In this tutorial, we focus on improving your recoveries out of the butterfly position by honing in on one critical element: proper eye tracking. By using your eyes effectively to track the puck, you’ll make your recoveries smoother, more efficient, and precise.
Key Techniques to Improve Your Recoveries:
Eye Tracking and Weight Distribution:
Always track the puck with your eyes to ensure balanced movement.
Avoid leaning backward during saves—this leads to unnecessary, wide movements when recovering from rebounds.
Engaging Eyes and Shoulders Together:
Initiate recovery with your eyes and shoulders. For example, when making a blocker save, keep your eyes focused on the puck as it moves.
As you track the puck, lift your head and shoulders in sync while keeping your chest aligned with the original shot direction.
Positioning Your Pivot Leg:
Slide your lead knee under your hips to act as your pivot point.
Move into a hybrid position (halfway between up and down) with your skate blade directly under your knee and perpendicular to your movement direction.
Avoid Common Errors:
Don’t let your skate blade extend too far outward, as it disrupts balance and forces backward shifts.
Ensure your hands are positioned outside your knees to prevent under-rotation during recovery.
Seamless Lateral Recovery:
Once your lower body is set, apply pressure to your back leg and transfer your weight forward for a clean lateral recovery.
By aligning your eyes, shoulders, and lower body correctly, you’ll achieve controlled, powerful recoveries and be ready for the next play. Watch the video for step-by-step demonstrations from different angles to see these techniques in action!