Hockey Practice Outline

Hockey practices are essential for improving skill levels and working on situations that will improve team performance during the games. Having a hockey practice outline is necessary to keep practices structured and running smoothly. It will be up to the coach to decide the best drills for practice, but here are a few popular ones.

Skate Circles:

Skating the circles is one of the most common drills for players of all ages, and this drill is wonderful for warming up. It begins with players in two corners on the same side of the rink. The players skate from opposite sides and do crossovers around all of the five circles, beginning with the two closest to them. This is a good one to have in your hockey practice outline.

Circle Passing Drill:

Five players line up in each circle and pass the puck back and forth randomly. The key is to pass and receive the pass without thinking or slowing down. This drill is good for conditioning players to receive a fast pass.

Avalanche One on One:

The focus of this drill is speed, stick handling, and defense. Defensemen are inside the center ice circle with the pucks, and forwards are in two opposite corners of the rink. The defense passes the puck to the forward in the corner and then skates to the blue line before pivoting backwards. The forwards race down the boards trying to pass the defenseman on the outside and take a shot.

Receive, Pass, & GO:

Players start in opposite corners and skate hard down the ice to the blue line. Soon as they break the blue line the player in the opposite corner gives a hard pass, which the player should receive around center ice. Player skates hard and crosses the blue line and then passes back to player who passed it. That player curls and passes back to player breaking up ice, who breaks in and shoots on net before going back to corner.

Three on Two:

Line up forwards on the goal line and have them proceed down ice on a three on two, passing back and forth and trying to put the puck in the back of the net. This is a very good drill that will prepare players for this common game situation.

Two on One:

Line up forwards on the goal line and have them pass the puck back and forth trying to get past the lone defender. Make sure that they try to at least get a shot on goal. Like the three on two, two on one is a great practice drill for preparing players for game situations.

Scrimmage:

The most important thing to do is to make sure that all players are able to execute the skills they have learned through the practice drills. Scrimmaging allows players to break up into teams and apply those skills in a game situation. Coaches can then see what needs additional work and which lessons were learned. Scrimmaging is fun for all players and is best done at the conclusion of practice after your hockey practice outline has been completed.

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