The holiday season is many people’s favorite time of year! Snow and cold have arrived, the backyard rink is flooded and skate-worthy (hopefully), winter teams are starting to gel, cookies are plentiful, and opportunity for quality time with family. It is also the season of giving, and we hockey parents strain ourselves to find the perfect gifts for our kids.
So what is the perfect gift for the hockey lover in our life?
Create your own at-home training area in your garage or basement!
One of the founding principles of our company is that there is simply not enough on-ice time and puck touches for youth players to really develop the skills they need to propel themselves forward. What they need are more repetitions!
With synthetic ice or tiles at home, plus training tools for shooting, passing and/or stickhandling, your player can dedicate a few minutes at a time, or an extended session, working on the things that will help them separate from their peers.
Here are some recommendations of the top hockey training products for your home:
- Young kids tend to spray the puck around when shooting, so the Snipers Edge Shooting Tarp is the perfect solution to protect walls and windows from missed hockey shots. The five shooting "zones" will also challenge the player to increase shooting accuracy.
- Next, with the price of hockey sticks these days, you do not want to stickhandle or shoot off of concrete or asphalt. This will very quickly ruin the bottom of the blade, and you will be out another $200-$300 for a replacement stick. Getting an area of flooring is going to be money well spent. The Slick Tiles will solve this issue. Make sure you get enough so your player can make stickhandling patterns moving forward, ending with a tight shot, and also backwards, ending with a hockey shot from far out.
- When looking for additional hockey training products, focus on ones that can recreate off-ice, what regularly happens on the ice. The PASSMSTER Hockey Passer and Rebounder brings on-ice training right to your house. You can practice making passes, receiving passes and shooting one-timers off the pass.
- Finally, with the holidays right around the corner and if you are considering great hockey gifts, you will want to look at the SweetHands 2.0 Stickhandling Trainer. Because you have to lift your stick up and over the connecting arm when going through each opening, this will increase hand and blade quickness. There is an infinite number of drills or patterns that can be done with this hockey training aid; you just have to be creative and see what works.
Lastly, don’t forget the stocking stuffers! Thankfully we also sell pucks, mouthguards, stick weights, stickhandling balls, and shooting targets, to help players capitalize on at-home training.
Whether your goal is to play collegiate hockey, make a higher-level team in your age level or perform better with your chances during games, we know that practicing more puck touches, more shots and other at-home training can help you build confidence and readiness to perform near your next on-ice sessions.
