| All the same elements that go into a good wrist shot | | | | you've lost control and you can't possibly get anything |
| go into a strong backhand shot. | | | | behind it. You've got to release the puck before the |
| Backhand Shot Basics | | | | puck rolls past the mid-point of your curve. |
| - Pull the puck back to (or past) your rear leg. | | | | - While pulling the puck back is important to generate |
| - "Load Up" by leaning on your rear leg. | | | | power for both shots, you can actually shoot the puck |
| - Start with the puck on the heel of your stick, and roll | | | | fairly hard with a wrist shot, even if you don't pull it |
| it down the blade as you shoot. | | | | back. No dice with the backhand. You MUST pull it |
| - Transfer your weight to your front leg. | | | | back to get any power at all. |
| - Roll your wrists over as you follow through. | | | | - Rolling your wrists ALL THE WAY over is crucial on |
| - Point the tip of your blade to where you want the | | | | your backhand. This gives you the necessary power |
| puck to go. | | | | and accuracy to have any chance of scoring. This is |
| Wrist Shot vs Backhand Shot | | | | not easy as it requires a fair bit of strength and timing. |
| - The curve of the stick is working against you on your | | | | The backside of the blade of your stick should be |
| backhand. You only have the distance between the | | | | parallel to the ice at the end of your follow through. |
| heel, and the point where the blade starts to curve to | | | | While the backhand shot isn't used very often, it's a |
| work with. Once the puck rolls past the mid-point, | | | | key weapon to have at your disposal. |