Hockey Tips: Improve Stick Handling

Having a great feel for the puck and quick hands are two of the most important skills that any hockey player needs to have success. Here are some drills that can help you develop both of these skills.

Blind-Handling

There are several ways to perform this drill. The first one is to turn out the lights and just stickhandle with a smart ball or a golf ball. This drill forces the player to rely on their feel of the ball instead of looking down at the ball. If you look down, you won't be able to see the ball so you should look up to practice keeping your head up.

Quick Feet Drill

Hockey is a sport in which you are always multi-tasking. Rarely are you standing still stick-handling, so this drill is important for hockey players. Begin to handle the puck, and then quickly move your feet up and down. For an even more difficult drill, move your feet around and move in a circle while keeping the puck under control.

PVC Pipe Drill

Take a piece of PVC pipe, or a toilet paper tube, and slide it on the shaft of the stick. Use your bottom hand to grip the PVP pipe on the stick. This will help develop top hand control, top hand strength, and a loose bottom hand. The PVC will freely slide up and down the stick as you stick handle.

Obstacle Course

Take any random objectsthat you can find around the house. Set them up as creatively as you want-the more creative you get the better! Some examples are:

Putting a stick on a crate

Large dumbbells that a ball can fit through

Small cones

Maneuver around these objects any way you please. This will improve your ability to stick handle in a tight space and move out of space quick.

Bounce Drill

This is probably the simplest of all the drills. Find a buddy or a wall that has some give to it. Quickly tap the ball back and forth, gradually increasing the speed as you go along. This will make your hands much softer and you will be able to catch passes with ease instead of having those passes bouncing off your stick.

Balance Board Drill

Take 2 pieces of 2x4 from around the garage. Place them down so they are in the shape of an X. Stand on the top board and begin to stickhandle. This improves balance and dexterity while working the core. After performing this drill for about a minute, your abdominal area will be extremely tired. This is a drill that works on 2 of the most necessary skills a hockey player needs; balance and puck handling. Another drill that helps balance is the box drill. Step up and down from the box as you stick handle. This will improve your ability to multi-task and improve balance.

Puck Lines

Line up 10 pucks about a foot apart. Now, there are many different things that you can do.

- Push the puck out to the cone, and do a quick toe-drag to pull it back. This simulates you getting the defenseman to go for the puck then quickly pulling it back.

- Quickly stick handle through the cones any way you like. You can toe drag through or quickly dribble through the pucks.

Don't forget to be creative! As you do these drills, you may think of inventive twists that you can one day share with hockey players everywhere.