Shooting guide
How to improve your hockey shot
The short answer
Fix the fundamentals first: puck beside your back foot, weight moving from your back leg to your front leg, hands away from your body, eyes on a specific target and a follow-through that points at it. Then practice with targets instead of an open net and keep score. Tracking your hits and misses on every corner turns “shooting pucks” into deliberate practice: you see which spots you miss and whether you are actually getting better.
1. Get the fundamentals right
Most shots that miss the corner go wrong before the puck leaves the blade. These seven habits matter more than any piece of equipment.
Puck position
Start a wrist or snap shot with the puck beside or slightly behind your back foot, a comfortable distance from your body, on the middle of the blade. Too close to your skates and you have no room to pull the puck through; too far forward and you lose the weight transfer.
Weight transfer
Power comes from your legs and core, not just your arms. Load your weight onto your back leg, then shift it onto your front leg as you pull the puck through. If you finish with your weight on your back foot, the shot will be weak and often high.
Hands away from your body
Keep your top hand out in front of your hip so the stick can move freely. Hands tucked against your body cramp the motion and shorten the shot.
Top hand pulls, bottom hand pushes
The stick works like a lever: pull back with your top hand while pushing forward and down with your bottom hand. That opposing force is what flexes the shaft and stores energy. Sliding your bottom hand a little lower on the stick gives you more flex and more power.
Roll your wrists and follow through
As the puck leaves the blade, roll your wrists. Closing the blade over the puck keeps it low; finishing with an open blade and a higher follow-through lifts it. For accuracy, finish with the toe of your stick pointing at your target.
Eyes up, pick a spot
Look at where you want the puck to go, not at the puck. “The net” is not a target: pick a corner, a spot under the crossbar or the five hole, and aim for that every time.
Release quickly
In a game, a goalie or defender reacts to a long wind-up. Work on getting the shot off fast from wherever the puck is, without resetting it to your perfect spot.
2. Know your shots
| Shot | When to use it | Key cue |
|---|---|---|
| Wrist shot | The everyday shot: accurate and easy to disguise | Pull the puck from back foot to front foot, roll the wrists, point at the target |
| Snap shot | A quick release with little wind-up | Short pull, snap the stick into the ice just behind the puck to flex it |
| Slap shot | Maximum power from the point or with time and space | Hit the ice a few centimetres behind the puck, weight onto the front foot |
| Backhand | In close or when you can't get to your forehand | Puck near the heel, push your weight through and lift with the follow-through |
| One-timer | Shooting a pass without stopping it | Set your feet early, keep your eyes on the puck coming in and the stick square |
3. Shoot at targets, not an open net
Shooting into an empty net trains you to hit the net. Goals are scored in the corners, under the crossbar and through the five hole, so practice there. Use corner targets, a shooter tutor or even tape on the posts, and decide where you are aiming before every shot.
4. Measure your accuracy
You can't tell whether practice is working if you don't keep score. For each session, record:
- Shots taken and targets hit, so you can work out your accuracy (hits ÷ shots).
- Hits on each corner (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right) and the five hole, so you can see your weak spots.
- Misses, and roughly how long the session took.
Your first two or three sessions are your baseline. After that, compare each week with the last and spend extra time on your weakest corner.
You can track this with a notebook or a tally counter, but stopping after every shot breaks your rhythm. Sniped It! was built for exactly this: you say where the shot went (“top left”, “five hole”, “miss”) and the app counts it, so your hands stay on your stick. It works out your accuracy for you and shows which targets you hit most and least.
5. A simple 4-week plan
Three or four sessions a week of 20–30 minutes (around 100 focused shots) is plenty. Rest days count too.
| Week | Focus | What to track |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline: wrist shots at all four corners and the five hole, good form, no rushing | Accuracy per session and per corner |
| 2 | Weakest corner: half your shots go to the spot you hit least | Accuracy on that corner |
| 3 | Quick release and shooting off the move (pull the puck in, then shoot) | Accuracy and time for a set of shots |
| 4 | Retest: repeat your week-1 session exactly | Compare with week 1 |
Want more variety? See the hockey shooting drills you can do at home and track.
6. Common mistakes
- Shooting flat-footed. No weight transfer means no power.
- Looking down at the puck as you release it, so you never pick a spot.
- A stick that's too stiff or too long. A common starting point is a flex of about half your body weight in pounds, lower for younger players. A stiff stick you can't bend shoots like a broom handle.
- Only practicing slap shots. Most goals come from wrist shots, snap shots and quick releases in close.
- Never measuring. Without numbers, it's easy to keep practicing what you're already good at.
7. Practicing at home
You don't need ice. A shooting pad or synthetic ice tiles, a net, some pucks and something to aim at will do. Put a backstop or tarp behind the net to protect walls, windows and cars, and check what's behind you before you start. Our guide to hockey shooting training tools and apps covers what's worth buying first.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to improve your hockey shot?
It depends on your starting point and how you practice. If you shoot three or four times a week with a target and keep score, you will usually see a trend in your accuracy numbers within a few weeks. Without measuring, it is hard to tell whether you are improving at all.
How many shots a day should I take?
Around 100 focused shots per session is a common target. Quality matters more than volume: aim at a specific spot every time, use good form and track how many you hit. Shooting 300 pucks with bad habits mostly makes the bad habits stronger.
How do I shoot a hockey puck harder?
Power comes from transferring your weight from your back leg to your front leg, keeping your hands away from your body, and flexing the stick by pulling with your top hand while pushing with your bottom hand. A stick flex that is too stiff for your size also robs you of power.
How do I make my hockey shot more accurate?
Pick a precise target (a corner, not the net), keep your eyes up, follow through with the toe of your stick pointing at the target, and practice with targets instead of an open net. Track your hits on each corner so you know which spots need work.
What is the best app to track hockey shots?
Sniped It! is a free iPhone app that tracks hockey shots by voice: you call out where each shot went (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, five hole or miss) and it records shots, hits, misses, accuracy and session time without you touching your phone. It needs no extra hardware and works with any net.
Can I practice hockey shooting at home without ice?
Yes. A shooting pad or synthetic ice tiles, a net and a few pucks are enough. Put a backstop or tarp behind the net to protect walls, windows and cars, and use targets or a shooter tutor to aim at the corners.
Track every shot by voice
Sniped It! is a free iPhone app for hockey shooting practice. Call out where each shot went and it tracks your shots, hits, misses, accuracy and time, with a 4 in 4 game and statistics to show your progress.
