Shooting Lessons

348% Average Increase in Low Wrist Shot Accuracy with the JCHD Shooting Curriculum - The Why:

Youth players and junior hockey players love to shoot high.  In fact, I've discovered that most don't even know how to shoot low.  They enjoy seeing the "top shelf snipe" and the "bar down" buzz word every youth player yells out.  However, when you really understand the essence of goal scoring, you realize that the statistical probabilities to increase goal scoring and point production are to shoot low.  Are most NHL goals scored high or low?  The best players in the world figured this out.  Logic should tell you it's time for you to figure it out too.

Of course there is a time and place to snipe it top shelf, I'm not here to debate that.  However, the statistical probabilities of how to increase your scoring percentages and increase your point production go far behind always wanting the highlight reel top shelf goal.  On the game sheet box score and the league stat website, there is no column that says where or how a player scored their goal.  All there is is a tally; a number.  Knowing this, I encourage you to do an exercise for yourself or for your son/daughter.

JCHD Brain Scoring Exercise:  Ask the following questions and answer it within 1-2 second:

Where should you shoot coming down the left side slot?

Where should you shoot coming down the right side slot?

Where should you shoot in the middle of the slot?

Where should you shoot from the high slot?  High slot left?  High slot right?

Where should you shoot from the perimeter?  Perimeter left, middle, and right?

Where should you shoot in-tight?

If you, your son/daughter cannot answer these questions within a couple seconds, then how are you able to make a proper split second decision in a game to increase their scoring and point production?  The answer is - you aren't.  Essentially you are just throwing it at the net (anywhere), much like closing you eyes and just hoping for the best.  Or you are relying on the same shot over and over and over again; your default shot, which for the vast majority of players is high glove.  And depending on the players hand and angle of the net, high glove can turn out to be the lowest scoring percentage opportunity in a particular moment, yet it remains the default shot for most players.  This is why you are not scoring more goals.  ELITE GOAL SCORERS KNOW THEIR TOP 2 HIGHEST SCORING PROBABILITY CHANCES DEPENDING ON THE ANGLE OF ATTACK TO THE NET BEFORE THEY EVEN GET THE PUCK ON THEIR STICK.  And then they decide which of the two options to shoot at, which can be done in a split second. This is why they score far more goals than anyone else.  They understand probabilities.

Let's assume you are ahead of the curve and now understand probabilities.  Unfortunately this doesn't mean you are ready to set records.  If you understand probabilities but you can't hit the broad side of a barn, common sense says you are still doomed.  You need to train accuracy and velocity.  The older you get, the better the goalies become, the smaller the scoring windows are, and the less time and space you have to release a shot.  So training your accuracy, power, and your mind is essential.  Becoming proficient at every shot technique at every angle is required.  If you do that, the results will compound - you will increase your goal scoring and become a point producing machine.

Hockey IQ - The Shot Selection & Shift Relationship

Let's talk about a hockey shift.  It's fair to say the average shift length is 45-50 seconds.  Allow me to create a hockey shift and lets assume you are a forward. 

