Schoolyard Puck

Let's face it, hockey is not a cheap sport. One good way to subsidize the cost is to find a sponsor who is willing to contribute to the team in exchange for advertising. If you aren't too proud to wear a jersey with a company name or logo on it and don't mind talking to strangers, here's what you need to know to get started.

Step 1: Preparation

Before you start pitching a proposal you need to determine what exactly it is you are asking for. Here are some questions you can ask yourself or your team:

• Are you expecting your sponsor to cover league fees?
• How much will the jerseys cost? Screen printed or stitched?
• Are you going to get matching socks?
• How will your sponsor be recognized? A patch by the shoulder? Text across the bottom near the hem?
• How many players are on your team?
• How much is all this going to cost?

After answering these questions you should have a pretty good idea of what you want. Call around and get estimates until you feel confident quoting prices to others. Try to see if you can order one jersey as a sample so you can show your team and your prospective sponsor.  If you show up unprepared and ask a business owner to contribute "whatever he can" chances are you will get denied.

Step 2: Choosing a Business

I recommend choosing something local rather than a large franchise or chain. Unlike large corporations, local business owners can usually be more flexible in their decision making and allocation of funds. Think about who attends your games.  Are there more players or more spectators? If the former, consider the places you frequently visit. Other players in the league are probably of similar age and interest and go there too. If spectators include your friends and family, consider the places the spend their money and go from there. Carefully selecting a business will help your sponsor feel like there's something in it for them because they will be advertising to their demographic. Make a list of at least 10 businesses you want to solicit a sponsorship from.

Step 3: Preliminary Work

Before you start your pitch, you need to know who you are speaking to. Grab your list and begin making phone calls. The first call is easy because all you are trying to find out is who makes financial decisions. It doesn't really matter who answers, just tell them you are hoping to find out who handles sponsorships, charities, advertising, etc. After that person gives you a name be sure to clarify, "So Steve gives the final approval on things like that, right? OK just wanted to make sure" Thank them for their time. The reason you do this is because you are going to write a letter and you need to know who to address it to. Businesses get a ton of junk mail everyday and it is more likely to be cast aside if its not directed to a specific person.  Your letter should be very short and to the point. You can use something generic and send it out to each prospect, just change the name. Explain who you are and tell them you are seeking a sponsor. Don't go into your pitch just yet. Just tell the business owner about the opportunity to sponsor a local sports team, and that it will be an affordable means to advertise. Tell them you intend to discuss their thoughts on the matter soon. The only reason you are writing this letter is so you have an excuse to follow up with the person in charge when you visit.

Step 4: The Pitch

Avoid making your pitch on the phone if possible. Business owners are busy and it's much easier to blow you off on the phone than if you are waiting at the door. In step 1 you determined cost, so you will want to create two or three pricing options to present to your prospect. If you only have one option it's too easy for your prospect to turn you down. It's all or nothing. When you give them options, they will probably choose the cheapest one and think they got off easy! But you still win because something is better than nothing, right?

When you go to discuss the matter in person, look professional, wear slacks and a button down shirt, even a tie if you feel comfortable. You should be equipped with your 3-option pricing plan, a sample jersey, and why they should choose to sponsor your team. They will want to know what's in it for them. You should be able to explain that their potential customers are the same people who attend your games. You can tell them that compared to traditional advertising such as print or radio, a sponsorship is very affordable and may even be tax deductible. Explain they will feel a sense of pride and belonging to their community. Don't be afraid to ask which pricing option they want to choose! If they say no, tell them you have other appointments to attend to and you are confident you will find a sponsor by the month because it is such a great opportunity. Give them a way to reach you if they change their mind.

Final Thoughts

Utilize your connections. Through asking around you may find a friend, co-worker, or neighbor who knows a business owner that might want to help. Don't be discouraged if you get rejected, not everyone is going to say yes. Think of it as putting in hours at work. How many hours would you have to work to provide jerseys for an entire team? I'm willing to bet more than the few hours you will spend seeking out a sponsor! It's worth it in the end. After you've landed a sponsor, encourage your team to give them business and thank them for their donation.

If any of you have had success partnering with a sponsor, let us know in the comments

Player Erik Gudbranson was recently drafted to the Florida Panthers as the third overall draft pick. While his size and speed impressed a lot of scouts, coach Dale Tallon explained that he chose Gudbranson for his "impeccable character", which was one of the most important attributes he was looking for. What exactly is "character"? In this case, it probably refers to one who possesses integrity. Someone who sticks to a moral code of ethics and has honor. Why do you think that an NHL coach would value such traits?  What could you learn from this?

