U8 - 4 Station Practice Plan #6

Sharks and minnows could be one of the most popular youth sports games around. In the hockey world you may know this as pom-pom-pullaway. It is a great way to start a practice session becuase it gets kids excited and engaged.

How to Play

All the players place their sticks down below the goal line and line up across the goal line. Select 3-4 players or coaches to be the "sharks". The "sharks" must stay between the blue lines at all times. On the whistle the players will skate from one side of the ice to the other. The object is to not get touched by a "shark". If they get touched then they join the "sharks" in the middle for the rest of the game. The last player to not get touched by a "shark" wins that round.

In this relay race players will be forced to work on their inside edges. As players go around the stick they need to use the inside edge of the outside foot only. Once they get to the middle of the stick they can transfer their weight to the other foot and use the inside edge of that foot to go around the next stick.

Setup

This station can be set up the exact same way as the one step and two foot jumps relays. Place two rows of 5 sticks with a tire at the end as shown in the diagram. Divide up the players in to two teams and have each team form a line in front of the row of sticks.

Corner Tires is a small area game where the players score by hitting the tire with a puck.

Set Up

Place four tires on a rectangle as shown in the diagram. Make sure there is enough room from the tires to the edge so that there is room to play on all sides of the tires. The coach has the pucks along the edge with the players split into two teams on each side.

How the game is played

The coach will dump a puck into play and two players will compete for the puck. The players will defend the tires on their side of the ice and try to score by hitting either tire on the opponents side of the ice. After about 90 seconds the coach blows the whistle and dumps a new puck into play and two new players from each team play the new puck.

Credit: Diagram and animation produced using Hockey Coach Vision

This is the classic dodge ball game played on the ice using tennis balls (or foam pucks if available). Without knowing it the players will emulate the shooting and passing motion over and over while having fun. They will also need to use awareness, agility, and edges. You can add a lot of variations into the game as well at the direction of the coach.

General Rules

• When a player is hit they are out of the game
• If a player catches a ball shot from the other team then the player that shot the ball is out and one of their teammates can re-join the game.
• Trying to knock down a ball with your stick above your shoulders is automatic out (high sticking).

Credit: Diagram produced using Hockey Coach Vision.

This drill allows players to work on a basic single shift with the puck but they have to make a decision based on the action of the coach.

Setup

Place two nets with goalies (if available) at each end of the station. Split up the players into two lines in opposite corners of the station with pucks. Place an object such as a tire at the half way point between the line and the net and a coach at each tire.

The drill starts on the coach's signal. Players carry a puck towards the tire with their head up. The coach chooses a side of the tire to skate to. The player reads this and does a single shift stickhandling move to the side of the tire that the coach is NOT on. The player then proceeds to take a shot on net.