Here’s a Quick Tutorial on Installing the Sniper’s Edge Indoors

A few weeks ago I published a detailed review on the Sniper’s Edge, which is a shooting tarp that can fit in the opening of any standard two-car garage. The product is fantastic, and I had a blast putting that review together. You can check it out here: FULL SNIPER’S EDGE REVIEW.

Since then, I’ve relocated to a bigger house (Weiss Tech HQ), and the new house has a pretty big unfinished basement… perfect for my new hockey training facility!

Benefits of the Indoor Installation
After getting everything moved in, one of the first things I did was install my Sniper’s Edge in the basement. As much as I liked it outdoors, I must admit, the indoor install has been even nicer! I prefer the indoor install for a few reasons:

• No need to roll and unroll to make the garage usable
• No worries about weather – the tarp is weather proof, but I was concerned about snow and ice weighing it down in the winter
• More level surface – my driveway was slightly slanted as you can see in my previous video. This was throwing off my vertical aim

Indoor Installation Process (The Harder Way)
The Sniper’s Edge doesn’t come with any of the necessary hard-ware to install it. So you’ll need to pick up the following items from Home Depot or Lowe’s to install your Sniper’s Edge the same way I did it (NOTE: THERE IS AN EASIER WAY TO DO It… DETAILS FURTHER DOWN):

• One 16x2x4
• Four 2×4′s long enough to connect the top of the Sniper’s Edge to your rafters
• Screws
• Washers
• 16′ wooden dowel

Here’s how I did it… Unbox the Sniper’s Edge and screw the top of it into the 16x2x4. Screw each of your smaller 2x4s into the 16x2x4, evenly spread – MAKE SURE YOU MEASURE FIRST. You want the measurements such that after it is hung, the bottom of the Sniper’s Edge just barely touches the ground. Screw or nail the entire unit into the rafters.

This method seems easy enough in theory (at least it did to me…), but it was actually quite difficult to make it come together properly! One of our YouTube subscribers suggested a more effective way… READ ON!

An Easier Way to Install the Sniper’s Edge

After posting this video on YouTube, flyers10az (one of our subscribers) suggested a MUCH easier way. If you get a sec, shoot him/her a thank-you note… this could save you TONS of time.

Here’s what you do:

• Screw the Sniper’s Edge into the 16x2x4 as in the first method
• Buy 8 metal hooks and 4 lengths of chain
• Screw 4 hooks into your rafters or ceiling, and 4 hooks in corresponding locations on the top of your 16x2x4
• Attach the hooks on the 16x2x4 to the corresponding hooks in the ceiling using the chain

Isn’t that brilliant? I wish I had thought of it before doing it my way. Since the chain is adjustable, you don’t need to be as exact on your measurements either. I haven’t tried it… but it seems like a WAY better way of doing it.

Conclusion
Having this in my basement has been awesome. We use it all the time and the kids love it. It works really well for indoor use because it’s virtually impossible for a puck to take a bad ricochet off it into a window, or light, or something breakable. I definitely recommend this targeting system for your home!

Technorati Tags: Aim, Car Garage, Fit, Hockey Training, Home Depot, Hq, Hung, Level Surface, Lowe S, Measurements, No Worries, Rafters, Screw, Screws, Sniper, Snow And Ice, Tarp, Unfinished Basement, Weather Proof, Wooden Dowel

The Sniper’s Edge is an Awesome Hockey Targeting System that Offers Plenty of Versatility

A few months ago, I got my hands on the Sniper’s Edge from HockeyShot. I had seen this Hockey Targeting System in the past, but hadn’t ever used one before. So, I was excited at the chance to give it a whirl, and was impressed with the experience.

Product Overview
The Sniper’s Edge fits over any standard two-car garage door opening, and comes in 2 sizes, 7′ x 16′ or 8′ x 16′ (so make sure you measure the height of your garage door before ordering).

The unit comes tightly wrapped in a box – make sure you follow the labeling and DON’T USE A KNIFE TO OPEN THE BOX, as you will risk slicing a hole in your tarp before you even get it open.

