Drifting the Puck in Air Hockey

Overview of Drifting the Puck
Drifting is one of the most important techniques you will need to master that will serve as a foundation for your offensive game. Drifting is when you lightly tap the puck with your mallet in order to get it into the right position to take your shot. The drift is essentially a pass to yourself into the shooting zone where your highest percentage shots will be taken from. The shooting zone is an invisible zone on the table directly behind the centerline that allows you to get close to your opponent's side of the table and increase your shot accuracy. The shooting zone won't limit the shots you can take from it and you can take banks, straights, angles and trick shots all from this area.
How to Drift the Puck
It may not sound difficult but there is a technique to drifting in order to tap the puck with just the right amount of force to enter the place you will strike it from when you shoot. The most common mistake players make is tapping too lightly where it has to be bit multiple times in order to get in position. Other players sometimes tap too hard and the puck becomes too far away to execute a clean shot or drifts to the opponent's side of the table. This is the worst thing you can do as it will result in a lost possession and give your competition a chance to score. Practice your drifts so they can enter the shooting zone with a single tap and stop where you want to strike it from.
Different Types of Drifts
Drifting isn't all about just randomly bumping the puck forward toward the centerline. There are actually three different ways that professionals drift in order to add different looks and an element of deception when setting up their shots. These methods are called the Basic, L-Drift and the Circle Drift and mastering all three can be quite a challenge.

  • The Basic is executed by tapping the puck from the back right quadrant toward the centerline at a 35-45 degree angle. The major advantage to this drift lies in the player's ability to execute a shot anywhere along the drift.
  • The L-Drift, brought to fame by Owen Giraldo en route to his National Title, starts with the same movement of the Basic and then changes at the top. When reaching the end of the Basic, the mallet circles the puck and gets in front to stop it. From there the puck is tapped sideways against the wall and hit backwards to the original starting position. This provides all of the advantages of the Basic but also allows advanced players to vary their shot sequence and timing. It also allows a little more time to see the defensive formation and execute your shot properly.
  • The Circle Drift is one of the most utilized styles around. It was made popular by Tim Weissman during his rise to the top in the late '80s and early '90s, the Circle Drift is comprised of moving the puck clockwise in a diamond shape. It is contacted by the mallet twice, once at the bottom and again at the top to reverse it and counterclockwise. Both of these drifts encourage shots from several points on the table, and with only minor adjustments can utilize time delays, change-ups, and other techniques.