Passing/handling the puck

[Aaron]

I've been having some trouble handling the puck. I stop it fine and all, but when I try to clear it or pass it to a teammate, I just don't get much power.

One problem I easily found was that I had WAY too much tape on the knob. When I would slide my hand up, the knob was so big, it would press against my wrist, making holding onto the stick very difficult. It was making my hand be on an impossible angle to even hold onto the end. So, I've removed most of the tape.

The other problem, is that I can't seem to grip the shaft with my catcher. Someone told me to switch hands like CuJo, but I don't know how he does it. Does he keep the curve facing the correct way? Or does he backhand it? You'd have to if you shot the puck if you switched hands.

Do you guys just use your arms to pass, or your entire upper torso? I'm kinda at a loss here. I was trying some passes in warm-up, but not very successful at all. I'll check out my books and see what they ahve to say also.

When I pass with just one hand though, I'm very accurate, but I don't get much speed on it.

[This message has been edited by Aaron (edited September 10, 1999).]

[Bernie]

It's the wrists Aaron.

You should be able to stand perfectly still. Not even so much as dip your shoulder or take even a 1cm step forward or even move your arms at all.Only by snapping the wrists you should be able to shoot the puck off the glass, even over it!

Once you get that part down, then "stepping into it" will add more power and speed, but 90% of the technique is with your wrists.

Remember, most right handed goalies must learn to shoot "left handed" which adds significantly to the learning curve i they already naturally shoot right handed.

Mistakes to watch for:
*Trying to use the shoulders/arms/torso to move the puck rather than the wrists

*Not keeping the blade straight through the target. In other words, you may be letting the blade turn to the side when it contacts the puck rather than keeping the blade facing forwards.

*Not following through

*Not having your side facing the target. You should have your side facing the target, not your front. Later, as you get better, you can get away with bad positioning like this, but for starters you should have your right side facing the target. Stand sideways to the target and look over your right shoulder to see where you want to shoot.

*Standing to far away from the puck. This is a big one. For some reason people think you should be standing far away from the puck and be "reaching" for it while you shoot. This is wrong. Your nose should almost be directly over the puck!

*Standing up to straight. If you read the above closely, you can figure you should be bending over slightly when you shoot. Don't stand straight up. And don't stand up as you shoot. Keep your body position still!

*Not re-reading the first mistake, because it's the most common one.


As for the glove, I "lock" the shaft of the stick just over the paddle in the groove in my glove between my thumb and index finger. I don't really "wrap" around the stick or "grab" it.

Good luck. We've all been there. And some of us still are. I just played against one of the better goalies in the area and even after 20 years of playing, he still can't hardly shoot or play a puck to save his life! As long as he stays in the crease he's fine! But man, he has NO business wandering!

Bernie

[Bryan]

Bernie, do you think this is something that some people just can't do? Or do you think anyone can teach themselves to be a better puck handler? I'm thinking of Irbe. He's got a rep for being a terrible puck handler, and a few years ago he was. Yet last year in the goalie shooting contest at the all-star break, he came in second! When I practice my shooting alone, I do fine. I can ice it easily, put it over the glass, etc. BUT as soon as I try it in a game situation I start screwing up like crazy. I don't even try to play the puck anymore. It just seems like too much of a risk considering how inconsistant I am.

[Bernie]

I don't know Bryan. I will also be the first to admit I too am far more consistent shooting the puck around in practice than in a game situation. We'd probably also do an "Irbe" and excel at a more relaxed shooting competition rather than clearing the puck in a game!

I would like to believe that anyone can handle the puck well under pressure if they practice enough, and the pressure is obviously the key factor on why we are inconsistent in game situations. But like you said, there are people who have played this game their whole lives and can't shoot a puck in a game to save their lives!

Maybe we should study their heart rates?

I have no doubt, however, that there are some people that, given an infinite amount of time, practice, and coaching, they will never reach a certain level of ability. Maybe it's physical, probably it's mostly mental.

I am also certain that as long as I feel I'm inconsistent playing the puck in a game, I will be inconsistent indeed! And the more this frame of mind confines me to my crease, the less I'll play the puck and thus the less likely I'll ever be a consistent puck handler!

