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Fool Goalies With a Quick Release

By Ontario Minor Hockey Association, 11/09/14, 7:00AM EST

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Develop a Lethal Snap Shot in Week 3 of the 5000 Puck Challenge

The Snap Shot has the quickest release of any shot in hockey and goalies have an extremely hard time guarding against it as they rarely have time to properly react to the shot. This is why the snapshot has quickly become the most common shot in the game and one that should be mastered.  

The Snap Shot is a hybrid of a Wrist shot and a Slap shot. It has a short backswing, but plenty of forward motion. The stick will not flex like it does during a slap shot, but a snapshot’s power comes from the sudden contact between the stick blade and the puck.  The trick to a good snapshot is not giving any clues that you are about to shoot, getting the shot off in a fraction of a second, and being accurate is key. 

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The best piece of advice for perfecting the snapshot is to take it slow and learn the mechanics of the shot first. Focus on adding speed once you understand the proper technique. A proper snapshot requires excellent timing. This timing is best learned at less than game speed. As you start to get your timing down, slowly add speed. 

Use these 5 tips to help learn and master the snapshot. 

1.    Hand location – Where the hands are placed is important for generating power. For a snapshot the bottom hand should be slightly lower than where it is placed with the wrist shot. Having it placed close to the middle of the shaft is prime location. The reason is that this gives you extra strength to flex the stick, which will transfer a lot of power from the stick to the release of the shot.

2.    Body position – When taking a wrist shot the shoulders should be facing the net, but with the snapshot the chest should be facing the net. The snapshot is mainly used when skating towards the net or when you are in close to the net because you won’t have time to set-up for a wrist shot.

3.    Puck position – The puck should be to the side of the body (where it would be when stick handling the puck). This puck placement is key here so a shot can be fired at anytime.
 
4.    Weight transfer – For the snapshot you are transferring the weight to the leg closet to the blade of the stick. If the shot is being taken in stride, push off with the leg furthest from the stick, lean over and transfer the weight onto the other leg and then snap.

5.    Quick Release - For this type of shot the puck should be released as fast as possible. What needs to be done is to get the hands out in front of the body while still cupping the puck, and then really pulling back with the top hand and pushing forwards with your bottom hand. 


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So, how well do you think your shot would improve if you were to take 5000 shots over a 10-week period? Think it can’t be done? Think again! We have created a plan for players of all ages and abilities to follow over 10 weeks to increase shot speed, quickness and accuracy.

To develop your shooting & scoring skills at home check out the OMHA Players Club and the 5000 Puck Challenge.