Improve Your Hockey Skills With The Following Practice Drills And Sporting Goods Louisiana

By Carolyn Kennedy


The best way to improve at something is by constantly practicing and setting out planned programs. This does not differ with hockey. Using Sporting Goods Louisiana and setting out planned hockey practice drills will allow for the full maximization of a practice and can highlight your strengths and weaknesses allowing one to rank themselves as either a beginner, intermediate or advanced player.

There are a various number of drills that can be planned out to ensure that all core competencies of the group are met. These competencies can be listed under Ball handling, Shooting and Attacking tactics, Passing and lastly Offensive and Defensive drills. Each drill is aimed at improving certain skills within the sport of hockey.

Ball control drills help with coordinating the movement of the ball and the movement of your hand holding the hockey stick. A ball control technique known as the control zone is great for beginner players as it is done individually. The player is required to put their feet a shoulder width apart from each other and place their left hand directly in front of them with the ball in their hand. Then it is thrown from their left hand onto the ground and the player is required to dribble, pass and shoot. This technique helps players to understand their control area.

Hockey has three well known dribbling methods which are aimed at teaching the player how to control a ball in motion. These dribbles are known as the Straight, Loose and Indian.

The Straight dribble is a protection dribble method as the constant contact that the ball has to the stick provides protection against opponents. This dribbling technique requires a basic grip to the hockey stick and the player places the stick to the right of their body ensuring that they eyes are placed in front of them. This type of focus allows for the player to be aware of other players and leaves room for an easy ball pass.

The Loose Dribble method is a variation of the straight dribble however it focuses on speed rather than protection. This method requires the same posture, but the ball does not keep constant contact with the stick. The stick is used to tap the ball forward to a distance that the player can run after and pass it at a greater velocity.

Challenging yourself is also a very important factor when practicing and the Indian Dribble provides that. This dribble is gives great protection as it is one of the hardest dribbles to defend against. It allows for a player to dodge opponents stick and effectively navigate through them. This is carried out by placing a basic grip on the stick and positioning left hand right ensuring that the stick is rotated to 180 degrees. The grip should always be maintained preventing the right hand to turn as control might be lost if so.

To create good hockey practice drills, especially for beginners, ball contact and dribbling methods are essential as it familiarizes the player with the ball and how to interact with it. This forms the foundation before defensive and attacking drills as these require a higher-level player.




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