Our goal (pun intended) is to make players better with a really big invention.

While training over in Europe I noticed teams from the Czech Republic practicing with solid wagon tires to improve their passing and receiving skills. It looked like it was fun and by the way they moved the puck it obviously worked. I was reminded of the importance of passing and receiving during a coach's seminar given by Ben Smith, the Head Coach of US Women's Olympic Team. He had mentioned that his team uses heavy steel ball bearings from time-to-time to help the players improve their passing and receiving mechanics.

I thought there must be a better method than ball bearings or tires. I wanted to find, or create, something that you could use by yourself.

All sports are kinetic, whether they are high-speed sports such as hockey or low speed sports such as bowling. All relate to motion, and require skills that employ motion. Many sports combine several different skills. A hockey player must skate and at the same time, be able to handle, pass and shoot the puck. The quality of kinetic production is crucial.

In every sport the skills involved are developed in proportion to their importance, both separately and in combination. A hockey player will practice shooting, passing and receiving the puck while skating or while stationary. The athlete is building patterns or muscle memory while practicing. In the course of repeating correct movements and rhythms, the quality of the player's passing, receiving or shooting will improve considerably. The inverse is also true, if the athlete practices with poor technique or movement he will build poor patterns and essentially will become worse. It is more important to practice smart than hard!

In January, while the US Women's National Team was in town, Tadd crashed their practice. He threw several pugis on the ice before their practice. The athletes liked using pugi and the coaching staff was so impressed they ended up getting several for their training facility in Lake Placid. "I immediately saw that our players had to use proper form. They definitely work," said Julie Sasner, Assistant Coach.

Tadd said he was just happy to see some of the finest hockey players in the world having fun with pugi. Tadd has been visiting with several local teams and the feedback from coaches and players has been tremendous.

Tadd Tuomie
SynergyHockey.Net