Smart Hockey Stickhandling Ball a Must

Every hockey player should have at least one smart hockey stickhandling ball in his or her hockey bag. In fact, I carry about 10 of them in my coaching bag wherever I go. They slide well on most surfaces, don’t bounce out of control, and dramatically increase hand speed and coordination. The smart hockey stickhandling ball, commonly referred to as a Swedish Stickhandling ball, does not feel exactly like a puck. However an argument can be made that training with this ball can actually increase hand speed and stick skills more than just using a puck.

 Over-speed Training:

1. In the 1970’s Russian hockey coaches introduced over-speed training into hockey.  They realized that by forcing muscles to move faster than normal, neuromuscular pathways opened up and increased an athlete’s speed.  How did they do this?  They tied a rope to the back of a truck, and the other end to the player’s waist.  By increasing the speed of the truck, it forced the athlete to keep up.  Today you can spend $250’000 on a skatemill that will uses a series of ropes and harnesses to protect a player from the inevitable dangers of the truck and rope system.
2. Stickhandling drills follow the same principle.  The round edges of the Smart Hockey Stickhandling ball, and similar weight of a puck allow a player to roll his/her stick blade over the ball even quicker than over the right angle of a puck’s edge.  The speed and fluidity of the motion is quite impressive, and very gratifying for a player.  It’s as if the ball is more forgiving of a player’s glitches in their stickhandling skills.

Whether you use this stickhandling ball as a 5 minute warm up prior to a game, or run 60 minute stickhandling sessions off ice, the benefits of off ice stickhandling training will become obvious, quite quickly.  I highly recommend that every player, from novice to pro, have access to this great training tool.  To purchase on Amazon simply click: Smart Hockey Smarthockey Stickhandling & Shooting Hockey Training Ball (in Assorted Colors). These balls often sell for approximately $13.99 in a store, so $9.99 through Amazon is a fair price.