Tips & Tricks To Score More Goals
Every player wants to score more goals. In fact when I ask the players that come to our hockey camp each summer how their season went, most answer by telling me how many goals they scored. And then the next thing they say is, "and I'm going to score even more next season!"
That's awesome! But when I ask them how they are going to score more next season, I often get a reply that starts with a shrug of the shoulders, the head goes down, a little kick of the sneakers on the floor and then the famous teenager answer that most parents hear every day: "I don't know."
Here are five great ways to score more goals next season, and each should be part of your off-season training program.
Improve Your Shot. The best goal scorers that I played with way back in high school, all the way through college, the Olympics and in the NHL could all shoot the puck. Some could really fire it, so hard in fact that some goaltenders were intimidated when these players came down the ice and wound up to take a slap shot . . . talk about a scoring advantage! But even those who couldn't shoot as hard, could shoot with laser accuracy. So how do you improve your shot? Hard work. Keep practicing shooting the puck in your basement, garage, backyard and anywhere you have a chance.
As you move forward with your shot training process, it is important that you keep the following three factors in mind:
1) A quick release is the most effective element, try to shoot the puck off the pass as much as possible.
2) Focus on your accuracy, if you don't hit the net, you will not score goals, concentrate on putting the puck on the 4 foot by 6 foot square.
3) Shooting velocity will help you improve your scoring success. Work on building your wrist & forearm strength to increase your shooting speed.
Anticipate the play. At our camps we like to talk about players going to where the puck will be, not where it is. The great goal scorers have a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and that all comes with good hockey intelligence. Keep watching your favorite goal scorers and pay attention to how they read the play. Players can learn a lot from watching hockey and becoming students of the game.
Hit the net. This seems obvious, but it still amazes me how many times players have a chance to score and simply miss the net! Much of the time this is because they don't have their head up and they aren't taking that extra split second to pick out a target. One of the skills we preach a lot about at our summer camps is keeping your head up. Players who keep their head up and know where they are on the ice, where the goalie is, and where their target is, are going to score more goals!
Move your feet. A great goalie that I played with for many years once told me that a sure sign a player is going shoot is when he stops moving his feet. Keep moving your feet to get to where you need to be, and then with your head up, make the decision to shoot or deke, but make the decision while moving your feet.
Stay close to the crease. It's amazing to me how many goals are scored from just outside the crease. Great goal scorers know they need to get to the net, and that a ton of goals can be scored on that quick tap-in rebound. With the style of goaltender play in today's game, when you are in tight, shoot high!
Keep working on your skills and mastering these tips to scoring more goals! At Heartland Hockey Camp we want you to succeed and can help take your game to the next level. Click here for information about 2018 summer camp dates and availability each week as we fill up fast! (And usually sell out!)