Sniper School Instructions

  • The Competitive Edge Sniper School was designed with the idea in mind that players have a place to go where they can practice shooting on their own.  It takes hours and hours to achieve highly refined technique in any discipline.  Hockey in general and shooting specifically are no different.  We are happy to provide instruction and guidance in our time with you, but to get the most out of the sport and this program you will have to put in lots of time on your own.
  • This Homework is set up to give you the tools to do just that.  Sniper School Homework will be done where the player would usually go to practice shooting.  If you need any help in setting a space like this up, please contact Competitive Edge.
  • We believe that the passionate player will get the most benefit out of their homework if they do it a minimum of 3 days per week.
  • When doing the homework, we are more worried about the technique you are building than the number of shots you do.  Remember that fatigue can lead to a breakdown in technique.  It is always great to shoot a lot of pucks unless you are ingraining a poor technique.  If you are having any trouble focusing on the technique due to being tired or fatigued, it may be better to stop shooting.  It is more important to execute the proper technique than it is to perform a lot of reps!
  • Build your technique habits – accuracy is a critical component of goal scoring, but when we encounter a new shooting drill, it is important that we dedicate our mental resources to building our motor control program before focusing on accuracy.  Once we have a solid technique habit built up we can focus on building accuracy within it.  It is OK for shots to be poor when you first learn these new techniques!  Trust that with practice you will eventually figure out how to get really quality shots off even with some of these techniques which will be awkward at first.
  • In several of the snapshot drills we talk about “snapping through” during the release of the shot.  This is in reference to the rapid push of the toe of the blade toward the target at the exact instant where the puck rolls to and off of the toe of the blade.  This is the same process by which we end up pointing the toe of the blade at the target in the wrist shot.  To see the rough concept executed at slow speed, check out the S/W – Supplemental – Ball Wrist Shot video in the Extra Credit / Supplemental Videos category below.
  • Note that the footwork can vary in some of the videos that you will see, especially in the snap shot drills.  There are some drills where we will tell you the specific footwork.  On snap shot drills where we don’t tell you, the foot work is not very important.  In fact, in snap shots we want to be able to get them off in any part of our stride, so some variation in the footwork is very much ok.  With that said, no matter the footwork we must get positioned so that our hands and shoulders are out in front of the puck so we can leverage the stick against the ice and create flex.  As long as we get the hands and shoulders out in front of the puck, we can create a very good snap shot from any footwork.
  • Each drill video in our online homework guide (provided at the bottom of this page) is intentionally kept short and to the point.  As such, please review each video a few times to ensure a thorough understanding of both the explanation and the visual demonstration.
  • Each video also has a summary of the key points for each technique at the end.  Please pause the video at the end to take the time to read and grasp these points.

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Sniper School Homework Guides

Find the link for your current shooting level to download your homework.  Then view the videos for the drills in your homework using the links at the bottom of this page to make sure you are doing the drills with as correct of technique as possible.

Sniper School Level

  1. D
  2. A
  3. N
  4. G
  5. L
  6. E
  7. S
  8. N2
  9. I
  10. P
  11. E2
  12. C
  13. E3
  14. L2
  15. L3
  16. Y

Graduate Levels

  1. Grad Level 1
  2. Grad Level 2
  3. Grad Level 3

After you get your homework sheet, but before you check out the videos below,

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Sniper School Video Drill Guides

Use the videos to the fullest to ensure maximum understanding of the drills.

Basic

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Advanced 1

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Advanced 2

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Advanced 3

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Extra Credit / Supplemental

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