Shift A:  Your coach puts you on the ice for a neutral zone faceoff.  The good graces of this shift you win the draw, your defenseman gains puck possession, regroup the forwards, passes up to you and you attack the offensive zone and gain entry 8 seconds into your shift.  You cut to the middle above the hashmarks and shoot high glove from way outside.  The goalie can see it clear as day and 99/100 he is going to glove it, which he does and there is a whistle.  10 seconds of the shift gone, however your team has an offensive zone faceoff which is still good.  You lose the 50/50 faceoff, the other team gains possession, breaks it out, and skates 200 feet down into your zone (+8 seconds).  You are forced to backcheck 200ft and then play defensive zone coverage.  This alone could end your shift.  However, lets assume that after 20 seconds of defensive zone coverage, your defenseman gain puck possession and begin transitioning up ice (total shift time is now 38 seconds), by the time you get to the redline you are at the 45 second mark of your shift.  You are tired but greedy, you haven't had any offensive zone time and you want to make a play, so you gain the offensive zone down the left side wall (are a left handed shot) and shoot high glove again, miss the net, and the puck wraps around glass and boards, breaking out the other team who are fast attacking your defenseman.  Now you are on the back check stuck on the ice skating another 200 ft back into your defensive zone approaching 60 seconds on your shift.  In the eyes of your coach, not a productive shift.  You gave the other team 2 rushes up the ice during your shift because you decided to shoot high glove.  By the way, 69% of goals are scored off the rush, so you just tilted the odds into your opponents hands due to your shot selection of high glove at bad angles, giving the other team higher scoring opportunities on rushes, you have now been on the ice for over 60 seconds, skated 800-1,000 ft, and are stuck in the defensive zone completely out of gas.  That was 1 shift.  Imagine you made the same shot selection in 4 of your 12 shifts of the game (the other 8 shifts you didn't have a shot).  Odds are, you will be on the ice for at least one goal against.  You blame your defenseman for getting scored on but unbeknownst to you, I can trace it back to being your fault for poor shot selection.  Imagine you played hockey like this over the course of a 60 game season and were completely oblivious.  Yikes.

Now, same scenario, but you decide to take a different shot selection.  

Shift B:  Your coach puts you on the ice for a neutral zone faceoff.  The good graces of this shift you win the draw, your defenseman gain puck possession, regroup the forwards, passes up to you and you attack the offensive zone and gain entry 8 seconds into your shift.  You cut to the middle and shoot low blocker (away from the goalie's glove).  The goalie makes a good save and deflects the rebound into the corner.  Your teammate gets puck retrieval and now your team has puck possession, in the offensive zone with fresh legs less than 15 seconds into your shift.  You get the cycle going, snap it low to high to your defenseman who walks the blue line and shoots a hard low shot through traffic.  The goalie makes a pad save and is unable to get a whistle since it is away from his glove, keeping the play alive for your offensive zone shift.  The goalie leaves a juicy rebound backdoor where you are attacking the net but their defenseman makes a good play and clears it to the corner before you could get the rebound.  Your speed guides you into the corner to retrieve the puck, you pass it low to high to your defenseman who walks the blueline once again but passes back to you as you crept up the wall, you roll off the half wall into the high slot and shoot low blocker once again.  One of two things happen, either you score directly or the goalie leaves a rebound and your teammate taps it in.  Either way, you are on the stat sheet.  A 40 second shift of all offensive zone time because your initial shot selection was low, away from his glove, which extended offensive zone time early in your shift with lots of energy in your tank, leading to grade A opportunities, and eventually resulted in a goal or assist for you.

Lets assume this shift choice between shift A and B occurs 4 out of 12 shifts in a game.  Shift A you get scored on because of the ripple effects of your shot selection.  Shift B you score goals or generate points because of your shot selection.  Now add that up over a 60 game season.  I think you catch my drift at this point.

The player who doesn't know the rhyme nor reason to their shot selection will be minus in the plus/minus category for being on the ice for more goals scored against than goals scored for your team.  Over the course of the season you will very likely be scoring less than 0.5 or 0.25 points per game.  However, if you learn to play like Shift B and become a player who understands shot selection and the ripple effect of the shift as a result, then naturally you will start producing more points than you have ever produced in your life.  It's the law of probability.

For a defenseman, it's their ability to walk the offensive blue line and ensure a powerful accurate shot which in the best case scenario results in a goal, in the alternative scenario creates a rebound opportunity for the forwards at the net to score (which is an assist for the defenseman who shot the puck), or in the worst case scenario it keeps the play alive in the zone, not allowing a whistle for a tired opponent to change lines, which provides the chance for another in-zone scoring opportunity to occur.

This philosophy and training program is how I have developed players into league scoring champions, league point champions, school record breakers, team champions, league all-stars, Junior, NCAA and professional hockey players.