Hockey is one of the hardest sports to learn. But, with the right training and the help of experienced players, you can become a great player!
The most fundamental skills you need to play the game include skating and puck handling. Practice these skills in drills that simulate game conditions.
Passing
Passing is one of the most basic and important skills in hockey. Players of all skill levels need to know how to pass accurately in order to lead their team.
This can be difficult at first, but with practice, you will eventually get the hang of it. The key is to keep your stick blade on the ice and “cup” it over the puck. This prevents the puck from bouncing off your stick blade.
Another important skill is to “cushion” the puck when you’re receiving a pass. This prevents the puck from bouncing away and helps you to receive it more easily.
The most effective way to learn this skill is to make thousands of passes! Initially, you’ll want to use a hand that is higher up on the stick to help you control it. However, as you gain experience and become more comfortable, you can move the ball with your other hand. This will allow you to increase your speed and accuracy!
Shooting
Hockey is a sport that requires players to learn many skills. These include skating, stick-handling, passing and shooting.
There are lots of great drills that focus on the basics of each skill, allowing beginners to improve quickly. They also build on each other, which accelerates improvement even more.
Shooting is one of the most important hockey skills for beginner players to master. The ability to shoot accurately and quickly is a key to success.
A good way to develop this skill is by practicing quick-release shots. This involves digging your blade into the ice with your bottom hand and pulling your top hand back to release the shot.
Another effective technique is to shoot in stride, which catches the defense and goalie by surprise. This is a valuable skill for all players to learn, and the best goal scorers typically have mastered this technique.
Pushing Off
In hockey, the push off is a key skill that players must master. This is a technique that is used to accelerate forwards, and it is also essential for gaining control of the puck.
One important thing to know about pushing off is that it can be dangerous. If you push off too hard, it could get you called for a penalty.
To avoid this, be sure to keep your knees bent as you are skating. You can do this by using your edges or your inside foot to dig in and push off.
A good way to practice this is to use a stick. Start by stick handling the puck back and forth directly in front of you for a ten count. Then move the puck all the way to the right so it is directly beside you, and stick handle again for a ten count.
Checking
Checking is one of the more physical and demanding aspects of hockey, so it’s important for young players to be introduced to checking techniques as early as possible. Fortunately, this skill can be taught after players have mastered the basics of skating and puck handling.
The first step in teaching body checking skills is to teach positioning and awareness. Good body positioning can help a player prevent an opponent from executing a body check or stick check.
Angling is another fundamental skill that can be used when defending against body checks. Angling forces the opponent to move off of the ice and into a specific direction on the ice, away from open ice.
When a player is able to execute angling, stick checks and body blocks with confidence, they’re ready for the next level of defence: checking. A coach can introduce body checking after the first three lines of defence are mastered, but before this happens, players should be taught the basics of skating, game awareness and body positioning.