I used to think a goalie shouldn't play the puck at all. He belongs in the net. But sometimes when my puck handling is working for whatever reason, I find I can really contribute to the offense more, and players seem to really like it when you can handle the puck well and pass to them. It gives them confidence in you. Of course they DESPISE it when you can't play the puck well but try anyway!!!

Bernie

[robbf]

Great points in the first post Bernie, in working with some of the kids I have found that really focusing on the basic body mechanics of any given movement is the key to making the physical/mental connection, I will let a guy take a few shots with his 'normal' technique, then correct a few things at a time, foot placement, body balance/position, hand position etc. and then have them guage the results themselves.
The key as you stated is the top hand/wrist movement, just like a good wrist shot you have to be able to turn the top hand over quickly and with some authority while keeping the blade square to the target, the bottom hand is just a guide to keep the stick blade moving in the proper plane. And of course, you have to keep your eyes on the target.
Part of my warm up routine is skating around the rink while handling the puck, I really enjoy getting the chance to sucker a defensemen in behind the net and stick handle away from him and fire a nice crisp pass off to a teammate, during game situations where I have to handle the puck I just concentrate on staying calm, telling myself I have plenty of time and four guys I can pass off to if things get bad, or worst case just drop and cover the damn thing ! In response to Bryan I think that with practice and something else Bernie referred to, the proper mental attitude, anyone can become proficient at working the puck. Some guys will always be better than others but I don't feel there is any reason any goalie shouldn't be able to fire a clearing pass off the boards and out of the zone.

Nice point about just dropping and covering the puck.

And you're right about the wrist strength, I recently bought a couple of dumbells to work on arm strength for my glove and blocker snaps... an unexpected benefit was a dramatic increase in my puck clearing ability.

Mechanically I'm still a little messy, what exactly is the upper wrist supposed to be doing?

[robbf]

Hey Aaron, the best way to describe what the top wrist should do is by feeling, if you play baseball or golf you should be able to traslate over the concept pretty well. During a swing (baseball or golf) just prior to the point of contact you "turn" your top hand over from the wrist/forearm, that same type of motion can be thought of when snapping the wrist on your stick, instead of being on a horizontal plane you are applying the motion in a downward angle (assuming you are passing/clearing the puck and not batting it out of mid-air). You may find it helpful to expieriment with different hand positions, higher or lower in the stick to find the optimum spot that works for you. Good luck wiht the improvements !

[TartanBill]

I have the opposite problem, I actually play the puck with more authority in games than during practice. I do sometimes "fan" the shot, failing to lift it, but for some reason I have better accuracy and power during play.

I figure it's because I don't think about it as much.

[Brett]

A couple short points to add on to an already well discussed thread. I think it bears mention that shooting the puck is not "handling the puck", but instead is but one component (albeit an important one) of handling the puck.

Lots of Bernie's points make sense when it comes to learning how to shoot. Maybe I passed over it above, but did anybody mention the neccessity of scrounging up 10 pucks, throwing a piece of plywood on the ground, and shooting several hundred pucks a day at the fence from your forehand, backhand, and with just your blocker hand for a couple years. When it comes to shooting, quick fixes simply do not exist, and young (10-14) goalies USUALLY don't have the wrist strength to let go much of a rocket. Practice, practice, practice...

What young goalies most defenitely can learn from a young age is how to make decisions when they are out of the net. The single largest mistake I see goalies of all ages make, under pressure or not, is that they simply do not have their head up surveying the "scene" as they make their way to the puck. Thus, rather than getting to the puck with a pretty good idea of what they want to do with it, they stop the puck, look up (hopefully) and get overwhelmed by the options and pressure coming their way. That obviously leads to mistakes over time. I know it sounds simple, stupid, and is easily overlooked, but you might be surprised if you watch for it next time you are hanging around watching the game after yours. (Because we never do it, of course) There will be plenty of times that split second descisions need to be made and properly executed, and the fluttering heart that is mentioned several times in posts above can up the ante, but I venture to say that there are many times we can use our time in "transit" better to prepare us and reduce
mistakes.

Alot of the anxiety and mistakes made by young goalies playing the puck would also be relieved if they switched their computer off, removed their headphones, and stepped outside to play a lot of road hockey. Confidence from experience perhaps...

[This message has been edited by Brett (edited September 17, 1999).]

[Squealagig]

Be careful what you say you might kill the board.