Many parents wonder how to teach a child to shoot a hockey puck. The only way is to help them develop shooting and stick handling skills, which can be done in many ways. You may want to do some drills with your child as they learn how to handle the puck.
In this blog post, I will explain to you the proper steps on how to teach a kid to shoot a hockey puck? You will need to focus on fundamentals to do it perfectly.
Just in case you’re a totally new hockey parent, let’s just quickly iron out a few terms that will be coming up in this article.
What Is a Hockey Puck?
A hockey puck is a disk made of vulcanized rubber with dimples in it. It’s used on an ice rink to play the game of hockey. It’s that black disk thing you see kids shoot when they’re playing.
What Are the Parts of a Hockey Puck?
The puck consists of a blade and two rims. The blade is the bottom part that sits on the ice to go in a straight line across the ice. The rims are both curved upward slightly to help balance the blade when it’s spinning and going at high speeds.
Without those curves on top, the hockey puck would be nearly impossible to control or shoot because there is no way for it to spin without flipping over backward.
OK, so now we know a little more about the hockey puck, let’s move on.
How Do You Teach a Kid to Shoot a Hockey Puck?
So now that you know what exactly is a hockey puck, how do you start teaching your child how they should learn how to shoot one? First, I will briefly explain some drills that you can do to help your kid learn a few of the shooting tricks.
Step 1: Have your child get comfortable with the puck by having them practice some stick handling and dribbling.
Step 2: Show your child how to properly hold a hockey stick, allowing them to feel the proper grip when holding it. Once they get the hang of that, have them work on their hand-eye coordination by shooting at a target. Again, tell them not to use any force or power behind their shot; all they need is accuracy to do this step well.
Step 3: Put your kid on the ice during an off-season training camp so that they can start getting familiar with how a real game feels like and what skills will help them do better in hockey games. Have them shoot as much as possible while they are skating.
Step 4: Have your child shoot at a target while they are walking. To gain more accuracy, it’s best to have them walk backward and shoot so that they don’t have any distractions in front of them.
Step 5: Once your kid has learned how to do all of the previous steps well, it’s now time for them to learn how actually to shoot with power! This step can be done outside on an open grass area or inside if you don’t want snow everywhere.
The idea here is for kids to practice shooting with speed by pushing away from the ground, not just using their arms or hands; this will also help develop leg strength and speed.
Step 6: Once your child is comfortable shooting a puck while moving, it’s time for them to learn how to stop a puck.
If you were coaching your kid, what would you tell them to do? That’s right! Have them stand still and then move the hockey stick in the opposite direction of where they’re going.
You don’t want kids doing this with high speed or power until they have fully learned how to do it at slower speeds; otherwise, they may get injured when trying to use too much force on the ice.
Drills To Improve Shooting a Hockey Puck
Primary Drill
In Primary Drill, adjust the height of the shooting pad so that it’s challenging but not too easy. This will make your child practice their technique without making him feel like they cannot perform a drill successfully.
Have them take a few shots at this height and time yourself until they shoot 10 successful shots while doing it independently with a basic drill. Once 10 shots are made properly, tell them to come back to you for feedback and have them see if they can do better than before.
Once your kid has mastered the basic shooting skills, you may want to introduce more advanced ones later on in their career as an ice hockey player. Keep practicing these drills regularly so that kids get accustomed to what they need to do to win.
4-Puck Drill
This is an advanced shooting drill that you may want to try once your kid has gotten comfortable with the 3-Puck Drill. Have them start by shooting at a target while there are 4 hockey pucks in front of them; it’s recommended that they begin from a closer distance and work their way back so that they can get used to handling multiple shots at once.
Breaking a Plate Drill
This is a good drill to teach kids how to shoot in an open area properly. Take two hockey plates and place them apart by 4 feet from each other; have your kid take a shot at the first plate before shooting at the second one. This will give them more time to aim and make sure they’re hitting their target.
Ball Toe Tap Drill
This is a great drill for kids trying to find their footing when shooting at the plate. Have them start by aiming at tapping the center of the hockey puck before shooting it into the target.
