The Ultimate Goalie Fixes Some of the Issues with Other Canvas Targeting Systems

If you’ve been following me over the past couple of years, you probably know I’m a huge believer in developing your snipes both on and off the ice. One of the main tools I’ve recommended and used over the past 20 years has been the Shooter Tutor, which is basically a canvas goalie with holes cut out in the corners and five-hole.

Shooter Tutor Overview:
The Shooter Tutor is a fantastic product, and I’ve used it myself for a number of different reasons:

• It’s light weight, and easy to transport
• It’s durable
• It gives “dead” rebounds, which are more realistic in my opinion
• It’s fun to work with!

Shooter Tutor Design Flaws
As good as the Shooter Tutor has been for me over the past 20 years, there are also a few drawbacks to be aware of:

• The bungees are exposed, and will break if hit by pucks enough times (not a question of “if,” but “when”…)
• It can be a pain to fish the pucks out of the net

Ultimate Goalie vs Shooter Tutor
The Ultimate Goalie has improved on the idea of the Shooter Tutor, correcting some of the “design flaws,” while keeping all of the characteristics that have made the Shooter Tutor a staple in my set of coaching tools.

Here’s a quick run-down on what makes the Ultimate Goalie such a great product:

• NO BUNGEES EXPOSED – the Ultimate Goalie extended the canvas to wrap around the posts, keeping the bungees hidden behind the posts and crossbar
• EASY TO GATHER PUCKS – the pull-string lifts up the bottom foot of the net, and makes for quick and easy puck gathering
• Light-weight and portable – pack it up and bring it to the rink with you… no sweat!
• Durable material
• “Dead (realistic) rebounds”

One Potential Design Flaw:
I love the Ultimate Goalie, but in all fairness, I had to mention one potential design flaw. The pulley cord is a little on the thin side. When I took it out for practice, one of our players caught a skate on it, and sliced through the rope. I tied it all back together, no problem… but a more durable rope would make more sense on this type of product.

Conclusion:
All in all, the Ultimate Goalie is an awesome product, and one that I definitely recommend. I use it myself both on and off the ice, and the bungees haven’t begun to fray at all! And if you’re careful not to skate over the pulley cord, you shouldn’t have any problems whatsoever.

Technorati Tags: Believer, Bungees, Canvas, Coaching Tools, Design Flaw, Design Flaws, Different Reasons, Durable Material, Fairness, Holes, Pulley, Rebounds, Rope, Shooter, Snipes, Staple, Targeting System, Targeting Systems, Thin Side, Tutor

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 3 Shooter, Rebound and Recovery Drill is a great way for players to work on their shots, while goalies work on their movement!

This is a great, simple drill. It allows your shooters to work on their shots while the goalie works on his/her movement around the crease, angles and rebound recovery. You can do the following variations to mix up this drill as well:

1. Move the shooters closer or farther away
2. Activate shooters 2 and 3 to play the rebounds if applicable
3. Add a 4th player that passes the puck from the corner to the shooters

I hope you enjoy the drill.

Dennis Hands

Technorati Tags: Angles, Crease, Puck, Rebound, Rebounds, Shooter, Shooters, Variations

Here’s a great half-ice drill that works on many aspects of the goaltender’s game

The 3 Cone Rebound Drill will work on stopping the puck from outside shots, rebound control, recovering, covering the puck, handling rebounds and more.

The second variation I go through will force the goaltender to move much more before the 1st shot is taken. Coaches need to make to spread out your shooters so your goaltender can work on his/her objectives in the drill effectively.

Goalie’s Objectives:

1. Stop the Puck!
2. Rebound Control
3. Proper Recovery

I hope you enjoy. Let us know how it works out!

Best Regards,
Hands

Technorati Tags: Control, Game, Goaltender, Proper Recovery, Puck, Rebound, Rebounds, Shooters, Variation

During the course of a practice, it is not uncommon for players to get uninterested and become detached, especially at younger ages while working on boring skills like technical skating. Adding Hockey Shooting Drills into the mix is a wonderful way to liven up your practice and keep your players motivated and up beat. High tempo shooting drills can also help spark some competition and mentally rejuvenate your players during longer practices.

When working with Hockey Shooting Drills, I try to implement a few key points that help my players to get the most benefit possible:

1. Make sure your players keep their feet in motion while shooting, this is called shooting in stride. Many players slow down and glide just before shooting, not only does this affirm to the goalie that a shot is forthcoming, but it also gives the backchecker a chance to get a stick on the shooter and muck up the shot. Shooting in stride is a great custom to get in to!

2. Follow up on rebounds. Coach your players to take their shot, then drive home any rebound. Again, this constructs a good habit that will be useful in games!

3. Add a shot at the end of a skating drill. You can entirely change a skating drill in the mind of a youngster by putting a shot to the end of it, motivating him or her to practice all kinds of skills he or she doesn’t really like. I use this a lot when working on backward skating with the really young kids.

4. Designate what types of shots to use. It is tempting for players to walk the puck all the way in and deke. There is a time and a place for dekes, but most shots in games will not be dekes. Sometimes its helpful to clearly spell out what type of shot you’d like your players to focus on, and where you’d like to see the shot come from. This will guarantee that players are adequately developing a wide range of skills around the net.

As you progress through the season, you’ll get a good feel for your team, and you’ll be able to acknowledge when they need some good Hockey Shooting Drills to get them revved back up again. Give these easy pointers a try and see how it goes in your next practice!

Technorati Tags: Benefit, Coach, Constructs, Dekes, Feet In Motion, Focus, Games, Good Habit, Guarantee, Hockey Drills, Hockey Shooting Drills, Muck, Puck, Rebound, Rebounds, Shooter, Tempo, Time And A Place, Wonderful Way, Young Kids, Youngster