For years European and Soviet players have used wooden stickhandling balls before games and for off-ice skills training to develop lightening quick, soft hands. With advances in space age materials smart|hockey patented a stickhandling and shooting ball which even more closely replicates an ice hockey puck’s weight, bounce co-efficient, slide co-efficient and height at which the puck contacts the stick. The patented, two-piece dynamic core technology feels so much like an ice hockey puck that pro, collegiate and high school players across North America are using the ball as an essential part of their off-ice skills development.
Dynamic Core – Patented two-piece ball technology combines surlyn® shell with high density low rebound space-age thermoplastic core giving the training ball the exact feel of an ice hockey puck. The solid core covered by the surlyn shell eliminates any pliancy or “smushing” of the ball between the stick and the skating surface whether you’re training on a tennis court, basketball court, paved street, driveway or down in your basement.
Weight – The ball is just slightly lighter than an ice hockey puck to compensate for the extra friction of off-ice surfaces. The difference in weight makes the ball “feel” like a puck, which makes it perfect for developing lightening quick hands for puck control, shooting and passing.
Height – The diameter of the ball is 2.1875″ making the height at which it contacts the stick 1.09″ which is less than one tenth of an inch higher than an ice hockey puck. The tangent point combined with the weight of the ball tricks the player’s muscle memory into thinking they are working with an ice hockey puck.
Bounce – The high density low rebound core has approximately the same bounce coefficient as a frozen ice hockey puck. Dropped from a vertical distance of three feet a frozen ice hockey puck and the smart|hockey stickhandling and shooting ball only bounce 11″. This gives the ball the same “dead” feeling of an ice hockey puck against your stick.
Slide – The surlyn® shell rolls or slides over any surface at any temperature at the same rate that a puck slides on fresh ice without becoming pliant or “smushy” making it perfect to develop quick, soft hands necessary to become a good stick handler.