Last Updated on Wednesday, 08 July 2015 15:28
By Kim McCullough, M.Sc, YCS
You’ve heard the term, “Fake it until you make it” before, right? Well, players need to use a lot more fakes before they make their plays on the ice if they want to get to, and excel at, the next level. You want to be completely unpredictable to your opponents. If they know what you’re going to do, it’s much easier to stop you.
The most obvious fake you can learn is the fake shot. Whether you’re faking a quick snap shot on a breakaway before pulling it to your backhand to roof it or a slap shot from the point that you’re going to pass off to your D partner, you need to learn to make that fake with complete control. Remember that every move has a set-up move. In the two cases above, the fake shot sets up your real move. In order to make that real move effective, you must first "sell" the fake. You have to make your opponent believe that you’re going to shoot or else the goalie or defender doesn’t need to adjust to it, which makes your real move tough to execute.
So if you’re faking the snap shot on your breakaway, you need bring your stick back slightly from the puck, lean into your stick, shift your weight to your inside leg (the one closest to the blade of your stick), and open up your blade so it really looks like you’re going to shoot. Just gliding in towards the goalie with the puck on your forehand isn’t enough to sell it. In addition to selling that fake, you have to make sure that the fake doesn’t throw you off-balance and prevent you from executing your real move.
When faking a slap shot from the point, you have to bring your stick back, shift your weight back and rotate through as if you’re going to make contact with the puck. Often, when players are first learning this fake, they aren’t able to control their rotation back to the puck and throw themselves off-balance, making it impossible to make an effective pass off the fake shot. Controlling explosive rotation is actually a pretty advanced athletic skill that requires a high-level of coordination and stability through the legs, core and shoulders. The great thing is that this controlled rotation, as well as the weight shift of the fake snap shot, can easily be practiced and perfected off the ice since you aren’t going to shoot the puck anyways.
Here’s a quick video I put together to show you the fakes for both the snap shot and slap shot. Feel free to pass it along to any friends, players and teammates who you think might benefit from the information. Click on the link to access the video: http://totalfemalehockey.com/how-to-fake-a-shot-video/
If you’re committed to taking your game to the next level this off-season, check out the Total Female Hockey Elite Training System - which includes off-ice training, mental performance and shooting/stickhandling training - at: http://totalfemalehockey.com/exclusive-offer/. Coach Kim McCullough is a leading expert in the development of female hockey players. She is the Director & Founder of Total Female Hockey and has coached at the Provincial and National team level. She is currently the Head Coach of the Toronto-Leaside Jr Wildcats in the Ontario Provincial Women’s Hockey League.
