Head Up & Awareness Hockey Practice

In this video, Ben Eaves explains a hockey activity and progression that is excellent for every age and skill level. The activity can be done with 3, 4 or 5 players at a time. The video above shows two groups going through the progression. Group # 1 consists of 4, U18 players and Group # 2 is made up of 5, U10 & U12 players.

The major concept of the Finnish 5 Puck is to practice dynamic decision making which will help players learn to play with their head up instead of staring at the puck while they work to memorize a drill. The initial activities are set up to warm up your hands and edges. From there, the activities become more complex as more decisions need to be made within the group. Each Activity encourages players to keep their head up, move to open space, and pass the puck by interacting with their teammates through verbal & non-verbal communication.

If you commit to working on activities like this instead of memorization drills for a portion of each practice, you will marvel at how your team begins to work together. It will look extremely messy at first, but players will get better with each repetition. Moving to open space, and moving the puck will eventually become second nature to the team.

SETUP & ACTIVITY VARIABLES

• Players: great for 3, 4 or 5 players at a time.
• Time: You can rotate through groups of players in 45 - 60 second shifts. 5 players can be participating in the activity, while another 5 rest. Blow the whistle and the next 5 jump in.
• Space: can be set up to be within a zone, or half of a zone (station) or a smaller area. The smaller the space, the more challenging it will be for the players as they are forced to make quicker decisions.
• Added Challenge: add obstacles within the space to challenge the players further. Tires, cones, sticks, etc placed in the space make it harder to pass and skate around. As time goes on the added obstacles will help improve their reaction & decision making.

Activity # 1: Forward Skating

The goal of this activity is to get players warmed up and comfortable with skating forward to open space with the puck. They should be keeping their head up so they do not run into anyone or any obstacles that are out in the playing area. Players can work on their edges, control turns, mohawk turns, dekes, changing pace and whatever their creative minds (and coaches) can think of!

Activity # 2: Backward Skating

The goal of this second activity is to get players comfortable with skating backwards with the puck to open space. Since players are skating backward, it is crucial that all players keep their head up and look over their shoulders at all times.

Activity # 3: Forehand Only Puck Control

In this activity, players can only stickhandle with their forehand. This encourages players to move their body around the puck. This will help with puck protection along with changing passing and shooting angles. Continue to encourage players to keep head up and move to open space!

Activity # 4: Pass 1 Puck

Now that everyone is warmed up, this is where the fun begins. Encourage players to use verbal and non-verbal communication to pass 1 puck around between the group of players in the activity. Do not let players stand still and pass back and forth. Call out for constant movement and to skate to open space. When players receive the puck, they should take a stride or two, have their head up, and make a pass to an open teammate.

Activity # 5: Pass 2 Pucks

Here we go! With two pucks it is even more critical to keep your head up and communicate. It is important for all players to have an idea of where both pucks are so they can be ready to receive a pass and be ready to make a pass without passing to someone who already has a puck.

Activity # 6: Pass 3 Pucks

With three pucks it is important to read your teammates and anticipate what they are going to do with the puck. If you don't pay attention, you end up receiving a pass you are not ready for, or you pass to someone who isn't looking.  Communicate verbally, pay close attention and read body language! 

Activity # 7: Pass 4 Pucks

This could be the hardest of all of the activities. It is important to stress patience with the puck in this round. If players do not pay attention they end up all passing to the one open player at once.  Keep your head up, be patient and pass when your teammate is ready to receive your pass. Do not rush. If you are the only player without a puck, make it clear with verbal communication who you want the puck from.

Activity # 8: Pass 5 Pucks

With 5 pucks (or 4 pucks with 4 people) it is important to communicate with eye contact and verbal queues. Do not attempt rink-wide or long passes at first. Short and subtle drop passes and slides work excellent in this activity.

Activity # 9: 4 vs 1

Now that everyone has been challenged with passing multiple pucks, it should be extremely easy to pass one puck and keep it away from a defender. Use all of the lessons learned above (moving to space, verbal and non-verbal communication) to make sure that the defender does not have a chance to touch the puck.

Activity # 10: 3 vs 2

3 on 2 will be an increasing challenge to play keep away, but with patience, puck protection and communication, the defenders should still not be able to get the puck.  

