I can't hit the ball...

AndyGaut 7
ragyrascal 5
The.Rampage.Rado 5
IRN BRU 5
foozbear 5
Rutter 5
JiMMM 4
shepdogg 4
Bulsara 4
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[floccinauci]

It might sound ridiculous, but I've been playing hockey for the past 7 years and have never hit a ball in a game.  It's not been a problem, because I have worked on my sweep hitting to make it as hard as normal hitting.  However, now my coach is telling me that I have to hit the ball as in drop-hand, slap, full russian, clip hit etc.  And I can't.  I either completely miss the ball or I end up hitting the top of it.  Has anyone got any advice?  I can hit it about 30% of the time with power, but never on the run.

[bucket]

Start by learning a clip hit. Drop your hands down the stick slightly so they are together but there is a couple of inches of handle above yur top hand. Get yourself into a good hockey body position (knees bent, weight on the balls of your feet, back upright). Point your front (left) foot towards where you want to hit the ball. Have the ball level with your front foot. Then all you need to do as practice a smooth swing through the ball, if your properly balanced with your head over the ball the stick should not hit the ground, or at worst just brush it. Maintain a good body and head position until well after the ball has gone. Repeat this against a fence until you get a nice smooth action. DO NOT TRY TO HIT THE BALL TOO HARD. A smooth swing is the first step, from there you can start to increase the tempo of the swing to get more power.

Once you have this then try it on the move. Again hitting against a fence, start by just moving slowly with the ball and try to keep that balance whilst hitting the ball with your weight predominantly on your front foot. As you get better at this pick up the speed of your run so that you eventually can hit the ball at full pace, or even at a sprint. You can also try hitting the ball with your weight on your back foot.

The old maxim 'practice makes perfect' is true for a reason. As you repeat these muscle movements you gain a 'muscle memory' so that when you need to hit the ball in a game you can do it without concentrating on the motor functions but by just letting it happen.

Once you have mastered the clip hit then you can move your hands back up to the end of the handle and try a full hit. The key variable here is how far the ball is away from your feet. You should still practice in the same way so that you learn to maintain balance whilst swinging. Again practice will help you to learn where the ball should be in relation to your feet in order to get the best hit.

Of course, when in a game you don't always have time to get the ball in exactly the right place before a hit (unless your first touch is awesome) so you also need to practice hitting the ball whilst stretching for it, and when it is close to your feet.

Key points:
Maintain good body position - trying to hit the ball too hard will stop you doing this, so concentrate on smooth swing.
Extra power comes from locking your wrists immediately before impact with the ball. This maintains the power generated from the swing of your whole arm, rather than just the swing of the stick.
Practice will help you to learn the optimum position of the ball in relation to your feet, and how to adjust your swing and body position when the ball is not ideally placed.

Hope that helps, I know it may seem a little basic to an experienced hockey player, but that's why they call them basic skills

[big-dog]

Bucket is right.  I had the same problem, my hit was useless but my slap & push nailed... But then the coach had words...

Take it slow and steady and don't try to hit it as hard as possible - it is a waste of time and infuriating when you can't bang it every time.  If you're worried about people taking the mick then get to the astro early or stay after and concentrate on it.  It takes time but if you follow bucket's words you'll get there.

It's all about technique, and once you find your groove, you'll be roofing the ball like there's no tomorrow!

[bighitter]

oohh - favourite subject...

Another approach is to focus on wrists first.  With no ball, keep your wrists in one place and swing fast to & fro, lots of times.  The stick head moves in a perfect semi-circle, just brushing the ground, with your hands at the centre of the semicircle.  Twist your wrists over each other as required to make it work. 
(I guess I'm similar to Bucket saying to start with a clip hit).
Wrists are where 80% of the power comes from.

To develop it to a full hit, don't think about a "swing".  Instead, try to move your wrist location to the left - in the direction the ball is going to go.  Do this mostly by stepping sideways to your left (direction ball will go).  The overall effect is to turn the semi-circle into semi-elipse.  The head of the stick is in contact with the ball for longer, and you get much more room for error. 

Don't focus on starting with a high backswing and ending with a high follow through - you'll get low power and many mis-hits.

[ArchusXV]

the best piece of advice i can give you is to keep your eye on the ball

watch it all the way through your swing

[tyras]

ththe

[tyras]

The thing that I do is:

1) Practice stace etc, front foot level to the ball, stick even (so no undercutting etc)
2) Hit it against the wall or a team mate and get further away.
3) Dribble with it and practice stance again
4) Dribble with it and hit to a team-mate.

Sorry if it doesnt help, but this is what I do when I couldnt hit.

[sase-31-19]

I was exactly the same until recently. My coach never said I HAD to learn, but I just WANTED to.
All I did was practice stationary hitting for aaaaaages, maybe three hours a day for about three weeks. I had a fence in front of me and just kept hitting it. softly at first just to get the feel and make it feel right, then as i got the hang of it, harder.
then i did the same thing with moving. it took me a lot longer to get the hang of it. I still stuff up a lot, but for free hits and everything i'm ok.
Also, if your coach is telling you to learn, explain to him/her that you really cant do it, and ask if they can help you. If they want you to learn i'm sure they'll be more than willing to help.
(failing that, asking a friend who can do it works too)

[iBiff]

Once you start to get your hits ok on the move, make sure you learn to hit off of both feet, makes your hits far more useful as you can't ask a defender or keeper to wait a moment until ur onto the only foot you can hit off of! I'm sure if u ask ur coach nicely they can set up sum good weak and dominant hitting drills?

[floccinauci]

cheers guys, I am actually beginning to learn. Had training today and just took time out to practice against a fence.  So again, thanks.  One thing though... My sticks worn down big time, does that hinder hitting at all?

[sase-31-19]

My sticks worn down big time, does that hinder hitting at all?

only in power, as far as i'm aware. you should still be able to do it...

[floccinauci]

Once you start to get your hits ok on the move, make sure you learn to hit off of both feet, makes your hits far more useful as you can't ask a defender or keeper to wait a moment until ur onto the only foot you can hit off of! I'm sure if u ask ur coach nicely they can set up sum good weak and dominant hitting drills?

See that's the thing I hate about our coach, he just expects you to be able to hit.  So we are now expected to conciously hit off either foot.  He just won't accept that I can when required, and that it just takes the situation.  Bloody Peckett expects the world of us, even the little year 7s I trained with the other day (only to learn how to hit)

[RushMan]

cheers guys, I am actually beginning to learn. Had training today and just took time out to practice against a fence.  So again, thanks.  One thing though... My sticks worn down big time, does that hinder hitting at all?

HOW your stick is worn might indicate what your problem is.

What angle is the worn section to the face of the stick ?

(photos at this point would help)

[floccinauci]

HOW your stick is worn might indicate what your problem is.

What angle is the worn section to the face of the stick ?

(photos at this point would help)

Sorry about the resin, I "fixed" it for about a month...http://www.flickr.com/photos/26111458@N06/

[John]

loads of life left in that one.  More than anything else, relax.  Its amazing how much harder you'll hit the ball with a nice gentle swing rather than trying to break the skin off of it.