Installation
The Sniper’s Edge doesn’t come with any of the necessary hard-ware to install it. So you’ll need to pick up the following items from Home Depot or Lowe’s:

• Screws
• Washers
• 16′ wooden dowel

Once you have the proper hardware, assembly is pretty easy… Just follow the directions included in the box. I put it up myself in about 22 minutes, and it would have been a lot quicker if I had had a partner.

My Experience
Once your Sniper’s Edge is all set up, just grab a Shooting Pad, some Pucks, and have at it! This set-up works really well in neighborhood or indoor settings, where you don’t want errant pucks damaging houses, windows, or other valuable items. The Sniper’s Edge is a tarp, so everything hits with a dead bounce and drops straight down.

Another cool feature on the Sniper’s Edge is the pocketing system. Anytime you snipe a corner, the puck is caught in the back pocket, and drops down to the bottom of the unit, making clean-up easy (as long as you’re hitting the corners!).

All in all, this is a great product, and one I highly recommend!

Technorati Tags: Bounce, Car Garage, Garage Door, Hardware Assembly, hockey shooting aids, hockey shooting targets, Home Depot, Indoor Settings, Lowe S, Neighborhood, Product Overview, Proper Hardware, Puck, Pucks, Screws, Shooting Targets, Sniper, Targeting System, Tarp, Versatility, Whirl, Wooden Dowel

Here’s a Quick Tour of my Basement Hockey Training Center!

You may have already heard… but we recently moved houses (literally across the street, actually!). We’ve got two crazy boys, and a third boy on the way, and it was just time to expand. Lucky for us, a bigger house across the street went up for sale just at the right time, so we jumped on it!

It’s taken a bit of time to get everything moved over and situated, but I finally had a chance to sort through, and set up my hockey training center. You might remember, space was a big concern in my old house, and I had most of my stuff crammed into the one side of our two-car garage. In our new house we have enough room to put it all in our unfinished basement, and I’m really happy about how it all turned out!

I figured I’d shoot a quick vid with the iPad, just to show you my new set-up. With summer quickly approaching, be on the lookout for more off-ice training videos, tips, and drills from Weiss Tech Hockey!

Cheers!

Jeremy

Technorati Tags: Big House, Car Garage, Cheers, Crazy Boys, Hockey Training, Ipad, Lookout, New House, Right Time, Stuff, Tour Hockey, Training Videos, Unfinished Basement

Train Yourself to Rely Less on Seeing the Puck

HockeyVision Training Pucks are a great way to train yourself to rely less and less on seeing the puck, which will then allow you to stickhandle with your head up, enabling you to see more of the play.

HockeyVision Training Pucks are white, with a black dot in the middle. The black dot comes in three sizes (large, medium, and small). The idea is to work your way down from the large, more-visible dot to small, less-visible dot, training your eye to not have to see as much of the puck while stickhandling.

These pucks are available in on-ice and off-ice models. The on-ice pucks are made of rubber (same as a regulation puck), and the off-ice ones are made of a high-density plastic (HDPE if I’m not mistaken), which allows them to slide really well on flooring tiles or a skill pad.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Black Dot, Density Plastic, Flooring Tiles, Hdpe, High Density, Models, Puck, Train

Introducing… the Best Hockey Passing Rebounder on the Market!

Over the past few years, a number of Hockey Passing Rebounders have made their way to the off-ice training market. These rebounders offer many fun and effective ways of working on your passing both on and off the ice, and I highly recommend owning one.

The passing rebounder I want to show you in this post is by far and away the best one on the market today. The X-Passer is a heavy-duty, versatile passing rebounder, that has improved on some of the design flaws of other rebounders that are currently on the market. It’s a lot of fun to use, and it works REALLY well. I’m excited to show you what this is all about, so let’s jump straight in!

First Impressions and Design Features:
The first thing that struck me about the X-Passer was it’s weight. This thing is heavy duty! It’s obvious that XHOCKEYPRODUCTS intended this to be used with real pucks, and full-speed passes. The weight and design of the X-Passer make it so you can literally throw it down in the middle of the floor, and fire hard passes at it… and it won’t move around on you. This feature allows you a lot more placement and configuration options, and definitely beats the “clip on” rebounders!

