Hockey is a physically demanding sport that requires superior athleticism, speed, and agility. It also demands a strong and powerful core. The hockey balance board provides a fun way to train these critical skills while improving overall balance, strength and coordination. In addition, the balance board can help improve proprioception – which is the body’s ability to sense movement and position. It is important to develop this skill in order to maximize on-ice performance.
Balance training is important for all athletes but it is especially vital to hockey players. This is because of the unique way that hockey moves require a player to transfer and generate high levels of force. For this reason, it is important to develop balance training that mimics the movement of skating. This type of training will provide the most benefit to players when combined with hockey specific drills and exercises.
There are a variety of balance training options out there, but many of them fail to adequately replicate the movements required for hockey. For example, a traditional exercise like performing deep squats on a BOSU ball or standing on a stability ball is a great way to build leg strength but doesn’t really challenge the ankle to create and transfer velocity or acceleration, or to stabilize against these forces. This type of static training has its place in certain injury rehabilitation situations, but for healthy hockey players it is not a good replacement for dynamic balance training.
The most effective balance training for hockey will involve a combination of static and dynamic drills that mimic the motion of skating. A hockey balance board is the ideal tool for this type of training because it provides a stable platform to perform both of these types of drills while allowing the athlete to adjust the angle of the fulcrum to change how much effort it takes to move the fulcrum in either direction.
Using the Balance Board
The best thing about this balance board is that it can be used on virtually any surface, including carpet. It is important to note that the harder the surface, the faster the board will roll and the more difficult it will be to use.
To use the balance board, a hockey player should stand on it with their feet shoulder-width apart. They should then push both the left and right pedals on the board while keeping their weight over them. This will cause the fulcrum to move forward or backward depending on how much pressure is applied to the pedals. The fulcrum can also be adjusted by changing the size or shape of the rings that are on the board.
This can be done in conjunction with hockey stickhandling drills to develop explosive power and elite core strength. A great drill to try is to have a player stand on the balance board with a puck in front of them. They should then begin to pass and receive the puck on both their forehand and backhand while on the balance board. This will not only improve balance but will also develop a great connection between the core and the legs resulting in better stickhandling.