The History Of The Swedish Stickhandling Ball
What is the Swedish Stick handling ball ?
The history behind the Swedish Stick handling ball. About 15 years ago North American hockey players started to copy the Swedish players who used wooden balls to practice their stick handling. The North American players did not have access to the wooden balls so they began using golf balls instead. Many College and NHL Players who have been using a golf ball say that they prefer using the wooden balls because they do not bounce as much as the golf ball and you can shoot the wooden balls. Other rubber stickhandling balls may have the same weight as a puck but do not offer the same glide coeficient as a puck on ice. This means they are slower to handle on dryland and will not handle the same as a puck. The swedish wooden stickhandling balls move fast no matter what surface they are on in order to help develop fast hands and wrists.
We compared the Swedish Wooden Stickhandling Ball to a regular hockey puck and Green Biscuit puck, We’ll also cover the advantages and disadvantages of a wood stickhandling ball.
Wooden Stickhandling ball Compared to Green Biscuit, and regular Pucks
Off Ice Training Technique
A massive problem that hockey players encounter when trying to practice off the ice is learning the proper technique and motions or movements and then transferring what they learn onto the ice. That is why creating an environment that replicates the on ice training and practice is so essential. We’ll compare some of these aspects of practicing with a puck on ice and compare them to training with the Swedish Stick handling ball off ice.
Weight
The Swedish Stick handling ball has a very similar feel to a puck on the ice, the most obvious difference is the weight as the wooden balls are much lighter than a puck, they weighed in at around 48 grams, which is about 93 grams lighter than a puck. The importance of having a lighter ball is that it allows hockey players to pactice quick movements, repetition and quick dribbling.
Realistic “puck like” training
Why the the Swedish Stick handling ball has been such a success is that the although its a ball, it acts and reacts a lot like a puck on the ice, Some of the other stickhandling balls have one big problem (height and size) you want the training aid to be as similar to a puck as possible to increase the realism of your training i.e. The blade of your stick will contact the ball at almost the same height as a puck, having a similar contact point will help train your muscles and build your muscle memory and develop those skills required to improve your stick handling.
How does the Swedish Stickhandling ball feel ?
The idea behind the ball is that its meant to move and react in the same way a hockey puck would.. The wooden stickhandling balls are great to use as the wood really cushions each impact, making them easy and more effective to use and control. For an even better slide you can pick up a hockey shooting pad, they work increadibly well and protect the blade of your stick from the rough ground.
How much do the Swedish stickhandling balls cost in the UK
The biggest advantage of the Swedish stickhandling balls is the price, these balls usually sell for around £4, this allows players to practice without breaking there bank.
Negative to the Swedish wooden stickhandling balls
Durability – The only negative about this training aid is the durability, these balls need to be kept in dry environment as they will become egg shaped if left outside in the rain (living in the UK this way be hard to avoid) water and wood do not mix.
Key points
- Wood absorbs in impact for great control unlike a golf ball bouncing all over the place.
- Light weight is great for dribbling, and practicing quick moves and dekes or fakes
- Wood feels very nice to stickhandle with and is easy to control
- As its a ball, you can practice your stickhandling anywhere!
- Inexpensive don’t have to worry about misplacing or breaking them
