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.
Tags: product review, shooting