Added Competitive Challenge:

• Group Challenge: After the group gets comfortable with the exercises, you can add a natural element of competition between the groups by counting the number of successful passes made in the passing activities. Or you can count the number of successful passes made in a row. Either of these can be a fun way to get each group to work harder by having them compete with each other and focus on getting open and making a good pass.
• With a Goalie: when you are playing 4 on 1 or 3 on 2, if the team makes 5 passes in a row you can allow them to shoot on a goalie.

Coaching Points: 

• Encourage players to always move to open space on the ice. Do not allow them to stand still and pass the puck back and forth.
• Encourage verbal communication (calling teammate by name, saying you are open, etc).
• Encourage non-verbal communication (good eye contact, showing a passing target, tapping a stick, etc).
• Allow players to make mistakes. It will take time to get comfortable with these activities. But as time goes on you will see them picking their head up to make a decision, which is the goal of this progression.

If you are interested in more hockey activities which require more decision making, reading, and reacting then please check out this article which discusses 11 Activities for Youth Hockey Practice.

Related Content

• Finnish Skills Series Part 1
• Finnish Skills Series Part 2
• Gates of Buffalo Small Area Game

This is a fun drill to start or end practice with that is great for the U6 age levels all the way to the NHL. Players love this drill! It is also known as Knockout or King / Queen of the Ring if you only use circles. If you have more than 6 players you can start by increasing the boundaries to include the entire neutral zone. Once there are 6 players remaining then you can narrow the boundaries down to the circle.

Setup

Every player will have a puck to start and on the whistle players will skate around controlling the puck. The object of the game is to maintain control of your puck and be the last player to have control of your puck. As players skate around they will also try to knock other players pucks away. If you get your puck knocked away then you have to leave the playing area. The last player with control of their puck WINS!

Watch the Colorado Avalanche perform this fun exercise below:

If you need further proof that this drill is great for all levels then watch this video of the Pittsburgh Penguins playing King of the Hill with the whole team in the neutral zone. This was during the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they won in 2017!

The 3 vs. 3 Handball Game from Topher Scott of The Hockey Think Tank is a fun game that reinforces offensive principles. Teams will have to communicate and perform lots of give & go's to be successful. No sticks and no pucks. Use any type of ball: soccer ball, basketball, football or anything else (even an extra glove can work)!

Setup:

• 2 nets and two teams. 
• Can only have the ball for 2 seconds (for younger teams or less skilled players you can increase that time). You must get rid of the ball quick (give & go!)
  • If a player has the ball for longer than 2 seconds, the coach blows the whistle and there is a change of possession.
• If the ball falls to the ice, it is a change of possession.
• 15 - 30 second shifts. Encourage players watching to cheer their teammates on.

Coaching Points:

1. Give and go's!
2. Support the ball by being an outlet for your teammate.
3. Get open!

Variations:

• Can be 2v2, 3v3, 4v4.
• Can be set up as a station or a half-ice game.
• Can add goalies (even players as goalies).
• Can let players hold on to the ball longer than 2 seconds.

Gates of Buffalo 3 on 3 Small Area Hockey Game builds off of the Gates of Buffalo Passing Game by adding a 3 on 3 game element to it. The goal is to pass the puck through gates to score more goals than the other team. This game is great for practicing puck protection, moving to open space, communicating and passing. 

This game framework will help players learn to play with their head up, communicate with teammates and move to open space. This game will look extremely messy at first, but players will get better with each repetition. Moving to open space, and moving the puck will eventually become second nature to the team. As a coach, If you commit to working on games like this instead of memorization drills for a portion of each practice, you will marvel at how your team begins to work together. 

GAME OBJECTIVE

• Score goals by passing through the "Gates."
• Score more goals than the opposing team. 
• You can not pass through the same gate twice in a row!

SETUP & ACTIVITY VARIABLES

• Players: great for 2 on 2, 3 on 3, 4 on 4 or 5 on 5 games.
• Time: You can rotate through groups of players in 30, 45 or 60-second shifts and count how many goals are scored.
• Space: can be set up to be within a zone, or half of a zone (station) or a smaller area. The smaller the space, the more challenging it will be for the players as they are forced to make quicker decisions.
• Group Competition: Count the number of successful goals made to naturally bring out the competition between teams.
• With a Goalie: You can require the players to make 2 (or more) passes through a gate before they can shoot on net. After they shoot on net, they need to make the required number of passes through the gates again. The goalie should work on tracking the puck when the team is not actively shooting on net.
• Gates: You can add 3 or more gates. They can be made of tires, cones, pucks and other materials. Change up the sizes of the gates for an extra challenge. The smaller the gate, the more accurate the pass must be!

