Hey Panthers, looking at improving your shot for 2024? Either wrist, snap or slapshot? Study these fundamentals from How to Hockey, practice, practice, practice! Muscle memory is key. Also, the key is getting that top hand away from your body and utilizing that bottom hand to apply flex / power.This page is meant to be a resource for any player looking to learn, or improve their shot. I cover the fundamentals of the shot in a series of videos, and also link to more resources for players looking for advice. My biggest advice for shooting is JUST KEEP SHOOTING. Your muscles have memory, and in order for them to get smarter you need to get repetitions. The more you shoot, the more fluent, consistent, accurate and powerful your shot will be. Knowing WHAT to practice will help you improve much faster
The building blocks of a good shot
In this video series I go over the 5 sources of power for a good shot
After the Basics
After you go through the videos above you might want some more advanced things to work on. Rest assured the information above is a lot to work on. The principles above can be repeated and practiced over and over, trust me for a good shot you need to take a lot of shots. I recommend 20 minutes or more a day.
Advanced Shooting Techniques
These are just a few different shooting techniques you can work on that vary from your standard shooting instruction
Two types of wrist shots
In hockey there are LOTS of ways to shoot the puck. The two main ways you will shoot are off your inside leg and outside leg. I explain more in the video below
The “wrong” way to shoot
Some old coaches will tell you not to shoot a certain way. I address that old way of coaching here.
How to Shoot like Phil Kessel
Kessel has the textbook snapshot (what I teach as the snapshot). In this video I break down his style of shooting
Learn each Type of Shot
I’ve made videos to teach each type of shot
- How to take a wrist shot – This is the first shot most players learn. I also include videos for improving power and release
- How to take a slapshot – The slapshot is the hardest shot to learn, spend a lot of time on it and focus A LOT on the technique. It will take a lot of bad shots before you start to get it.
- How to take a backhand – The backhand is VERY important to practice, as most goalies don’t expect it.
- How to take a snapshot – This is a great shot to have when you want a quick release
Trouble raising the puck?
A lot of newer players have trouble raising the puck, I address this problem in the video below
Products to Improve Your Shot
Links to all these products are on this page
Some products you NEED and others are just really awesome. Below are my essentials
Must Have – A net, shooting pad (0r smooth surface) and pucks
Really awesome – A radar gun (so motivating to instantly see your improvements), pass rebounder (practice one-timers) and weighted pucks
Your Game Plan
- Find a place to practice, no excuses, find somewhere, I don’t care if it’s your neighbors garage, public parking lot, or park, figure something out!
- Get a smooth surface (shooting pad is recommended) and some pucks
- Learn proper technique
- Now shoot A LOT. Remember you have to build muscle memory through repetition, you can learn all you want but you probably wont see instant results. The results will come with time, keep practicing!
Want more tips – Every post / video I have done on shooting is in our shooting tips category
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