Be a Team Player

Hockey is a team sport. I once heard each player only touches the puck for about 45 seconds on average during a game. I don't know if that statement is true or not, but it sounds about right. The point is, just because a guy can toe drag and dangle his way around the ice doesn't mean he will be a good linemate.  I think we've all had a teammate that is so focused on pulling a killer move, he never lifts his head to look for a pass. This can be very frustrating, and often leads to a lack of unity. Do you want to know the secret to beating any team? Get them upset at one another. When a team loses cohesiveness, they lose games. In the movie Miracle, Herb Brooks tells his players that the name on the front of the jersey is a lot more important than the one on the back.

Joining a Team

Not all of us play on the level where a coach hand picks his team. Often times you may find yourself in a situation where you have to form your own team. You may be faced with the decision to join a team full of skilled players or a team who plays unselfishly. Hopefully they are the same and you get the best of both worlds. If you have the opportunity to form a team, try out for a team, or join a team try to remember the examples above and make the right choice for you.

This product seemed like a great idea. I'm fairly confident with my snap and slap shot, but I'm still a little iffy when it comes to my wrist shot. The Halo claims to help improve aim and proper form when taking a wrist shot, improve ball control/stick handling, and passing.

I tested this device with a couple of different hockey balls and tried improving each skill set with each type of ball. I tried a cold, warm, and hot weather ball. I also tried the warm and hot weather balls with and with out liquid to see if there was any difference.

When I put the halo into the shaft, I decided to just go ahead and try it out inside (on my carpet). The product seemed to work well. I was able to lift the ball above my couch -from about 5 feet away- with a liquid filled warm weather ball.

Next, I took the Halo to the street. I ran into a little trouble when trying to elevate the ball. I started out with a hot weather liquid filled ball. I figured it might just be the ball, so I tried out a -non-liquid filled- hot weather ball, a warm weather ball (both liquid and non-liquid), and finally a cold weather ball. I seemed to keep having the same problem, I could only elevate it around 18-24 inches.
I though I might just be having issues with being on the street, so I had three or four of the guys that play roller with me give it a try. All three guys were at different skill levels, but they all still had the same problem. We all know how to shoot a wrist shot and most of us can aim it fairly well, so this left all of us a little confused.

After being left a little puzzled, I decided to go to the company's website (www.wickedhockeyhands.com) and look at their videos just to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. I'm glad I did this, because my form was a little off and the video gave a little insight into how to properly use this training tool. After watching the video, I was able to elevate the ball as high as I wanted with relatively good accuracy. One thing I noticed was the heavier the ball, the harder it was to shoot. This was mainly due to the liquid of the ball and the weight distribution because of the liquid.

As far as passing goes this product can help, especially if you are prone to angling the face of your blade when receiving a pass. One other advantage to the halo is that when receiving a pass, there is less surface area to stop the ball. This helps improve control/accuracy when getting the ball.
I didn't really understand how the product would help with "quick hands"/stick handling/ball control. The Halo is pretty tight around the ball, which makes it nearly impossible to lose the ball while stick handling. It may help with the muscle movement/memory a little bit, but I'm still skeptical.

The pros:

• Excellent for training pass reception.
• Helps a great deal with form and accuracy of wrist shots.
• Teaches quick flick/snap of wrist when shooting

The cons:

• Good form is needed to even use the product properly (this may be a major obstacle for beginners) when shooting.
• Shooting with this product was hard to understand with out watching the video. Even the video could have explained it better by using slow motion or a close up of the halo when shooting.
• The Halo is shorter than a regular blade, so you may want to consider purchasing a plug for the butt end of your shaft.

Overall the Halo would be a good idea to purchase if you are having any trouble with elevating your wrist shot. It is also highly beneficial for teaching proper passing. This training tool also helps with aiming the ball in the right direction/location. Two things I would have liked to try with this product: A hockey training ball and a holie goalie.

