Are You Training?

With it being summer in the northern hemisphere, there are a lot of players who have begun their off-season training. This, of course, includes hitting the gym and lifting weights, a lot of cardiovascular training, some on-ice work, and, in some cases, stretching and yoga. All of these are recommended for a well-rounded player, and none are more important than the other when it comes to developing your skills and talent. However, there is one website that is asking you how many shots you've fired this month, and is willing to track your progress. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to start your Ten Thousand Pucks quest!

I know what you're thinking: this isn't part of my training plan for the off-season. I'm not here to tell you that you have to use it or else. In fact, it's totally up to you whether you want to take 10,000 shots in the span of thirty days or not. What I am here to tell you is that this free website will track your shot count over a thirty-day span and, if you make the 10,000-shot total, a professional hockey player will email you with congratulations on reaching the goal! The practice is the most important part,of course, but how cool would it be to get an email from one of Boston's Brad Marchand or the Islanders' Andrew MacDonald?

The goal is simple: 10,000 shots in thirty days. It helps to "[i]ncrease shot strength, accuracy and overall shot performance. Encourage an active lifestyle. Improve your hockey skills". Most of all, you're outside playing hockey. You're looking at approximately 330 shots per day, so break out the gloves and stick and get started!

All you need is a puck, a tennis ball, or a hard orange road hockey ball. The latter two are important especially if you don't have a garage door that can be dented and left with black marks all over it. Find yourself a good shooting surface (driveway, road, etc.) and let the pucks fly! It's that easy!

Now you might be asking what the catch is behind this website. Josh Turk, the founder of Ten Thousand Pucks says there is no catch whatsoever. Every player who signs up gets a chance at hitting the goal as long as they do the required 10,000 pucks in thirty days. Once done, the pro hockey players who are associated with the website will email your shooter! It's all free!

Honestly, this is a pretty cool idea. If you do sign up for this website, please fire me an email, and I'll keep track of your progress as well! It would be great to see a bunch of HBIC readers on the leaderboard! There are only 22 shooters signed up right now, so get yourself going and start blasting pucks! You could be the first player to hit the 10,000 pucks goal!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!