Every hockey player has the desire to score more goals. There is nothing more disappointing for a hockey player than missing an opportunity to score. If you are wondering how to score more goals in hockey, then this article is going to help you.
Scoring goals does not depend on a single aspect. You need to enhance your shooting skills, sharpen your tactical approaches to scoring, master deception, perfect communication with your team members, and always be ready both physically and mentally to score goals.
Though it may sound like a lot of requirements, it is not impossible. But of course, it is difficult, or else everyone would have become great scorers. You can achieve these skills with proper dedication.
Importance of shooting accuracy
Table of Contents
Shooting accuracy is the most important skill for scoring. So focus on improving your accuracy. You will have a better scoring chance with higher accuracy. When you have higher accuracy, you can put pressure on the defense of your opponent.
You become a threat to your opponents and a gem for your team. Your teammates can rely on your abilities. In addition, it will provide a strategic advantage in certain game situations. You can exploit gaps in the defense and create scoring opportunities with your accurate shots as well.
Moreover, you get a psychological advantage when you have higher accuracy. Goaltenders usually become more cautious and anticipate shots more. It often leads to openings for other offensive plays.
How do I score more goals in hockey?
Scoring goals in hockey is not as easy as it seems. You need to master several skills and qualities to improve your scoring abilities. Here are some important tips that will help you score more goals:
Enhancing Shooting Skills
The first thing you need to focus on is enhancing your shooting skills. There are various types of shots that you need to learn and master. Let’s divide your goal into smaller milestones to make it simpler for you.
1. Perfecting the Basics
You should begin from the beginning. It’s always better to go on an order. Focus on mastering the basics first before trying the advanced techniques. Make sure you are taking a perfect grip, paying attention to stance and balance, learning weight shifting, etc.
Then you can focus on the basic shots, including wrist shots, slap shots, and snapshots. Be familiar with these and train hard to perfect your timing, aim, and accuracy. Ever wondered how most NHL goals are scored? It’s mostly wrist shots and snapshots.
You can check out this article on how to play hockey for beginners for more basic guidelines. You need to learn how to take the perfect grip, balance, and shift your weight as well as learn how to lace hockey skates.
2. Exploring Advanced Techniques
Once you have mastered the basics, you should look into exploring advanced techniques. The advanced skills will let you outwit the defenders and the goaltender as well.
Some of the advanced techniques are drag flicks, reverse stick skills, scoops, overhead passes, and more. The drag flick is a powerful and accurate technique you can use for penalty corners. The reverse stick skills make you versatile and unpredictable.
Scooping is a technique used to lift the ball off the ground or turf quickly and smoothly. It lets you pass the ball over opponents’ sticks or to a teammate further down the field. It is a very effective skill for scoring more goals. Learn more about what is a scoop in field hockey.
3. Enhancing Shooting Power
Shooting power is your ability to put force into your strike. It is an open secret how to score more goals in field hockey. Here are some simple tips you should follow to add more power to your shots:
- Work on increasing your overall strength, especially in your core, legs, and upper body.
- Use your legs while taking a shot. Bend your knees and push off with your back leg to transfer your energy to the front leg.
- Keep your top hand away from your hip, especially while taking wrist shots, slap shots, or snapshots.
Tactical Approaches to Scoring
Improving your shooting skills is not enough to score more goals. So, how to score more goals in field hockey? You need to improve your tactical approaches too. Here are some important approaches you need to add to your techniques:
1. Positioning for Success
Positioning is crucial in hockey to increase the chances of scoring more goals. You need to position yourself strategically in the offensive zone to create scoring opportunities. Be aware of open spaces and find gaps in the defense.
You should aim to establish a strong presence near the opponent’s net. This involves positioning yourself in the high-scoring areas. Keep good communication with your teammates and see where the opportunity will be. Being in the right position at the right moment is one of the secrets to scoring more goals.
2. Creating Shooting Opportunities
Creating shooting opportunities is as difficult as scoring goals. It requires both individual skills and teamwork. You need to develop strong dribbling and elimination skills to beat defenders and create space for a shot. To do so, you need to change directions quickly and use feints and stick skills.
Make accurate and timely passes to teammates in scoring positions, as well as positioning yourself to receive passes for a shot on goal. You can develop your vision to anticipate opportunities by observing and analyzing the matches of good players.