Speed Shooting Drill
Do this drill with your kid facing a wall and walking backward while they shoot from both sides – left and right hand. This will help improve their coordination in shooting where they don’t have time to think about it when going quickly; just do it automatically.
Round The Clock Drill
This is a great shooting drill to teach your kid how to shoot at different positions. Have them start by shooting around the clock; this means that they should be facing each time zone, but their angle will differ for each place on the clock.
You can do this with someone else or alone, depending on what you want from your child and if you’re available to help them practice more!
1-Goalie Drill
This is an advanced shooting drill recommended for kids who have fully mastered all of the other drills listed here. Line up a goalie in front of one goal with hockey pucks and have your kid take shots at them while they move back and forth; let them try to add a variety of shots and change their shot.
How to Raise the Puck and Improve Your Accuracy?
There are many different skills involved in playing hockey, but you should never forget to work on the accuracy of your shots. Since hockey pucks can be very slippery, it will be hard for a young player to learn how to handle one without dropping or shooting it poorly.
Get them familiarized with the puck to feel more confident when handling it and accepting feedback as they progress. Have them grab the puck and hold it close while using their gloved hand; this gives them better control over the grip and elevation of the puck so that they can get used to smooth out any imperfections in their grip.
Learning how to dribble and practice it frequently is a good way to learn how to shoot again.
4-7-year-old hockey players tend not to be able to bounce the puck off of their stick because they’re too small, so you can try bouncing the puck off of your kid’s stick at different angles for them until they get used to doing it and try teaching them how to do it within themselves.
This will help improve their accuracy and let them know that they can shoot from any angle as long as they execute properly. You should encourage them when shooting pucks into nets or targets – don’t be discouraged if they miss some shots! Everyone makes mistakes; all that matters is what we learn from those mistakes.
Learn to transfer body weight to increase the power in your shots. The key is to keep your upper body stable by maintaining body positioning and transfer weight from one foot to another; this will help you maneuver more easily when shooting and give you better accuracy. Try bodyweight squat jump.
How Do You Teach a Child to Take a Wrist Shot?
If a child is having trouble with their wrist shots, they should be lined up to the face of the net at around one stride away. Have them bend their knees while in this position to lower their body weight and shoot more effectively; this will also help with accuracy and power if they are doing it right!
To take a wrist shot properly, have your kid raise their stick perpendicular toward the ice as well as keeping their hands close together. This will give them proper elevation for when they shoot and control over how to place where they want the puck to go.
You can improve accuracy by teaching kids how to keep both feet stationary when shooting instead of only focusing on one foot since it will improve their control over the puck.
Once they are comfortable with both feet, have them try to take a shot using just one foot; this will help them understand how much power and control they can achieve through different complex techniques.
How To Shoot In Stride?
To shoot in stride, your kid must have the puck in front of their body and swing one foot outwards as they go into shooting position. To prepare for this technique, you should teach them to bring the puck up to their face so that they can see where they need to aim – this will help them learn how it feels like before taking a real shot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a certain height or ability to skate to shoot?
No. As long as you’re comfortable with your stick and follow the instructions, you’ll be fine!
How do I know if I am ready for this technique? Am I doing it right?
If you feel any discomfort while shooting or have trouble keeping the puck on your stick, then don’t force it; keep practicing until you get better at it. You should notice progress if you are constantly trying to challenge yourself!
Is there an easier way to learn how to shoot a puck?
Yes, I’m sorry, but there is no other method of teaching that’s simpler than this. Coaches have taught this technique for years, and they found out that it was the most effective way. So don’t be discouraged if you can’t do it at first! Keep practicing and challenge yourself with harder shots until you get comfortable with your stick!
Conclusion
Shooting a puck is as easy as pie if you follow these instructions! After mastering this technique, you’ll be able to make crazy shots that will impress anyone from your friends to the school principal!
Do let us know your experience of teaching your kids how to shoot a hockey puck in the comments below.