Next, the X-Passer uses a bungee system as its rebounding mechanism. This helps to keep the rebounds true and flat. In fact… it’s almost impossible to have a puck flip up on you, even with HARD passes (something other rebounders have been known to have issues with). So long as you’re sending it in flat, it will always come back at you flat and hard.

Third, the X-Passer has a “retractable spiking system” which allows for easy conversion for on-ice use. All you do is twist the screws in the top of the X-Passer, and spikes pop out the bottom. This feature can open up all kinds of new doors for creativity in practices!

Using the X-Passer:
The X-Passer is a blast to use. It’s a lot of fun when things “just work” the way they’re supposed to. I use the X-Passer to work on pretty much every type of pass; forehand and backhand “cushion and sweep,” touch passes, you can even get creative and combine it with other products to work on your saucer passes!

Conclusion:
A few people have asked me if the X-Passer is worth the higher price when compared to some of the other, “cheaper” rebounders on the market. In my mind, if you’re serious about your off-ice training, it’s absolutely worth paying a premium for a product that is going to work the way it’s supposed to, and last as long as you’ll need it to. When you pick up your X-Passer, that’s exactly what you’re getting!

Technorati Tags: Blast, Configuration Options, Conversion, Creativity, Design Features, Design Flaws, Doors, First Impressions, Full Speed, Heavy Duty, hockey passing rebounder, off-ice hockey passing, Pop, Puck, Pucks, Rebounders, Rebounds, Screws, Spikes, x-passer

The X-Tiles Flooring System Allows you to Build a State of the Art Hockey Training Center, One Piece at a Time!

I was recently introduced to a new hockey dryland tile that I’m really excited about. It’s called the X-Tile, and it’s made by XHockeyProducts (yes, the same company that brought you the X-Passer, and the X-Deviator).

If you’re familiar with XHockeyProducts, you already know they are famous for designing heavy duty, smart, & functional hockey training equipment… and this product is no different!

The X-Tiles are not only an awesome flooring product to give you a slick surface for stickhandling, shooting, and passing, but they’re also a fully integrated, hockey training system that works in tandem with many other products! In this review I’ll be showing you how the X-Tiles work, and sharing my experiences with them.

Unboxing:

My first impression of the X-Tiles was that they are actually a really good weight. You don’t want a product like this to be too flimsy, but at the same time, you don’t want it to be too hard to move around. The X-Tiles are a durable, manageable weight.

Size:

The next thing you’ll notice about the X-Tiles is that they’re huge (2 feet by 2 feet!). I always say “the bigger, the better” when it comes to flooring tiles because you want to have the fewest seems possible.

Assembly:

The X-Tiles are REALLY easy to put together AND take a part. This is a big feature in my opinion because it allows for a degree of portability, and gives you the option to change configurations if you want (a feature I have made use of a few times myself).

The easiest way to put together your X-Tile set-up is to lay it out first to get an idea of where everything is going to sit, then tap it all together with a rubber mallet. In the video above, I put together a 15 tile set-up in about 11 minutes.

Add-ons:

One of the coolest features with the X-Tiles System is that you can add on various pieces of equipment to enhance your experience and work on different skills. Here’s a quick list of add-ons you’ll want to consider:

1. X-Deviator or X-Deviator Mini – hockey stickhandling aid that can be adjusted into multiple configurations
2. X-Tiles Passer – bungee rebounder that snaps into the X-Tiles
3. X-Saucer – awesome device used to work on saucer passes, also built to snap right into your X-Tile set-up
4. X-Tiles Pocket – a “pocket” piece that is designed to hold the X-Deviator in place. Again, built to snap into your X-Tiles set-up

Experience:

As you can see in the video, using the X-Tiles System is A LOT of fun! The tiles are very slick, the seams are very flat, and the pucks slide well on them. The add-ons work really well, and are fully integrated with the tile system. I like the fact that you can easily change configurations or add to your X-Tiles system over time.

The X-Tiles are also pretty “kid proof.” I’ve had my boys using these things every day, and they’ve held up just fine. My kids love it!

