1. Choosing a Hip Check
Checking in hockey is done for many reasons. A solid check makes your presence known to your opponent, shakes up the game and gives you the chance to steal the puck and create a scoring chance for your team. Certain kinds of checks are advantageous in different situations. The poke check is a good check to use when face to face with an opponent. Hip checking in hockey is useful when the puck is stuck along the boards or when you need to stop an opponent circling your net from advancing on your goalie.
2. Checking Safely
It's important to do your hip checking safely to keep from injuring yourself or your opponent. When you move in for the check, hold your head up and away from your opponent to avoid a concussion. Bring your hip up and connect with your opponent from the side, using all of your force and momentum to drive him into the boards. Keep your hands and arms clear when you deliver the check; if your hands are between you and your opponent, they could get broken or, if viewed negatively by an official, be ruled as a roughing penalty.
3. Stay With Your Stick
Hip checking and stick control are difficult to do at the same time, but you need to maintain control over your stick when you follow through with your check. Keep your stick clear from your opponent when you check him so your body is the only part of you that makes contact. Keep your stick low; a stick high in the air could be ruled as high sticking and draw a penalty. Hold your stick firmly so the impact of your check doesn't make you drop it.
4. Keeping the Puck
Hip checking is a good way to steal puck possession from your opponent. When you move in and deliver your hip check, sweep your stick down along the boards to push the puck away from your opponent's stick. Try to redirect it towards one of your teammates so the puck will be cleared out of your defensive zone before your opponent has recovered from the check. If you are being hip checked, tuck the puck into the back of your stick blade so that your opponent can't reach it to sweep it away.
5. The Perfect Hip Check
Delivering an effective hip check is all about speed, accuracy and positioning. A hip check will be most effective if you deliver it along the boards because the player will be driven into the boards and momentarily incapacitated. A hip check delivered at mid-ice will not have as much momentum or force; your opponent will be able to recover faster and stealing the puck away will be more difficult.
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