Basic Hockey Product Shopping
By Daniel Smith
If you are new to the game of hockey you need to organize a basic hockey product shopping list. This list will let you know what you will need to protect your body on the hockey rink surface, which is an oval of frozen ice, the skates you will need to wear when on the ice, and the instruction tools that will help you improve your game techniques and increase your speed over time.

On the basic hockey product shopping list you jot down that you think some audio clips would be a good way for you to learn about the basic passing drills, and the crossover power drill. Through these audio clips, you could spend as little as 5 minutes to 45 minutes of your day learning how to skate with speed and take your tips from a world renowned power skating coach.

These basic hockey product shopping lists could contain audio tapes that specifically train hockey players through the help of interviews with world class hockey trainers. Core training tapes could help you develop your techniques and start with a good fundamental background.

You could also make a list of power plays, and study each one very carefully. When a coach sees that you have done your homework, he may be willing to devote more off-ice time to you. These power plays will help you train, and you will be able to pick up some tips from some of the greatest minds in hockey today.

Another basic hockey product shopping item you can add to your list that will not cost you any money, is the information you need to receive regular email updates on new drills, new training techniques an all of the new video clips that are out on the Internet today. You can select each one over and over when you have the time to give it your full attention. Otherwise, if you are on a tight schedule, they are stored in your email in-box waiting to help you.

There is some basic shopping of hockey product that you can do for off-ice training. Shop for a puck server, and it will be your shooting assistant when you can not get down to the rink for practice. There are many conditioning programs that you can find that will help train you on your personal strength and conditioning, your speed, and all of these can be done off-ice.

There is some other basic hockey product shopping that you can do for on-ice training too. It would be a good idea to find a power chute to help you build strength and endurance levels up. There are stick weights and skate weights that you can add to make your legs stronger, and your arms more powerful. By reviewing skills development and condition DVD’s you will be able to focus on all areas of your training program at any time.

All of the basic hockey product shopping items will help you reach your full potential, whether it is on the ice, or in your personal life. Many of these items can be found on hockey based websites on the internet and offer a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied for any reason.

Daniel Smith writes about HockeyDeals Online, HockeyGiant Bargains and NHL Online Coupons

Off-seanson On Dry Land
By eRix, Thu Dec 8th

Improving ones hockey skills does not always entail practicingdrills on the ice. There are always some practice time away fromthe rink that can enhance your ability for when you are on theice and moving at full speed. A couple of critical aspects ofstick handling is the ability to control the puck through yourperipheral sight and feel; with the feel of the puck on thestick being the most important aspect because it enables you toconcentrate your vision on watching out for where you areheaded, as well as for where your teammates are at on the ice. Afew of these drills might seem improbable of enhancing yourskill but the drills are designed for repetition of movementwhich forms a foundation for your hand-to-eye coordination.

An example of a short drill as noted by Mike Hartman and SamMercurio in ‘STAY IN SHAPE BUT HAVE FUN’ is to “work on littlethings like stickhandling. Take out a golf ball and stickhandlein the driveway for an hour or so. Controlling the golf ballwill further enhance your hand-eye coordination and, again, youwill be amazed at the difference when you step back onto the icein the fall” (www.hockeycoach.com). For all practical purposes,all you need for stick handling improvement is your hockey stickand something to hit. Common choices for something to hit canbe: golf ball (as stated before), tennis ball, roller hockeyball or puck, racket or hand ball, or any comparable sizedobject in your vicinity. Balls tend to work the best for drillsoff the ice because the ball naturally returns to the shooter,depending on where you are practicing.

Another fun drill to practice is to take a hockey stick, atennis ball wrapped in 1-layer of hockey tape to lessen thebounce, a brick wall, and something to mark the wall with. Chalkcan be used on the wall, but you do not want someone accusingyou off graffiti; therefore, it is best to take some hockey tapeand stick it on the wall. If you want the exact dimension of aregulation goal, 72″x48″ what most goals opening are scaled at;however, for your purposes, just put a large rectangle of tapeon the wall with the corners marked as targets. Try to copy thedimensions in this diagram. Another idea is to transpose thisdiagram onto a piece of plywood, which can be transported towhere you want to practice.

Once you have this shooting target, you can begin to repeatedshoot for the corners with your various shots. A way for you tosee where your shots hit is to dampen the wrapped ball withwater,which should leave a water mark where it hits; the wateralso adds to the ball’s weight since it is not as heavy as anice puck. This drill should not be rushed because you want toassign a number of direct hits to each corner triangle (15 percorner) before shooting at the next corner. The higher thenumber of direct hits you assign to each corner will graduallylead to an increase of your hand-to-eye coordination because youare not just haphazardly shooting at a goal. You need to takeyour time to aim at each target mentally, locate the ball, andthen shoot at the target while your is head up looking at it.Hitting the corner successfully while your head is up will alsoincrease your confidence and feel for shooting by relying onyour peripheral vision. You can call it looking out of thecorner of you eyes, or how you see the ice.

Battling the off season blues should not be wasted by layingaround watching TV or playing video games. You could take theinitiative to improve your stickhandling and shooting aim bypracticing these fun, basic fundamental drills mentioned in thisarticle. You could come up with a new drill of your own thatbuilds your own confidence. The main point is to take somequality time in practicing stickhandling and shooting. The moreoften you practice, the easier and more natural handling a ballor puck will become to you. The benefits you will receive fromthis diligent practice will be realized when you return to theice for the beginning of next season. Your teammates will bereally pleased that you took the time off the ice and used it toyour and their advantage.

About the author:eric smith tampa florida b.a. marketing usf a.s. computerinformation systems hcc

http://www.aimhockey.com