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

Awesome Hockey Forechecking Drill that Works on Multiple Game Situations

I’ve been using this Hockey Forechecking Drill in my practices, and it has worked really well for my team. The thing I really like about it, is that it allows you to work on a lot of different stuff at once. Obviously, the main focus is forechecking, but you’re also working on D-Zone Coverage, and Breakouts as well.

Here’s how the drill works:

• 5 forecheckers start at center ice
• 5 defenders at each end
• Coach dumps puck in, defenders attempt to break out, or play d-zone coverage, depending on how quickly the forecheckers get in
• Forecheckers execute whichever forechecking system the coach designates
• Play continues until defending team breaks out, or until the forecheckers score
• If defending team breaks out, forecheckers peel off as soon as puck crosses blue line. After breaking out, the defenders cross the red line, dump it in, and become the NEW forecheckers at the other end.
• If the forechecking team scores, coach blows two quick whistles to kill the play, then dumps a new puck into the far end. Defending team hustles to the far end to become the NEW forecheckers.

Give this one a go – I think you’ll get some good usage out of it!

CLICK HERE for the Full Explanation of the Perpetual Forecheck Drill, including Printout and Importable Versions!

Technorati Tags: Breakouts, Center Ice, Coach, D Zone, Defending Team, Forechecking, Game Situations, Red Line, Score, Team Scores, Whistles, Zone Coverage

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

Here’s a Fantastic Hockey Warm-up Drill with a Five-Phase Progression!

The 4 Blueline Warm-up is part of the Scott Fukami drill collections available through DrillDraw. If you already own DrillDraw, you should really take a look at these. They’re phenomenal. This drill has 5 phases, or sequences. Here’s what they look like:

PHASE 1:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.

On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1) for a shot on the (G).

Stretch Pass : see Seq. # 2.

PHASE 2:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.

Stretch Pass :

On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and continues to the blueline. (3) makes a stretch pass to (1) on the opposite blueline for a shot on the (G).

Full-circle Stretch Pass : see Seq. # 3.

PHASE 3:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.
Full-circle Stretch Pass : (only one side shown)

On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and continues full-circle to the opposite blueline. (3) makes a stretch pass to (1) on the opposite blueline for a shot on the (G).

Double Regroup Stretch Pass : see Seq. # 4.

PHASE 4:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.

Double Regroup Stretch Pass : (only one side shown)

On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and continues full-circle to the opposite blueline. (1) turns to the boards. (3) makes a stretch pass to (1) for a shot on the (G).

PHASE 5:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.

Mohawk Turn Stretch Pass : (only one side shown)

On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and makes a mohawk turn to the boards. (3) makes a cross-ice pass to (2). (2) makes a stretch pass to (1) on the opposite blueline for a shot on the (G).

Enjoy!!

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the 4 Blueline Warm-up Drill

Technorati Tags: 3 Phase, Collections, Fukami, Full Circle, Hockey Drill, Mohawk, Phase 1, Phase 4, Phase 5, Seq, Sequences, Skates, Time Stretch, Whistle

A few Offensive Zone Faceoff options that have worked well for me in the past

Here are a few of my favorite offensive zone faceoff options. Remember, it is up to the centerman to make sure everyone is ready, and on the same page before the puck is dropped. I recommend naming your faceoff plays so the communication is quick and simple before the draw.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Faceoff, Offensive Zone, Options, Puck