Improve Power and Release – Summer Skills Session: Episode 5

In today’s video, I’m going to show you how to command more power from your shots. Truth be told, its more than just being strong! This video will show you how to utulize your lower body, how to torque, how to transfer weight, and of course, how to use your arms for power. Let’s dive in.
 

Isolate the Upper Body

If I was to simply tell you not to use your legs on your next wrist shot, you probably still would. It’s a natural feeling when you want power in your shot to use your legs, but I want to talk about isolating your upper body so that you can see just how much power you’re actually getting from up there. To do this, we’re going to actually remove your legs from the shot. How you ask?
Kneel.
No, seriously, kneel down. You might think I’m crazy, but this way you can see just how much power you’re actually getting from the snap of your wrist. Now, you’ll notice once you’ve taken a couple shots like this, that your power isn’t exactly where you thought it would be. That’s the point! You’re used to using other parts of your body to gain power from a shot, but by isolating your upper body, you can train yourself to always be putting the maximum of upper body strength in every shot, when you’re standing and using the other parts of your body.
If you’re finding that you have next to no power from this stance, then it’s time to work on your shot a little more. I have another video that goes over the building blocks of shooting that you can watch here.

Feel Uncomfortable

I also hope you noticed how weird, and uncomfortable it felt shooting from that kneeling position. When we’re training normally, we set up right where we want to, and we have the perfect conditions for shooting. We’re training ourselves to only be able to shoot in an ideal situation. This helps train your mind to shoot from different angles, which is a benefit, even if you never find yourself shooting from your knees in the slot like Crosby…

 
If you’re finding it too difficult to do this on two knees, there are a few more ways to isolate the upper body while shooting.

1. Shoot from one knee
2. Sit on a chair

Either of these options are sure to give you a very similar feeling to being on your knees.