How to Measure Puck Speed With a Radar Gun
In hockey, shot speed is the name of the game. A shot aimed at the goal coming in gingerly is easily blocked, whereas a scorching slap shot could leave the opposing goalie empty-handed as the siren blares behind him to indicate a goal scored. One way to work on the effectiveness of your slap shot is by realizing how fast it is actually going. This is simple information to collect with the help of a friend and a radar gun.
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Instructions
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Set up the hockey puck. Place the hockey puck on the ice rink on the spot you want to shoot from. If you want to simply measure how fast you can strike the puck, the direction and location don't matter. If this is a public rink, make sure no one is in the path of your hockey puck.
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Turn on the radar gun. For most radar guns, this means simply pressing the button marked "On." Also, decide if you want the reading of the gun to be in "miles per hour" or some other form of measurement.
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Aim the radar gun. Give it to your friend and have him aim toward the puck. He will want to aim it about a foot in front of where the puck will be traveling as to avoid any mistaken readings due to the motion of the hockey stick. You also want to measure the speed close to where the puck is initially struck because air resistance will slow it down as it travels farther down the ice.
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Strike the puck. Use the hockey stick to hit the puck as hard as possible. The radar gun will pick up the speed of the puck. Take a few shots and collect as many readings as possible to give you a better idea of what your puck shot speed is.
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Tips & Warnings
Another option is to purchase a specialized puck that has a radar gun built in, allowing you to strike the puck, collect it and see how hard you hit it.
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- Photo Credit hockey sur glace image by Sébastien Goetschmann from Fotolia.com
