These drills offer an easy way back into hockey for players who took summer time off, but are fast & fun for players who go year-round.
It’s that time of the season where teams start to come back from summer break, coaches prepare plans for the new season, and a lot is done to start integrating new players into teams, or in some cases, building teams from scratch and introducing more than 15 players to new concepts, as well as each other.
In any case, it’s always a challenge to get players on the same page quickly and make them feel comfortable with each other. Yet, I have a few trusted drills that begin to do many of these things pretty quickly, while also being fun and making jumping back on the ice a great experience.
Drills created with Hockey Coach Vision.
Buffalo Circles
This drill was used at a Buffalo Sabers development camp and caught my eye immediately because of the simplicity of the setup, but the importance of every move.
Draw 4 circles on a half-sheet and place a player from each team on opposing sides. They cannot leave those circles. Then you have 2 players from each team play freely. They should be assigned to the net they will be shooting on.
However, they cannot shoot until they have made a pass to one of their players in the circle. Players inside the circle may pass back, or can take a shot themselves if they see that’s the best option.
You can explain to the players inside the circles that for them, this drill isn’t the most game-like as they should not be standing around, but that when it’s their turn to player freely, they need to remember to focus on heads up play and knowing which player inside the circle is best to move it to, and why. Sometimes the best player is further from your net because it creates better chances.
A lot of talking should take place in this drill and players quickly learn the more they work together, the more goals they start scoring.
2-on-2 Breakout
Along with getting to know each other, teaching some important systems or for most ages, habits, can be critical at this time as well.
That’s why this breakout drill can be so fun. It begins with four players working together, and then turns into a 2-on-2. You get a lot of teamwork, then a lot of competition.
All four players enter the zone for a breakout, working together to gain the blueline. Once outside, the play turns back and the two designated forwards attack the net while the first player who played the puck plays defense inside the zone, the defenseman up high then provides the backcheck, giving pressure to the forwards, making it feel much more game-like.
2-on-2 Point Drill
This drill is more common, but I don’t see it used enough. It’s another 2-on-2 drill, with the nets back to back in the middle. However, this time, each team also puts two players at the points (along the boards) on the opposing side.
Players need to pass to the point who can then make a pass back down or take a shot, generating offensive chances.
This drill does a great job of encouraging players to take low and hard shots from the point to generate rebounds, but also forces smart transitions from when defending teams gain possession and head in the opposite direction.
None of these drills are over complicated and offer an easy way back into hockey for those players who took time off for the summer, but are fast and fun for even those players who play year-round.
But most importantly, they offer a fun way to encourage teamwork and some basic habits and fundamentals that will help even a new team put a few pucks in the net and even a few wins to kick the season off.
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