#1 Reason Your Snapshot Sucks
Sometimes the truth hurts.
But if you play girls hockey, odds are that your snapshot sucks.
At every camp and training session I’ve run over the past 6 months,
we’ve worked on the snapshot.
Here are 4 reasons why we’ve been focusing on the snapshot recently:
:: Surprisingly, quite a few of the players have never even heard of
a snapshot or have never been taught how to do one. This is fine
if it’s a player in novice or atom, but a little bit shocking when I’m
working with players who are in peewee, bantam and midget.
:: Most players think a snapshot is a mini-slapshot with a shorter
backswing. It isn’t.
:: 70% or more of the goals in girls hockey are scored from the slot.
To be able to score effectively in that area, you need a quick and
hard snapshot. Wristshots and slapshots won’t help you in tight and
in traffic.
:: And even if they have been taught one before, odds are it isn’t good.
The #1 reason their snapshot sucks is that the positioning of their hands on
the stick and the force their applying on the stick isn’t right.
The major cue we use to take the snapshot to the next level is:
TRY TO BREAK YOUR STICK IN HALF (without smashing it on the ground)
When you go to the hockey store to test out new sticks, you always flex
it to see how you like it. When you do that test, you do a few things that
are critical to shooting a better snapshot (even if you’re not aware of them):
:: You slide your bottom hand further down the stick.
:: You rotate the stick forward 1/8th of the way to close the blade.
:: You get your hands away from your body.
:: You lean in and push hard through your bottom hand.
When you do those 4 things, you’ll get to see how the stick flexes.
You’re also doing 4 things that you need to do to shoot a good snapshot:
slide your bottom hand, rotate the stick, get your hands away and push
hard through the bottom hand.
There’s more to it than that obviously, but that’s a key starting point.
Please feel free to pass this message along to any friends or teammates
who might benefit from the information.
In next week’s email, I’ll cover another critical detail in hand positioning
as it relates to rotating the stick. I’ll made sure to include some pictures
next time around so that you can see exactly what I mean.
We’ll cover the rest of the snapshot technique details in person
at our next Total Female Hockey Skills Camp on Sunday April 26th.
We’ll focus on shooting, stickhandling and position-specific skills
(splitting up forwards and defensemen). US Olympic silver medalist
Megan Bozek will be helping me instruct at this camp.
All the camp details are below:
Date: Sunday April 26th
Time: 630-8pm
Location: Buckingham Arena, Toronto
Focus: 45 minutes individual puck skills (shooting & stickhandling)
and 45 minutes position specific skills (splitting up forwards and defensemen)
Level: Novice thru Midget rep players (players split into groups according to age/ability)
Cost: $55.00
We can only accept a max of 20 players for this session.
Click below to register:
We hope to see you there.
Work Hard. Dream BIG.
Your friend and coach,
Kim
Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS
Director & Founder, Total Female Hockey
