My Sweet Goal Setup

As you'll notice from the current background of this swank new blog, I have a pretty sweet hockey goal setup in the ol' backyard. A less blurry version is shown on the left (click to enlarge). It's a pretty simple setup.

I never really thought about buying a goal before since I could easily go down to the roller park and shoot there, or even just go to a handball court and tape a goal to the wall and shoot on that. Which, by the way, is interesting just to see reactions from the other park goers to me taking loud slappers in a park. You feel like a circus act since everyone is amazed that someone actually plays hockey, or even annoyed that I'm taking up park space. But over the summer I really felt that I had stepped up my game enough to not be a defensive liability, and it was time to finally improve my shot since it was pretty weak and off-balance.

The goal is an E-Z Goal with backstop. I bought this for two primary reasons: the fact that it folds up so I can move it to my garage or car, and it was dirt cheap as far as goals go. Also it's quite a conversation starter when people look out the kitchen window. Even with the backstop, total price came to $150. That is an unbelievable deal, since most metal goals cost well over $200. I bought it from Hockey Shot, but I know there are other places with even cheaper shipping. It's full regulation size, although the metal isn't as thick as a pro level goal. Regardless though, it takes a pretty heavy shot at close distance to even dent this sucker. I've found this to be an excellect buy, and really simple to fold for transport or storage.

The only downside would be putting it together. That took about 6 hours total by myself. I bought this at the end of August, and was therefore outside with the mosquitos since I live by a bay. Whatever though, having it setup was worth being grimey. The diagram was pretty intuitive, perhaps not IKEA-level, but I made sense of it. The only suggestion I would have it connect the top crossbar last. Originally I had mine too tight, and I couldn't get the top shelf connected correctly. Also you'll definitely need a rubber mallet for this. For a full on review, you can go to How To Hockey.

The second item would be the shooting pad. I don't really have a smooth surface in the backyard, and needed something proper to rocket pucks off of. I bought the HockeyShot Extreme Passing Kit since it was pretty damn big and rolled up. The price tag is a bit hefty though, $140 total. A really nice feature is the bungie cord at one end, allowing you to practice passes and, my favorite, one-timers.

There are a few downsides though. It's really friggin' huge, and a chore to tie-up yourself, although still do-able. Additionally you need to let it lie flat for awhile so it flattens itself out (not an issue if you become lazy like me and leave it out all the time). And if you have it on an uneven surface, it can develop bumps where passes will cause the puck to bounce and roll. Bear in mind those are issues you'll find with most any shooting pad, and not specifically this one. Either way, when you have it setup, it makes for a great surface to shoot from.

Both items can be easily stored and moved. With the garage being jam packed with other crap, and it being autumn with grass to move, I have of course decided that reason enough to be lazy and leave out in the backyard. I'm not too worried about someone running off with it. Everything is positioned perfectly and it can't be seen from front, and also it's huge enough that I doubt anyone would be running off with a regulation sized goal. So if you are in the area, feel free to drop by and take a few shots. I like to imagine random passers-by taking shots on it while I'm not there.