Hockey coaches have to prepare their team to play competitive games. One of the keys is using practice time effectively with exercises and drills that will help your players perform better on the ice. In order to help your players build their skill level, you can implement shooting, passing and skating drills.
Shooting Accuracy
Improving accuracy is one of the most important things to do in shooting practice. Coaches can help players become more accurate shooters by installing a piece of plywood piece in the goal that has openings in the top right corner, the top left corner, the bottom right corner and the bottom left corner. Position your shooter about 20 feet in front of the goal. On your signal, he will shoot five pucks at the upper right corner, five more at the lower right, five at the lower left and five at the upper left. By shooting a lot of pucks and aiming at these locations, the shooter will improve his accuracy and release.
Encourage players to look at the spot they are aiming for and not keep their heads down. The best shooters look at where they are aiming and keep their heads up when skating, passing and shooting.
Passing Drill
This drill is done with three players and begins in the defensive zone. The center starts the drill by passing the puck to his right wing, who sends the puck over to the left wing. As they move up the ice, the left wing passes back to the center as the trio crosses the blue line and moves into the offensive zone. The center passes to the right wing, who shoots on the goal. The center picks up the rebound and starts a drive back toward the other end of the ice. This time, the left wing shoots on net.
The three players should stay on pace with each other, and the puck must precede the players past the blue line to keep the play onside. Encourage the player who receives the puck after the trio crosses the blue line to accelerate toward the net to create a better scoring opportunity.
Skating Drill
In order to improve a hockey player's speed and power skating, use a ladder drill that mixes speeds. The player starts at the end line. On the coach's whistle, the skater takes off at full speed for the blue line. He returns at 3/4 speed to the end line. He then skates hard to the red line at center, then returns back to the end line at full speed. Take a one-minute break, then repeat the drill.
Encourage hard strides and accelerating at the start of each sprint and when the turn is made to go back. Players should push their feet out to the sides and lean forward throughout the drill to get maximum speed, and they should use hard hockey stops at each turning point to facilitate quick changes of direction.
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