U8 - 3 Station Practice Plan #3

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.

Variation #1 - Power Turns

This variation makes is tougher by requiring players to do 2 power turns within the neutral zone. They are required to do one power turn at the red line and then another power turn at the blue line. Then they have to try and get to the far blue line without being tagged. Players can power turn in either direction so they need to be aware of which direction will give them a better chance to not get tagged.

In this game the players play 1 vs 1 but there are several game going on at once so they need to be aware of their surroundings. It is up to the coach to decide how many games can be going on at one time. Three games is a good place to start and depending on how tired the players are getting you can adjust as the game goes on.

Credit: Diagram and animation produced using Hockey Coach Vision.

In this game the players will pair up with a partner. The activity is great for skating, agility, and creativity.

Setup

Place some barriers randomly throughout the zone. Have players pair up with another player and one player will be Player #1 and the other Player #2. On the whistle Player #1 will skate all around the zone jumping over barriers, making tight control turns, going backwards, and being creative throughout the zone. Player #2 will try to copy exactly what Player #1 does. The coach blows the whistle after 60 - 90 seconds, gives the players a little rest, then the players switch roles.

This is a basic cross ice 3 vs 3. Depending on your numbers and the age level you can do 4 vs 4 as well. Keep in mind one of the goals is to get every player engaged and a lot of puck touches.

Set Up

Place two nets cross ice facing each other with three players from each team in the playing area. In this set up the goals are moved up to the face-off dots. This allows more space behind the nets and allows for more plays and shots on net. Allow the players to play for 60 - 90 seconds then blow the whistle for a shift change.