Conclusion:

This is definitely a product I stand behind. If you’ve got it in the budget, I’d pick up a few boxes of X-Tiles right up front, along with all the add-ons (check out the Weiss Tech Hockey Package XHockeyProducts has put together). It’s a fantastic training system that is unlike anything else out there. However, the beautiful thing is that you ARE working with a budget, you can just as easily start basic and then keep adding to it piece by piece as you have the funds.

Technorati Tags: Experiences, First Impression, Flooring Product, Flooring System, Flooring Tiles, Hockey Training, Huge 2, Piece At A Time, Portability, Rubber Mallet, Slick Surface, State Of The Art, Stickhandling, Tandem, Tile, Tile Set

Check out this Slide Board Designed Specifically for Goalies!

Every now and then I come across a hockey training product that just makes me go “wow!” That’s what happened when I first saw the X-Goalie Crease Slideboard from XHOCKEYPRODUCTS.

Now, I’m admittedly NOT a goalie guy. But it’s not hard to tell when something is going to be beneficial for an athlete. Watch the videos I’ve included in this post, and check out how closely this product allows the goalies to mimic their on-ice movements. Incredible!

Here are a few of the features you should know about:

Regulation-size Crease
The X-Goalie Crease Slideboard features an NHL regulation goalie crease that utilizes Fan-tastic Sports technology along with the “ProHybrid Visual Lead Position System.” This system allows a goalie to develop muscle memory using the same Squareness, Angle and Depth as he uses on the ice.

Customizable Movement Patterns
This crease uses adjustable stoppers to create customizable movement patterns. PowerStrides, Shuffles, Pushoffs, Recoveries, Slides and even paddle down wraps can be practiced on our board.

Two Challenging Training Levels
This crease has two challenging levels: Foundation and Elite. Young goalies will want to start by using the crease at the Foundation Level. This level will allow them to get a feel for the system, and begin to build their leg strength and coordination.

The Elite Level has stopper placements progressively further out as you approach the top angle. This level will challenge even the most established goaltenders due to the precision needed in angle adjustment, and the power it takes to carry the full distance outside the crease.

Stoppers, Pushers, and Recovery Bumper
All stoppers are located on the “Awareness to Squareness” lines. Each line gives the goalie/trainer immediate feedback as to whether or not Squareness has been achieved to a specific angle.

In addition to the stoppers, the X-Goalie Crease Slideboard is equipped with a Recovery Bumper. This semi circle railing mirrors the crease line. It is used to execute a recovery or pushoff from your butterfly. The bumper is strategically placed in an ideal position relative to the stoppers for maximum load and power out of your hybrid setup.

Moving in towards the posts you will find two blue net play stance stoppers. These stoppers are placed off of each post to ensure the goalies feet are 30 degrees off the goal line. This 30 degree angle gives the goalie a solid base while allowing him to see the strong side corner while keeping the weak side blue line angle in his or her peripheral vision. The goalie can lead the play with a quick shuffle, come back to the same post, lead again, then rotate and shuffle 30 degrees back to the opposite post.

Lastly, this crease has paddle down wrap recovery bumpers in place. These arched rails enable the goalie to recover out of a paddle down wrap as if a player makes a pass instead of executing a wrap around.

Conclusion
I don’t often wish I were a goalie… (No offense to any of you keepers who are reading this!) I love my position, and I play it well. However, this just looks like A LOT of fun to me, and I’m a little envious to tell you the truth! If you’re a goalie… you’ve gotta check this out.

WHERE TO GET IT: Currently the X-Goalie Crease Slideboard is only available at XHOCKEYPRODUCTS.COM… in fact, this product is so new, they’re still in “pre-order” mode right now. But you can sign up to get on the pre-order list here: CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER

Cheers!

Jeremy

Technorati Tags: Angle Adjustment, Athlete, Coordination, Crease, Elite Level, Fan Tastic, Foundation Level, Full Distance, Hockey Training, Leg Strength, Movement Patterns, Muscle Memory, Nhl, Placements, Position System, Slide Board, Slideboard, Slides, Sports Technology, Wraps

The PowerSlide Hockey Slide Board Allows you to Imitate a Skating Motion while Developing Other Skills

A while back I was talking to one of my coaching buddies about some of the cool off-ice training equipment that is available these days. I mentioned something about combining a hockey slide board with a stickhandling skill pad, and how it would be cool to be sliding back and forth while stickhandling, passing, shooting, or anything else.

