Hockey Page | Ray's Home Page | E-Mail Me |
This page is under construction.The best way to acquire the skills needed to skate and play hockey is to take one-on-one lessons from a USA Hockey certified coach. The next best method is to sign up for hockey clinics where several coaches divide their time with many students. Everybody runs through various drills, from passing, to stick-handling, to shooting. The final way is to buy videos that show you what you need to be able to do, and how to do it.
I have purchased several hockey-related videos and some are better than others in terms of explaining not just what you need to do, but how to do it correctly. Following is my opinion on the merits of each video.
Laura Stamm's Power Skating
Since skating is 80-90% of playing hockey, it is vital that you learn to do it well, without thinking about it constantly. Laura Stamm has been teaching NHL hockey players how to skate more effectively since the 1970's and the reason for that is that the techniques she teaches work very well. I got a lot from this video that even my personal coach did not teach me. I liked the video so much that I attended one of her 3-day clinics. If you are new to skating, or have skated for awhile, I highly recommend this video (and the book of the same name).
USA Hockey DVDs
There are actually two DVDs inthe set: Off-ice Training, and Skills and Drills. Both are narrated by Mike "Doc" Emrick, who does the play-by-play for NHL games (formerly for the Devils, most recently for NBC).
Off-Ice Training
Exercises to develope the muscles needed for hockey are typically not the ones you normally perform when you go to the gym. Big muscles are not necessarily what you are after. Muscles that can perform at maximum output for relatively short periods of time are what is needed in hockey. This video does a good job of showing you what exercises will give you the most bang for the buck when you work out. It shows the exercises which build up your skating muscles, which ones are good for shooting power, and which ones provide the balance training needed to function on skates.
Skills and Drills
I found this DVD to be below average in the area of production and editing. The way the material is presented suggests that you already know how to do these things, and this is merely a refresher course.
Wogtech WGoaltending DVD Series
There are three volumes in the series, with a fourth in final editing which should be available shortly. I bought all three available volumes and decided not to open two of them until I was satisfied that they were worth the $59.95 per volume cost. I figured if the first one was stinker, I could at least return two unopened for a refund. After watching volume 1 however, I decided they were a keeper. I have listed each volume along with the lessons on each.
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
These are excellent videos for someone looking to learn or improve goal tending skills. I liked this DVD series very much and found it to be extremely good at teaching and reinforcing.
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