Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
shoot off the back foot
English answer:
shoot when the puck is level with your back foot
Added to glossary by
Charles Davis
Jun 10, 2017 09:27
6 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term
shoot off the back foot
English
Other
Sports / Fitness / Recreation
Ice hockey
Hello everyone,
https://www.nhl.com/news/wayne-gretzky-book-excerpt-99-stori...
"With today’s whippier sticks, guys can load up quickly and shoot off the back foot, which takes a lot less time. In my experience, the game changed considerably between 1987 and 1997 in that there was less time to get off a slap shot with a full windup. Mark Messier was one of the first guys to **shoot off the back foot** to catch a goalie napping. I remember Owen Nolan did the same thing in the 1997 All-Star game—though he wasn’t trying to catch Dominik Hasek napping. He actually pointed at the corner he was aiming at and still beat Hasek."
My understanding of "shoot off the back foot" is as follows: if a player shoots off the back foot it implies that when he takes a shot his weight is (completely or mostly) on the back foot, i.e. he uses the back foot as a support.
But in a video with Owen Nolan I see something entirely different:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUc3KVWZ94
The video clearly shows that when Owen Nolan takes a shot his weight is completely on the front foot, not on the back one (the fragment is repeated several times from different angles) and he uses his front foot as a support (you can clearly see it at 1.06).
Do I misunderstand the meaning of "shoot off the back foot" or do I interpret incorrectly what I see on the video?
Thank you.
https://www.nhl.com/news/wayne-gretzky-book-excerpt-99-stori...
"With today’s whippier sticks, guys can load up quickly and shoot off the back foot, which takes a lot less time. In my experience, the game changed considerably between 1987 and 1997 in that there was less time to get off a slap shot with a full windup. Mark Messier was one of the first guys to **shoot off the back foot** to catch a goalie napping. I remember Owen Nolan did the same thing in the 1997 All-Star game—though he wasn’t trying to catch Dominik Hasek napping. He actually pointed at the corner he was aiming at and still beat Hasek."
My understanding of "shoot off the back foot" is as follows: if a player shoots off the back foot it implies that when he takes a shot his weight is (completely or mostly) on the back foot, i.e. he uses the back foot as a support.
But in a video with Owen Nolan I see something entirely different:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaUc3KVWZ94
The video clearly shows that when Owen Nolan takes a shot his weight is completely on the front foot, not on the back one (the fragment is repeated several times from different angles) and he uses his front foot as a support (you can clearly see it at 1.06).
Do I misunderstand the meaning of "shoot off the back foot" or do I interpret incorrectly what I see on the video?
Thank you.
Change log
Jun 10, 2017 09:34: Tony M changed "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "Ice hockey"
Jun 11, 2017 15:55: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Responses
+1
3 hrs
Charles Davis
Spain
Spain
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
Spain
Related KudoZ points
:
39
Selected
shoot when the puck is level with your back foot
You've had an answer, repeated here, that says it means what you initially rejected: that "shoot off the back foot" means "shoot with your weight on the back foot". That is what you would expect it to mean, because that's what it means in other sports, football and cricket, for example. But not in ice hockey.
In ice hockey, it refers to where the puck is when you choot. Shooting off the back foot means shooting when the puck is level with your back foot: in other words, when the puck is behind, or at last not in front of, your centre of gravity. This means that you can't take much of a backswing; it has to be a snap shot (i.e., a wrist shot). That's the relevance of the "whippier sticks" Gretzky mentions; they enable you to get more power into a snap shot.
You start the stroke with the puck by your back foot, sort of drag it forward and release it as it passes your front foot. As you do so, your weight will also transfer to the front foot.
See the following ice hockey tips:
"To maximize power and control with your backhand, start the puck off your back foot and sweep it through releasing just after the puck crosses your front foot. If you start with the puck too far in front, you will not maximize the weight transition."
"When taking a wristshot, your weight and puck should start off your back foot. As your weight slides to the front foot, the puck should be rotating from the heel of your stick to the toe. The puck should be released as it crosses your front foot and your weight should be completely transferred to your front foot."
