ok guys (and the one girl) with march quickly approaching the ice in my back yard will turn into that stuff that's impossible to skate on and easy to drown in.

So I have to make the best of what little time I have left.

What are the best stickhandling drills that you know of?

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

Joe Sakic told me that he and the Avalanche watched Sergi Samsonov stick handle 2 pucks at the same time around some pylons. Sakic said he & his teammates clapped & whistled when he was done. You could try that. ;-)

                   "What are the best stickhandling drills that you know of?"

OMG I can't wait for responses to this. Hmmmm "hockey drills for geezers"...

Phone booth

I'll never be the first 54 year old to get a pro contract without your help!

O wait.  Am I 54?  Could be 53 or 55.  I'll have to ask my wife, she knows.

In response to NeelyOrrBourque's comment:

Nite me thinks BadHab should start with "one puck, no cones and not looking down at the puck while skating first" Lets just begin with the basics shall we LOL

Use some golf balls instead of a puck.

 

Or you could try this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uAjmpC5Mks

Get Center Ice.

Practice flipping between two games, switching hands after ever change.

Each time you fail, take a shot of 80 proof something.

Post here after each period and let us know how it's going.

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

Really?  Those are the threads you complain about.

Only a couple or 3 legit drills thus far, both known to me.

Could I depend on you all for a glass of water if I were drowning?

In response to Not-A-Shot's comment:

Pwttt! By the end of the first he'll be laying booby's up! 

In response to SanDogBrewin's comment:

Yea it is BadHab were talking about here huh; maybe he shouldn't use a puck either...A tennis or street hockey ball maybe??

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

Try stickhandling with your eyes closed. 

Helpful hint : Don't skate.

ok, a different one that used tire me out pretty quick. if you have an older stick that you don't mind beating up,slide two or three (I used two, but you're likely stronger than me so maybe three) baseball bat doughnuts down the shaft and tape them in place above the blade (you'll have to use a couple of shims) - then do your stick handling drills. Try to do them at full speed.

Guys, my training aids.

I got an aluminum shaft.  I got this solid steel blade. I got lead flashing from home depot and filled the shaft with lead.

I got weighted and steel pucks

I use hollow play pucks also to try to increase feel.

I made an 'x' out of trex and lined it with bungi cords and bounce it off that for toe ins and similar, you have to hit it just right for it to bounce out clean.

4 foot 2x4 with 'arms' - so this shape |__| with bungi cord in the arms for passing drill. (but puck sometimes bounces over cord)

In development - better pass practice device.  I bought a loading dock rubber truck bumper, but not enough bounce.  I cut up a tired and stapled it to a piece of pressure treated and it bounces off ok, but not great.  I noticed a street hockey puck bounces off my truck tires great, so there is an invention there somewhere.

I've made 'tripods' with scrap wood to stickhandle through.

Stickhandling with eyes shut, yes - and skate *slowly*, yes I've nearly croaked myself.  "better" "eyes shut" cheapo kids plastic walmart kids sun visor worn under the chin - you can't see down.

I have blocks under a piece of wood like this o--o--o--o with some gaps just big enough for the puck to get through and I skate over it and stickhandle the puck through the gaps.

And I still get eaten alive at my pickup game, tho I have to say there are former jr players and at least one former d 1 college player in the bunch.

I'm going to start seriously thinking about the extra 80 lbs. of weight I'm carrying around.  That might have something to do with it.

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

 

Guys, my training aids.

I got an aluminum shaft.  I got this solid steel blade. I got lead flashing from home depot and filled the shaft with lead.

I got weighted and steel pucks

I use hollow play pucks also to try to increase feel.

I made an 'x' out of trex and lined it with bungi cords and bounce it off that for toe ins and similar, you have to hit it just right for it to bounce out clean.

4 foot 2x4 with 'arms' - so this shape |__| with bungi cord in the arms for passing drill. (but puck sometimes bounces over cord)

In development - better pass practice device.  I bought a loading dock rubber truck bumper, but not enough bounce.  I cut up a tired and stapled it to a piece of pressure treated and it bounces off ok, but not great.  I noticed a street hockey puck bounces off my truck tires great, so there is an invention there somewhere.

I've made 'tripods' with scrap wood to stickhandle through.

Stickhandling with eyes shut, yes - and skate *slowly*, yes I've nearly croaked myself.  "better" "eyes shut" cheapo kids plastic walmart kids sun visor worn under the chin - you can't see down.

I have blocks under a piece of wood like this o--o--o--o with some gaps just big enough for the puck to get through and I skate over it and stickhandle the puck through the gaps.

And I still get eaten alive at my pickup game, tho I have to say there are former jr players and at least one former d 1 college player in the bunch.

I'm going to start seriously thinking about the extra 80 lbs. of weight I'm carrying around.  That might have something to do with it.

 

BadHab, why the holy heck are you asking us for stickhandling ideas then? It sounds like we should be stealing YOUR ideas. I wouldn't have thought of trying half the crap you just mentioned!

 

Oh and you should wear a "cut resistant sock" over your head just in case you get frustrated...

What helped my stickhandling was a dog and a tennis ball.  I had a doberman who loved to get the ball with his mouth and 4 legs.  In the garage (small space) I tried to stickhandle between his legs and then back again...getting him to spin around. I usually went less than 30 seconds before he got it.    He was relentless and not afraid to get nicked from time-to-time by my hockey blade. I put em in his cage for 2 minutes if he didn't give me the ball back once he got it.  He only bit me once but he did not get suspended.  

I like the weighted pucks and/or sticks.  I also like just standing shoulder width apart (on ice or street) and stickling on the strong side, in front, on the other weak side, elongating or shortening the stickhandling lengths as well as varying the speed....also getting the feet and some toe drags involved to spice it up. 

In response to red75's comment:

 

I'm missing that magic drill that will get me that contract.

In response to lucdufour's comment:

The wife already has 2 cats, the Doberman would make the house a total zoo.  Unless I can rent one.  I might give the cats a try out.  I think they'll just wait and stalk it and pounce if the puck comes to a stop.  And I think if they get nicked once they'll never play again.

Another invention I've been thinking of is something to stickhandle around that moves, maybe some kind of lazer pen that would be attracted to something inside the puck and you have to keep it away from it or something like that.

Get yourself a marmot, put a leash on it with the other end attached to a tennis ball

Now - drop the marmot into your shorts

OK ...over the top

Sorry

In response to JWensink's comment:

Can't find a pet shop that carries marmots around here.

However there is a large gray squirrel population, not sure if they would work as well.

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

There's a point in time where a person after trying all of these drills with no results has to conclude ................I'm old and my skills are eroding.

Trying to get better at this at your advanced age is as likely as you looking younger as the years go by.

In response to JWensink's comment:

Or this.......

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2qP-xQ_7o

In response to NeelyOrrBourque's comment:

Agreed -- You could barely take your eyes off of Samsonov during the warmups -- Pretty much worth the price of admission to watch him motor around. During the free skate with an empty net he would aim and successfully hit the posts and crossbar with ease. Too bad he did the same thing during actual gme play.