3. Understanding Defensive Weaknesses
Apart from on-field tactics, you also need to do some off-field research. Check on your opponent’s defense. Find out their weaknesses and target them. You should make your strategy based on the following:
- What skills does an individual defensive player struggle with
- How the opposing team transitions from attack to defense
- Opponent’s performance on set pieces, such as penalty corners or defensive free hits, and
- How the opposing team defends on the weak side
Mental and Physical Preparation
Your mental and physical preparation before every match is as important as your skills. You must believe in your abilities and strengths. If you doubt yourself, you will lose your composure and miss scoring opportunities. Along with this, you need to work on other abilities, such as:
1. Developing Hockey Sense
Understanding the game is very important if you want to become great at it. Develop your understanding of the game, and you will figure out the naturally recurring patterns. A developed hockey sense will tell you where the other team will move the puck and where your team members will be moving.
It will help you be in the right position at the right moment. In addition, you will be able to apply your other skills more efficiently. Watch and study popular matches, work on vision, anticipation, and awareness, and improve your communication with teammates to develop a hockey sense.
2. Speed and Agility Training
Speed and agility are two match-winning attributes of a player. Focus on improving your mobility and increasing your flexibility. You need strong legs to run faster. You need to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly to do that.
Along with speed, you also need agility to be able to change directions quickly. Perform high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to improve your cardiovascular fitness and stamina. You can also use speed ladder drills or dot drills to improve foot speed and agility.
3. Goalie-Specific Strategies
Though you are not going to play as a goalie, you need to learn about them. You can observe how they train and what they train for. It will help you understand the psychology of goalies, and you will be able to anticipate their moves. It will also contribute to your hockey sense development.
Enhancing teamwork and communication
Hockey is a team sport, and you should always keep that in mind. No matter how skilled you become, you will need your teammate to win matches. You cannot win a game alone. Therefore, you need to enhance your teamwork and communication.
1. Offensive Strategies
Not every player has the same abilities and skills. Different players add different skills. An offensive strategy is made based on an individual’s skills. Make a plan with your team members on how you are going to break through the opposition’s defense and score.
Make effective offensive zone positioning It ensures your team members will be in the right place to support you. When you build good communication on the team, you can easily understand each other’s intentions, call for the puck, and provide support to each other.
2. Power Play Execution
Success in power plays heavily depends on teamwork and effective communication. It ensures that everyone is on the same page. They can understand each other’s intentions, positions, and passing options to facilitate smooth puck movement.
Players can decide their specific roles during the power play. With proper strategy, players can create more opportunities to score goals. It also helps to withstand the opposing team’s penalty-killing strategies. In simple words, you will receive more opportunities to score more goals.
3. Utilizing Effective Communication
Effective communication plays a vital role in scoring more goals. You have already seen how it helps you to be in the right position by understanding the intentions of your fellow team members. It will create faith among your team members in you too.
FAQs
● How long does it take to improve goal-scoring skills?
It is not possible to give a definite time frame for how long it takes to improve goal-scoring skills. It depends on the individual’s ability, dedication, and consistency. It may take a few weeks for someone, while someone else may have to work for years to improve the skill.
● How do you score more in the NHL?
To score more goals in the NHL, one needs to combine personal skills with teamwork and strategic awareness. A proper strategy and good teamwork will help break through the defense, while individual skills will help get past the goalie.
● Where are most goals scored in hockey?
Though goals are scored from various positions in hockey, slots are known as the high-percentage scoring area. It is the region between the faceoff circles in front of the net.
● What can I do if I lack physical strength for powerful shots?
Though physical strength is crucial for powerful shots, you can still take them without much strength. For that, you need to follow proper techniques such as gripping at the right place, balancing and transferring your weight properly with a proper stance, and timing the shot.
Conclusion
So, what do you think? How do you score more goals in hockey to contribute to a team’s victory? You need to work with dedication to enrich your techniques and abilities, along with improving your physical and mental preparation. Scoring more goals makes you a winner.
Scoring more goals is difficult, but not impossible. You need to analyze the games of experts, train hard to acquire advanced techniques, keep believing in yourself, and eventually you will become a match-winner yourself.
Our More Resources:
