Ice Hockey Coaching Blog

Working on the Goal Scorer's Touch

In Coaching Tips on Saturday, June 9th, 2012 by
Buffalo State Goal Celebration
The ability to get the puck off the stick and on net is a skill reserved for goal scorers.  So many young players want to take that extra stick handle, and in doing so spoil their scoring opportunity.  Examples of both were evident in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals. Take Daugavins play in overtime of Game 1 in the Cup Finals for example.  Instead of releasing right away, one too many...
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Three Very Small Area Games

In Coaching Tips on Monday, May 21st, 2012 by
Three Very Small Area Games
The ADM model set forth by USA hockey and their endorsement for small area games has made this term much more popular among youth hockey coaches, especially here in the United States.  There are a wealth of games that are great fun and great for development and I think it is important to choose games that are relevant to your purpose.  The small area games listed below focus on tight...
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Integrate Races Into Hockey Drills

In Coaching Tips on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 by
Hockey Player Doing a Racing Drill
There is an old school mentality that you have to line the players up and do skating drills for 20 - 30  minutes to get your team in shape.  However, have you ever lined up two players on the goal line, places a puck at center ice, and said "go"?   Just watch as the competitive nature of your players brings the intensity to a new level. The hockey drills on this page are just a...
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Several hockey drills for transitioning and attacking with speed

In Coaching Tips on Thursday, May 10th, 2012 by
Transition and speed hockey drills
Planning for a small private session is tough sometimes because there are so many thing to work on and so many good hockey drills available.  An hour never seems like enough time. In these sessions it is helpful to pick out a particular skill and choose only drills that compliment this skill.  The hockey drills outlined below are geared for an hour long session and focus on...
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Hockey Drills for a Power Play Practice

In Coaching Tips on Monday, May 7th, 2012 by
Ice Hockey Power Play Diagram
A hockey practice that focues on the power play is not to be confused with a practice where you play power play versus penalty kill for the entire practice.  There are lots of drills that focus on skill sets that can be used while leading up to a power play scrimmage.  Some of the key points of emphasis on the power play are puck possession, timing, shot selection, moving away from the...
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3 great hockey drills for private sessions

In Coaching Tips on Friday, May 4th, 2012 by
hockey drills for private sessions
It can be tricky to come up with unique, usefull, and fun hockey drills to use in a summer session where you only have a couple of players.  These are hockey drills you can pass along to players to do at stick and puck as well.  Two people are required for each one of these hockey drills because of they all incorporate lots of passing.  The diagrams for each hockey drill are at the...
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A plan for summer sessions

In on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 by
Summer Hockey
Planning hockey practices for summer sessions are much different than planning for a mid-season practice.  During the season it is typical to focus on more team concepts, especially at the higher levels.  During the summer the goal should be to improve the skill set of the individuals while giving them a taste of fun and excitement that will have them yearning for hockey season to start...
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