At the time I thought my idea was completely original… but, it turns out that innovative hockey coaches have had their players doing this for years!

What You Get, and Set-up:
So… here’s what I did. I picked up the PowerSlide slide board from HockeyShot. It’s a really high quality slide board that is portable, so you can take it places; adjustable, so you can use with athletes of various sizes and abilities; durable, so it’ll hold up to a lot of usage; and super grippy, so it won’t slide around on you.

The first thing I did was watch the free DVD that came with the PowerSlide. The DVD was very helpful for instructions on putting the PowerSlide together, but the exercise instructions and demos were a little weak to be totally honest. You’ll be better off just using your own creativity to develop your own set of exercises. Plus, as a hockey player or coach, I’m sure you’ve got no shortage of skating drills that can be transferred to the PowerSlide!

Set up was a breeze. I unrolled the PowerSlide, attached the adjustable end piece so that it was a good length for me, tightened it down, and I was all set.

The PowerSlide consists of two end-piece assemblies (where you’ll be pushing off from), and a flexible slide mat. There’s an interesting design feature that I quite like on the PowerSlide. The end piece assemblies aren’t just flat, like most other slide boards. They are made using solid rubber “ramps” that enhance the grip underneath the slide board, and improve the pushing angle of your stride. This feature allows you to stride really hard, but stay very stable in the process.

The PowerSlide also comes with a carrying bag, and a set of booties to wear over-top of your shoes.

My Experience:
I decided to use my PowerSlide on top of my Dryland Flooring Tiles, which gave me tons of room for stickhandling and passing. It worked REALLY well! The only thing that surprised me was that the PowerSlide was SO grippy that they were causing the Dryland Tiles to shift a little bit against the garage floor!

Once I slid the tile set-up into the corner, it anchored itself down a bit better, and I didn’t slide anymore.

Using the PowerSlide was amazing… not only was it a lot of fun, but it was a FANTASTIC workout! In fact, you can see a bit of sweat on my face at the end of my video review What’s even better though, is that it felt A LOT like the real thing. I was able to work on all sorts of skating, passing, and stickhandling combos, all in the “comfort” of my own garage!

Conclusion:
This was one of the funnest, most realistic set-ups I’ve had the chance to mess around with, and I definitely recommend adding this to your Home Hockey Training Center.

If you decide to pick up the PowerSlide, I would HIGHLY recommend grabbing a few other items while you’re at it… Here’s a quick list for you:

1. Dryland Flooring Tiles or Roll-up Shooting Pad (both have HUGE surface areas)
2. A few stickhandling pucks or balls
3. Attack Triangle
4. Sweethands
5. Extreme Passer

Yes, you’ll spend a bit more upfront, but it will make your experience a lot more worth while in the long run.

Technorati Tags: Buddies, Creativity, Design Feature, Exercise Instructions, Exercises, High Quality, Hockey Coach, Hockey Coaches, Hockey Player, Innovative Hockey, Interesting Design, Powerslide Slide Board, Ramps, Skating Drills

The Extreme Passing Kit is a Great Way to Incorporate Passing into your Off-Ice Workouts

Passing is a skill that most players don’t think about working on away from the rink. The main reason they don’t think to work on passing is pretty obvious: because you need a partner to pass to, and to receive passes from… Unless, of course, you have the Extreme Passing Kit.

Overview:
The Extreme Passing Kit is a really cool skill pad & passing rebounder combo, that will let you work on multiple skills such as regular passes, touch passes, and one-time shots.

The Extreme Passing Kit comes in two different models, the One-Timer Model (which you see in this video), and the Bungee Cord Model. The only difference between the two is that the rebounder is removable in the One-Timer Model, and can be mounted onto another shooting pad, or even your dryland flooring tiles. This feature gives you a little more flexibility than you have with the Bungee Cord Model.

