Shooting & Skills #2
Shooting & Skills #2
As we discussed in the first edition of the Help Desk Newsletter, there is a lot that players can do to improve their skills as well as their shooting strength and accuracy – even in the absence of ice or open ice rinks.But it’s never quite the same using a ball in your basement to stickhandle or trying to shoot pucks off your driveway. Nonetheless, any amount of time a player can spend shooting pucks and keeping the hockey reflexes and muscles sharp is valuable this time of year, especially given the circumstances we are currently facing.
So, here are some tips and links that hopefully can help make your off-ice hockey training a little more fun, a little easier and maybe even a little more effective.
$12 Shooting and Stickhandling Board
We all know that it doesn’t feel quite right using a cheap stick that isn’t your normal game model to practice shooting and stickhandling at home. And, of course, no one wants to destroy their favorite $200 or $300 gamer by shooting pucks off concrete.
What is the answer? A shooting or stickhandling board, of course. Unfortunately, those often cost as much as the sticks you don’t want to ruin. Shooting boards essentially are blocks of white, coated hardboard that are slick enough to allow for stickhandling and shooting on a surface that is a reasonable simulation of actual ice and that won’t destroy your favorite stick.
A quick glance at this site reveals that there are several sizes of shooting boards ranging in price from $39.99 to $99.99 plus shipping:
The problem with these boards is that the small boards just don’t allow a player to do much more than use them as a launching pad, while the larger ones just don’t seem worth the price.
The answer?
The answer?
$12 Eucatile 4’ x 8’ white hardboard from Home Depot. That’s right, basically the same size and material that the website above is selling as a shooting board for $99. It’s not quite as think, but should do the job. I’m picking mine up tomorrow and will report back on how it works, but I’ve been told that it is just as good as the fancy “hockey” boards. Even if it doesn’t last as long, at a fraction of the price, it’s well worth having to replace it a few times. In addition, you can apply some WD-40 silicone spray to make it feel even more like real ice.
Total cost of the board and silicone spray? $16.
Once you get your board set up, you’ll need some pucks. I recently purchased a box of 50 from Golden Sport Amazon that was delivered in about three days. It looks like they are temporarily out of stock, but should be available soon and were very affordable at under $60 including shipping. CLICK HERE for the link.
Once you have the board and the pucks, then what?
BACK TO HELP DESK LANDING PAGE