How to Improve a Wrist Shot

A simple flick of the wrist can send a hockey puck shooting out at a high velocity. But do you wonder why your shot keeps missing, or why the goalie seems to snag your wrist shot even when it looked good when it came off your stick? If you learn a few more tricks to your wrist shot, you can increase your goal total and help your team win more games.

Instructions

    • 1

      Place the puck on the back third of the blade when you release your shot. Hockeyshot.com notes that this causes the puck to roll toward the toe of the blade, which places a spin on the puck and makes your shot faster and more accurate. This enables you to better place your shot instead of just throwing it on goal and hoping it goes in.

    • 2

      Bring the puck behind your body and bring your arms and stick across your body. This shifts your weight from your back to your front and gives your shot more power. Hockeyplayer.com notes that if you don't do this, you wind up shooting off the wrong foot and with less power.

    • 3

      Point your stick, eyes and feet toward where you want to shoot. Your focus should be on the one specific spot in the net where you are aiming. Make sure you look at that spot, your feet point at that spot and when you shoot, the stick points at the intended target.

    • 4

      Strengthen your wrists and forearm muscles through specific exercises. If you cannot grip your stick well or use your muscles to flick the shot, your power will suffer greatly. Wrist curls, reverse bicep curls and wrist rollers are all common techniques used to increase the power of your wrists.

    • 5

      Maintain the condition of your stick. Taping the blade will ensure you can use it at its peak performance. Stickshack.com notes if you wrap the blade from heel toe, you can create small air pockets from the tape that can increase shot control by adding spin to the puck. Black tape is also useful since it will make it difficult for opposing goalies to determine where the puck is. (Source 5)