If you’re looking to score some impressive goals for next season, then you might want to consider taking a cue from the pros and learning how to shoot a hockey puck. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the techniques used by the best hockey shooters in the business to get their pucks where they want them to be when they need them to be there. You’ll learn some tricks of the trade, so you can accurately place the puck where you want it even when the pressure’s on.
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Practice Makes Perfect
You might be wondering why you should practice shooting the puck if all you need to do is pull the trigger and the puck will go in. The reason is muscle memory. When you’re in the game, everything will be going smoothly, but once the adrenaline starts pumping and the nerves start getting tense, you’ll have forgotten how to pull the trigger smoothly. To prevent this, you should be practicing. Even when you’re not in the competitive arena, you can still work on your shot. You can always get your coach to make an exception and give you some private time on the practice rink to work on your shot.
Learn To Trust Your Hands
Another important point to make is that even though you’re a good athlete and have played sports your entire life, it doesn’t mean that you’re perfect at shooting the puck. Just because you can throw a ball doesn’t mean you’ve got a perfect aim when it comes to shooting a goal. Even the best hockey shooters in the world have had to work hard at getting their shot just right, and a lot of that has to do with trusting their hands and being able to predict the trajectories of their shots based on how they’re holding the weapon.
For instance, if you’re holding the hockey stick with two hands and close to your body, your wrist will be bent. This makes it much harder for you to shoot the puck with pure accuracy, as your wrist will always want to rotate and make the shot more difficult. If you’ve ever played sports with a tennis ball, you might understand the importance of keeping your wrist straight when shooting, as the ball will want to curve and want to go in a different direction than what you’re aiming for.
The Timing Is Everything
In addition to all of the above, one of the most important things to work on if you want to become a good shot is your timing. When it comes to shooting a hockey puck, milliseconds matter. Even the best hockey shooters in the world can have a hard time hitting the puck at just the right moment, and that’s mostly because they’re not trusting their instincts and are trying to aim too much. As you get better, you’ll learn to read the situation and know when to shoot the puck so that it goes in the net, but for now, practice shooting at different times and see how you do.
Also, it’s important to remember that when you’re shooting the puck, your entire body is moving, so even though you might think that your wrist is bent, it’s actually the furthest thing from that. Your entire body is working to get the puck where you want it to go. To help you out, try to keep your head still while you’re shooting and focus on what your hands are doing, because that’s where the majority of the power comes from. If your head is moving around, especially if it’s jumping up and down, then that’s when you’re losing a shot.
If you can become more consistent in the timing and power of your shots, then you’ll find that most of your goals will be just a matter of inches away from perfection.
With that, we conclude our series on how to shoot a hockey puck. Stay tuned for more on this topic and use these tips as a foundation to become a better hockey player.