Setup Suggestions for Elite Players

• Make the gates much smaller.
• You can add a hockey stick at the bottom of each gate so players must "sauce" through a gate and over the stick for the point.
• Add various obstacles on the ice such as sticks that players must be aware of and pass around or sauce over.
• If you have a goalie, require 2 or more passes through the gates before players are allowed to take a shot on net. Even though the goalie will not get as many shots, they can work on tracking the puck!

COACHING POINTS 

• Encourage players to always move to open space on the ice. Do not allow them to stand still and pass the puck back and forth.
• Encourage players to find "passing lanes" for good passes. 
• Encourage verbal communication (calling teammate by name, saying you are open, etc).
• Encourage non-verbal communication (good eye contact, showing a passing target, tapping a stick, etc).
• Allow players to make mistakes. It will take time to get comfortable with these activities. But as time goes on you will see them picking their head up to make a decision, which is the goal of this small area game.

Why do we call this small area game "Gates of Buffalo 3 on 3 Game?" The game has been called "gates" in the world of soccer and we decided to add Buffalo to it for two fun reasons: First, IHS has strong ties to Buffalo, NY. Secondly, the imagery of a Buffalo can help drive home to your youth players why you are practicing this game. If you do not pick your head up and use your teammates while playing the game of hockey, you run the risk of getting trampled by the other team. This can feel like getting run over by a Buffalo (physically or on the scoreboard). This game helps prevent both of those situations by forcing players to keep their head up while communicating and working with teammates to score goals. 

Picket Fences is a great small area hockey game that can be setup as a 2 vs. 2 or 3 vs. 3 game. The offensive team gets 2 points for scoring a goal and the defensive team gets 1 point by skating the puck between the tires.

Setup:

• Teams are set up in one of the offensive zones in line with Dots.
  • Players help keep the puck in play if it comes over towards the line of players
• Net is set up in the Blue Paint (per usual)
• There are two cones 10-15 feet apart just above the tops of the circles in the zone
• Coaches set up just outside the Blue Line with a pile of pucks

Game:

Objective: Play a Game up to a certain Number (1 point for the Defensive Team skating the puck between the tires & 2 points for the Offensive Team when they score)

• When the whistle blows, three players in White (Offensive) get a puck from coach while three players in Red (Defensive) being to defend
  • The team in White attempts to score while the Team in Red attempts to steal the puck & skate it between the tires
• The coach allows the players to compete for 20-30 seconds
  • There is NO change of possession (White is offense the entire shift)
• When the next whistle blows, three new players enter from the White and Red team
  • Now, Red is on Offense and White is on Defense
• Coach can give a new puck to the Offensive Team if:
  • If the goalie covers the puck
  • If the puck goes out of play
  • A goal is scored
  • The defensive team skates the puck between the tires

Principles:

The brilliance of this game is both teams are attempting to ‘score’ while one attacks the goalie & one aims for possession to skate the puck between the tires.

The game incorporates:

• Defending 3v3 (in a condensed space)
  • Once the Defenders gain possession of the puck, they must thinking ‘offensively’ to skate/get open to score a Goal (skate puck between tires)
  • Communication with other teammates is essential so each defender can operate in a ‘man on man’ scenario
• Attacking 3v3 (in a condensed space)
  • The offensive players are can either challenge a defender 1v1 with the puck or try to isolate and create a 2v1 on a defender
    • Player without the puck must work to get open, drive net or create space for teammates
    • Must find a way to create space & opportunities to get off a quality shot with pressure
    • ‘Play after the Play’ – anticipate loose puck/rebounds and regain possession for more offensive zone time with the puck
  • Players must constantly talk & perceive the ever changing environment to solve problems as they happen (both offensively & defensively)

Related Game / Variation

The picket fences 3 vs 3 uses the full zone and incorporates 2 gates. This way the defenders can use deception or are forced to use another option in order to carry the puck through the gates.