"Technique #4
This shot differs from a wristshot in that it is less a sweeping motion and more a simple flick of the wrists. The puck starts toward the front foot as opposed to a wristshot where the puck starts off the back foot."
http://hockey.lifetips.com//cat/56073/hockey-shots/index.htm...
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Note added at 3 hrs (2017-06-10 12:45:18 GMT)
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Sorry: when you shoot, not choot (start of paragraph 2)!
In ice hockey, it refers to where the puck is when you choot. Shooting off the back foot means shooting when the puck is level with your back foot: in other words, when the puck is behind, or at last not in front of, your centre of gravity. This means that you can't take much of a backswing; it has to be a snap shot (i.e., a wrist shot). That's the relevance of the "whippier sticks" Gretzky mentions; they enable you to get more power into a snap shot.
You start the stroke with the puck by your back foot, sort of drag it forward and release it as it passes your front foot. As you do so, your weight will also transfer to the front foot.
See the following ice hockey tips:
"To maximize power and control with your backhand, start the puck off your back foot and sweep it through releasing just after the puck crosses your front foot. If you start with the puck too far in front, you will not maximize the weight transition."
"When taking a wristshot, your weight and puck should start off your back foot. As your weight slides to the front foot, the puck should be rotating from the heel of your stick to the toe. The puck should be released as it crosses your front foot and your weight should be completely transferred to your front foot."
"Technique #4
This shot differs from a wristshot in that it is less a sweeping motion and more a simple flick of the wrists. The puck starts toward the front foot as opposed to a wristshot where the puck starts off the back foot."
http://hockey.lifetips.com//cat/56073/hockey-shots/index.htm...
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Note added at 3 hrs (2017-06-10 12:45:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry: when you shoot, not choot (start of paragraph 2)!
Note from asker:
| Thank you, Charles! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
philgoddard
: I bet you knew nothing about ice hockey when you started answering this question :-)
5 hrs
|
|
Nothing at all, apart from the fact that they seem to beat each other up from time to time :) Thanks, Phil
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Charles."
+1
27 mins
Hamed Naderian
Persian>English/Eng>Persian translator
Native in: Persian (Farsi) 
Works in: Persian (Farsi) to English, English to Persian (Farsi)
Shooting off THE GOALI’s back foot (not THE STRIKER’s)
I understand catching the goalie napping means aiming for his back foot, namely the foot, which is resting on the ground from the knee downwards, not the one resting on the ground upon the sole to fend off the attacker’s puck.
Note from asker:
| Thank you, sweetsurrender. |
2 hrs
airmailrpl
Brazil
Brazil
Native in English
&
English
Brazil
Technical - Fast - good price - accurate
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
20
his weight is on the back foot, i.e. he uses the back foot as a support.
shoot off the back foot => his weight is on the back foot, i.e. he uses the back foot as a support.
My initial thought was that if a player shoots off the back foot it means that when he takes a shot his weight is on the back foot, i.e. he uses the back foot as a support.
The expression means what you initially thought it did. The idea is that your weight (if you are the shooter) is on your back leg and foot, instead forward on your toes. In the old days, young players were warned repeatedly not to shoot or throw off their back foot because, if they did, the only power they would be able to generate would come from their shoulders and arms, instead of putting their entire body weight into the shot or throw. Instead, they were coached to step into a throw or shot so that all the weight was moving forward toward the target or goal.
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/393329/what-does...
My initial thought was that if a player shoots off the back foot it means that when he takes a shot his weight is on the back foot, i.e. he uses the back foot as a support.
The expression means what you initially thought it did. The idea is that your weight (if you are the shooter) is on your back leg and foot, instead forward on your toes. In the old days, young players were warned repeatedly not to shoot or throw off their back foot because, if they did, the only power they would be able to generate would come from their shoulders and arms, instead of putting their entire body weight into the shot or throw. Instead, they were coached to step into a throw or shot so that all the weight was moving forward toward the target or goal.
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/393329/what-does...
Note from asker:
| Thank you, airmailrpl. |
Discussion
https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Hockey/Video-Techniques/Sco...
Performing a shot off the back foot
But Owen Nolan video really confuses me.