Guest post by Jeremy Rupke from Howtohockey.com

Ice hockey is an ever growing sport in the United States. There are a lot of players who are now making the move from ball hockey, street hockey, and roller hockey to ice hockey. While there are a lot of similarities between ball hockey and ice hockey, there are a few speed bumps that players will encounter when making the switch. I have found when making the switch from roller hockey to ice hockey these are the biggest problems

• Learning how to properly use edges when turning
• Learning how to hockey stop
• Learning to shoot a hockey puck

In this post I will be showing players the difference between shooting a ball, and a puck, and what they can do to make an easy transition. The reason players have a tough time firing a puck is because of permanent muscle memory. When learning a new task you are training your muscles to complete a task, with enough repetition your muscles will be able to perform the task automatically. You see the problem is you have trained your muscles how to shoot a ball, and they don't know what to do with a puck. Luckily you have me :D

The Difference Between a Ball and a Puck

By taking a look at the difference between a ball and a puck, we can see how the shooting style would change
You can see that the ball is more than twice the size of a puck, a different shape, and much lighter. All of these differences will have an effect on how to get the best shot.

The Difference Between Shooting a Ball and a Puck

There is a big difference between how a ball is shot, and how a puck is shot, lets take a look at the method I use for both

How I shoot a ball

 

• Keep the blade of the stick more upright
• Use a quick snap when shooting
• Follow through and aim

How I shoot a puck

 

• Pull the puck back to build speed
• Cup the puck
• Pull the puck towards the net, letting the blade of the stick become more upright
• Put spin on the puck to keep it from wobbling
• As the puck comes off the ice, roll the wrists and aim

There is a reason I shoot differently with a puck, and a ball. The ball is taller than the blade of my stick, and round, so if I pull it back and try to cup it, there is a chance my blade will roll right over the top of the ball and I will lose it.
A puck is heavier than a ball, and disc shaped, so I need to pull it back a bit to build more speed on my shot, but with a ball being lighter and having the rebound effect, a quick snap will usually get enough speed on the ball.

Shooting a Ball vs. Shooting a Puck

 

• A ball is light, which means a quick snap will get it going fast. A puck is heavier so you will need to pull it back to get speed, or snap it with a lot of flex on your stick to get speed
• A ball is round, which means no matter how you shoot it the ball will fly straight. A puck is disc shaped, which means you need to put spin on it to keep it from wobbling
• A ball is tall and round, so if you try to cup it like a puck it can roll under your blade, causing you to lose the ball.
• To raise a ball all you need to do is get under the ball and lift it up, with a puck you need to figure out how to get a disc shaped object off of a flat surface

From reading the summary, you may be thinking that learning to shoot a puck may be very hard, but it is actually not that hard if you already know how to shoot a ball. The motions are similar, but you will need a few tweaks to perfect it.

Final Tips for Shooting a Puck

Here are a few tips on how to shoot a puck, for more detail you can see my article how to take a wrist shot
 

• Get the feeling of the puck moving from the heel of the blade to the toe
• Practice pulling the puck back and cupping it with the blade of the stick (see picture above), then slowly pull it forwards and notice how the blade becomes upright. When doing this in fast motion the puck will come up on the blade of the stick (about the mid point of the wrist shot) then roll your wrists to put more spin on the puck.
• Remember to snap / roll the wrists to keep the puck from wobbling, add a bit of extra speed to your shot, and get better accuracy

I hope that these tips will help you make the transition from ball hockey to roller hockey. If you have been practicing shooting but the puck keeps wobbling you should read this great article that teaches you how to stop a puck from wobbling

Jeremy "Red Light" Rupke loves hockey and has been playing since he could walk! If you are learning to play hockey you can find large collection of hockey tips on his blog. Jeremy writes about how to improve shooting, dekes, stickhandling, skating, and also reviews hockey products.

If you've played roller hockey for awhile you've probably encountered a stuck axle bolt at one point. If you haven't experienced this yet, just wait because you will eventually. This can be very frustrating, especially when you are trying to rotate your wheels in a hurry. You want to be careful when freeing a frozen bolt because if you let your carelessness get the best of you, you might damage your hardware.

Here are some tips that I've put together based off the many times I've come across this problem.

• After your bolt is loosened, leave your allen key in the hole and push firmly on the bolt to push the other side out
• Lightly tap on the bolt when it's protruding (see front wheel on above image) with the butt end of your stick. Don't hit it to hard or you may damage the threads
• Give the bolt a quarter turn and try pushing it out with your finger. Sometimes hardware gets warped, giving it an oblong shape as opposed to being perfectly round
• Do not use grease or other lubricant when inserting bolts into the chassis. They may slide in easy, but they will be difficult to get out 

Have you ever dealt with a stuck axle? What advice would you give?