In this video, we are going to give you 5 different hockey drills with the Smart Hockey Training Ball and the Swedish stickhandling Wooden ball as well.
These balls have different characteristics that make them unique hockey training aids. The Smart Hockey Training Ball has that similar feel to a real hockey puck and slides very well on any off-ice surface, while the Swedish Stickhandling Wooden Ball is very light and great to practice your quick hands.
Stickhandling Drill 1
In the first drill, we have two pucks aligned together with 2 feet distance in between them. This forces players to stickhandle in a small-targeted area, yet we want to teach them to go as fast as possible to work on speed and quickness. Most of the work should be done with the top hand to roll over the stick quickly, as it controls the stick.
Stickhandling Drill 2 (Figure 8 drill)
In this drill, were using the figure 8 drill to focus on controlling the ball in a side-to-side motion. It’s really important to cup the ball in order to maintain control from side-to-side. When you get confortable doing this, you can stickhandle in between the pucks, add the toe drag as well.
Stickhandling Drill 3 (Upright figure 8)
In this drill, were using the figure 8 drill to focus on controlling the ball upwards and downwards, so either really close to your body or away from your body. It remains really important to cup the ball throughout the motion in order to have complete control. Also, it’s important to remain as stationary as possible, for you to make the necessarily hand adjustments to keep control of the ball. To many times, we see players not adjusting and eventually lose the ball.
Stickhandling Drill 4 (Box Drill)
There are several drills you can do with the box formation; the first one requires you to stickhandle around the box, while maintaining complete control of the puck. The second is basically free styling in between pucks, this practices your speed and your reaction time as well. You can also do toe drags around all the pucks, which can be difficult depending on how much space there is between pucks.
Stickhandling Drill 5 (Mind Field)
Basically, what this drill is about is having a bunch of scattered pucks on the floor, the goal is to stickhandle between them without touching them. This drill is based on speed and consistency. We want to teach players on stickhandling fast but having complete control of it as well.
Smart Hockey Training Ball
The SmartHockey Training Ball is the only off-ice training device that matches the bounce, weight, height and slide of a real ice hockey puck. This is the perfect off-ice training tool as it allows players to practice their stickhandling and passing skills. The SmartHockey Training Ball is used with over 22 NHL teams, as it’s renowned to be one of the best products on the market today!
Swedish Stickhandling Wooden Ball
This 2' hardwood ball is a great tool that a player can use to develop soft, quick hands. Think of the Swedish Stickhandling ball as the 'Speed bag' of stickhandling training.
