Here we will discuss how to slapshot. To get a great, full and hard slapshot, you have to follow a few simple steps and test, test, test until you get it right. Practice slapshots until you get an accurate, fast and strong slapshot. Shot from your hockey stick while standing or while skating, the slapper is an effective scoring weapon.
- Why can the hardest blows break glass, but others bounce off an ankle without pain?
- Why does a clown break through the mesh of the net sometimes, but sometimes it hits the audience?
- Why will some slapshots mark the top corner of the clubside, when others vanish across the ice?
Slapshot Basics
Basically, the way to slapshot involves the body position, the speed of the disc movement, the direction of the movement of the body, the positions of the hands, the swing back or the rope, the forward swing, the tracking of the stick and hands, body tracking, hand-eye coordination, and stick flexion are all important. There is no need to go through a checklist of all the basics of slapshot while releasing a slapshot. It will come to you quickly and naturally, with the right amount of practice.
Stay with that. It’s a fun shot. Don’t expect your slapshot to have a lot of speed, precision, or strength when you start to attempt the hardest hit in ice hockey, and don’t expect to be able to lift the puck initially. Just focus first on the hardness of the slap, the mechanics of the shot, and the replay.
Slapshot speed
Make the slapper’s decision, backswing, and forward swing happen quickly because swing speed can catch goalies off guard, and also because the speed of a slapshot swing transfers to the speed of the puck. The fast speed of the slapshot makes a hard slapshot.
Mighty slapshot
The power of your stroke will come from the distance traveled by your hockey stick swing, the force and forward motion that drives it, the speed of your swing, the connection of the hockey stick blade to the puck. and the location of the puck when the blade hits it.
You don’t want your arm or pole to flex too much when hitting the puck. Flex equals absorption, which means reduced strength or power. For a hard slapshot, you’ll want to keep your lower arm stiff on the downswing because you’re going to slap one inch to one foot of ice in front of the puck, depending on how strong you are. This part of the shot puts a lot of pressure on the arm and the hockey stick. The tension on the hockey stick will cause the shaft of the hockey stick to flex slightly to spring load the puck. If you’re strong enough, you can hit the ice more before the puck to flex the club more for a stronger hit.
The further your hockey stick travels (within the optimal distance) before hitting the puck, the more time you have for your swing to pick up speed before impact. That is why a full swing is necessary. An excessive swing (outside the optimal distance) can actually slow down your swing and negatively affect your slapshots, just like a partial swing. You need a good quick swing, so pull the lever back and up to be able to swing from as high as possible without overdoing it and losing your balance. The bottom hand should go up to the shoulder or a little higher. This is the wind for a full slapshot.
If you are skating forward with the puck, or moving toward a stationary or past puck, you are forcibly adding forward motion (momentum) behind your slapshot, so moving into a slapshot should produce a harder shot than slapshots of foot. Some parts of your stick blade will not send the puck to its destination as fast and hard as possible. The tip of the blade will flex greatly on impact, weakening the shot and causing the puck to go in an unwanted direction. The heel of the blade will make a good rigid connection to the disc, but it is not an ideal contact to lift the disc or to better direct it towards its target. The middle of the blade of your hockey stick is the sweet spot where you will have the correct amount of flex for your whip, aim, height control, and strength.
If you try to slapshot hard and stop your swing where or near where it meets the puck, you will lose power and precision. Follow with your arms and club so that the forward swing propels your body toward the target and the blade of the club ends up pointing at the target. If you slap while leaning back, standing, or off balance, you won’t throw your weight on the puck and therefore sacrifice power.
If you stay still when shooting, you will have more time to aim, but you will lack forward body momentum to make your slapshot more difficult. If your slapshot moves along the ice, the friction of the ice will slow down the puck. Shoot in the air for a faster, stronger shot.
Body position
The position of the lower hand on the hockey stick is the key to a hard slapshot, so you should place that hand more than halfway down the axis of your hockey stick. Your top hand should stay at the top of your suit.
A puck will fly faster and more accurately if the body is slightly to the side of the target when shooting. This is difficult in the moving plane because it is difficult to move on the ice sideways. Therefore, it is best to skate to the puck at an angle before releasing the blow. If it is a foot slap, this is not a problem, you will already be standing slightly sideways to the target. If you’re skating with the puck, and the puck is to the side and slightly ahead of your lower hand, without stopping, run your wind while looking towards the target and realizing that this won’t be your hardest slap.
Take a look at the disk to align it. Your torso will twist slightly at the hips and the shoulder of the upper hand will move slightly forward and down toward the puck as you lift your lower hand to make your club more or less parallel to the ice. At this point in the slapshot move, your eyes should be on the target. As you lower the club, transfer your weight to the skate on the side of your upper hand (the front foot closest to the net or target), throwing your weight on the shot toward the target. A slight movement of the wrists will lift the disc as the closed blade opens on the disc and then partially closes again on tracking.
Slapshot Impact
While slightly bent at the hips, and with your weight on, and moving past your front skate, your rear foot will lift off the ice because your weight has pushed forward violently. Prepare to keep your balance so you don’t fall.
The blade of your hockey stick will hit the ice an inch to a foot before the puck and slightly hollow out the puck in its curve briefly before a flat follow that will keep the puck low, or a small flick of the wrist that will. lift the disc. This cupping is possible thanks to its forward inclination. A stiff forearm allows you to push through that slap on the ice, flexing the shaft of your hockey stick, whipping the puck in the desired direction. The hardest hit will come from hitting the ice further before the puck, so the stronger you are, the more you can flex the club.
Finish on your front skateboard, leaning over your front knee, facing the target with the hockey stick blade pointed at the target. If the blade of the hockey stick remains open (curved skyward) on impact, only the bottom line of the blade will impact the puck. The cutting motion will not hit hard because most of the hard part of the blade will slide under the blade instead of pushing it harder.
The disc
If the puck is too far away, you won’t get as much power because you will have to reach for it and lower your leverage. If the puck is too close to you, it will push the club in and the shot will come off the toe and be weak.