On the Bungee Cord Model, the rebounding bungee is mounted right onto the skill pad, making the unit completely self contained (which has it’s benefits as well, in my opinion).

Both models use the 4×8′ roll-up shooting pad (huge!), which is light weight, durable, and portable. You can easily roll it up for storage when you aren’t using it, or pack it in the car to bring it to a new dryland training location.

My Experience:
The Extreme Passing Kit comes already rolled up for you. When I first unboxed mine, it had retained the shape of being rolled up (which is to be expected), and I had to sort of “pry” it open and “reverse roll” it a bit on the ends to keep it from rolling back up on me. I let it sit out on my driveway in the hot sun for about an hour, and it flattened right out.

Once the shooting pad had flattened out, I mounted the rebounder to one end (it just clamps on), and went to town!

One thing you’ll notice about the Extreme Passing Kit is that it works really well with pretty much any type of puck. I’ve used mine with regular black pucks, FlyPucks, and Green Biscuits, all of which slide really well, and stay flat off the rebounder. In fact, the pucks stayed flat enough that I was actually able to work some one-touch passes as well (which actually surprised me a little).

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Extreme Passing Kit is definitely a worthwhile product to add to your Home Hockey Training Center. It is well built, versatile, portable, and the surface area of the skill pad is big enough to use it for shooting, stickhandling, or passing.

Technorati Tags: Buddies, Bungee Cord, Clamps, Coach, Coache, Conclusion, Defenseman, Defensive Stance, Dimensional Model, Dryland Training, Flexibility, Flooring Tiles, Hassle, Hot Sun, Incorporate, Kit Overview, Models, Puck, Real Player, Realistic Experience, Self Contained, Shape, Skates, Storage, Time Shots, Timer, Token Resistance, Training Tool, Triangle, Triangles, Workouts

Use the Attack Triangle to Mimic a Defenseman in a 1 on 1 Stance

A number of years ago, one of my coaching buddies told me he had just bought 10 Attack Triangles to use for his team. I took a look, but didn’t totally see the value. I thought it looked a little gimmicky, and it seemed like it would be a hassle to bring that many on the ice each practice.

It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I actually got the chance to use the Attack Triangle, and when I did, I liked it a lot!

The Theory
The Attack Triangle is designed to mimic a defenseman in a 1 on 1 stance. You’ve got the stick and two skates, and they’re positioned exactly where a real player would have them. The fact that it’s a 3-dimensional model makes for a more realistic experience for your players. For example, if you start your move too late, you’ll hit the the stick and lose the puck. If you don’t pull your stick back in time, it’ll get caught up in the Attack Triangle’s stick, and once again, you’ll lose the puck.

Off-Ice Training
A big part of effective stickhandling practice is just getting your reps in, plain and simple. This is where off-ice training with a tool like the Attack Triangle can come in REALLY handy. Instead of having a partner stand there, mimicking a defensman’s stance for countless reps, you just set up the Attack Triangle, and go to town. I definitely recommend getting one or two of these for your off-ice training center.

On-Ice Benefits
This training tool can also work in your favor as a coach during practices. In the past, I’ve often had a coach offer “token” resistance in a stickhandling drill, and basically stand in the way, in a defensive stance, and let players make moves around him… maybe you’ve done the same? While this method can work, it’s taking at least one coach completely out of the equation! Now instead of coaching, he’s playing “token defense.” Definitely not the best use of personnel in my opinion. Why not throw down an Attack Triangle and let your coaches be free to coach?

Conclusion
The Attack Triangle is a really good tool, with a lot of possible uses. In my mind, having one or two for your off-ice training center is a no-brainer. It will help you to develop your dekes and moves in ways that are much more realistic. On the ice, I also see many uses for the Attack Triangle. The only question is how likely are you to bring them to the rink and back every practice? If you have a situation where you can leave them safely at the rink somehow, then I’d definitely consider picking up 10-12 to use in place of cones.

Technorati Tags: Buddies, Coac, Coach, Defenseman, Defensive Stance, Dimensional Model, Hassle, Puck, Real Player, Realistic Experience, Skates, Token Resistance, Training Tool, Triangle, Triangles