This is stuff I use as I work and play to get better, and hopefully you'll find something useful for yourself here too.
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.
The Farmer's Walk is a very simple exercise that will make your hands and forearms stronger.
The idea is simple. Grab something heavy in each hand and walk as far as you can with it, until you have to set it down. For instance, an adult could carry a couple of 5 gallon buckets full of sand or water. If that's too much, try a cinder block or brick in each hand. For a youngster, big cans of soup, small dumbbells or even large books would work. It's easy to tailor the weight to something you can handle for 30 seconds or so, but heavy enough that at the end you really want to put it down.
Rest for a minute or so, then turn around, pick up the weights again, and walk back to where you started.
Farmer's Walks are great for your forearms too, and your back... actually, it pretty darn good for your entire body.
This simple piece of exercise equipment will really give your wrists and forearms a workout. Known as a Forearm Roll, you might be able to make your own with stuff you already have in your garage or shop.
If not, the materials are simple and cheap. Get a 24" length of closet dowel or 1" PVC pipe. It doesn't have to be exactly 24", but don't go too much shorter than that. For a youngster, a leftover piece of that 3/4" PVC we've been using for other DIY projects will work great (use the thick wall schedule 40 type).
Tie a length of clothesline or thin rope to the dowel. Paracord works well too. The rope should be long enough to reach the floor when you hold your arms straight out in front of you. Make the knot tight enough so that it doesn't slide around the dowel as you try to roll it up. A strip of duct tape over the knot helps here.
On the other end of the rope, tie a weight of some kind. You can use a dumbbell, a small bag full of sand, or a weight set plate like in the picture above. Be creative if you have to, what the item is isn't really important. Again, for the youngsters you can try a mesh bag that onions or oranges come in, filled with a can or two from the pantry.
To use, stand straight up and hold the dowel in both hands with your arms extended straight out in front you you. Now, start to roll up the rope by turning the dowel in your hands. As the dowel turns, it will take up the rope, which in turn will lift up the weight.
When you get to the top, turn the dowel in the opposite direction to lower the weight back to the floor. Repeat two or three times.
This exercise really works the forearms. Don't try to go too heavy with the weight, try something relatively light at first.
This exercise is one you can do pretty much any time you have a few minutes to spare. Wrap a thick rubber band around your fingers, then extend your fingers to stretch the rubber band.
This is a very effective way to strengthen the muscles of your hand.
I'm not sure whether this qualifies as a toy or a genuine piece of exercise equipment. I bought this Power Ball Gyro Exerciser on Amazon for less than $15.00.
The idea is simple, inside the hard plastic outer shell is a gyroscope (the yellow ball with the groove in the picture). You get the gyroscope spinning, and then hold on to the outer shell. They gyro creates momentum that tries to force the ball into motion, and as you hold the ball, your grip resists that force. This works your small muscles.
It does seem to work, at least as far as tiring out your muscles. Getting the gyro revved up and then holding the ball still takes some effort. When I'm done with a "workout" I can definitely feel it.
I bought a stripped down model. You can get some that light up and have an LED screen mounted to tell you the RPMs that the gyro is doing. The way mine works is that you tuck a string (included) into the slot on the gyro, and pull start it like a lawnmower. Once you get it spinning, you start to make a rocking motion with your hand to rev the gyro up even more. Once it's going good - and you can tell - then you can just hold the ball and fight the centrifugal forces. I find that I'm much better at keeping it going, and revving it faster, with my dominant hand (right, in my case).
This thing isn't benignly harmless, you have to pay attention while using it. There's some heft to it and the entire unit is trying to move when you've got it going. In addition, I was inattentive once and managed to touch my forearm skin to the spinning gyro (clumsy and not paying attention... it's a gift I have). It pinched off a thin layer of my skin about a half inch long and eighth of an inch wide. Left a visible scar when it healed.
This thing is fun and kind of cool to play with, and it might actually be beneficial when it comes to building up your strength, but it doesn't do anything that you can't do with other exercises. There's a lot of hype on the internet about powerballs, and unsurprisingly, some of the most glowing reviews come from sites that sell them.
As I usually try to do, here's a video showing the powerball in use. Note that he starts the gyro with his thumb and rocking his hand. I've not been able to do that, but the string works just fine for me.
If you give it a try, or have used it before, let me know in the comments. Did it work for you?
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.
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.
With one hand, hold a single sheet of newspaper by the corner. Using just that hand, crumple it up into a ball. You'll be amazed at the workout this gives the muscles in your hand, wrist and forearms.
Do a single sheet for each hand each day. That's all it takes.
