These three drills not only make the players more comfortable quickly releasing their shots, but they help build the habit of doing so.
How many times have you seen it: a player gets the puck with a wide open net, nothing in their way, they take a few moments to stickhandle and by the time they load the shot, the defense is crashing down on them and the goalie slides across the crease to make the save?
Those precious few wasted seconds cost them a scoring chance, something that will haunt them for a long time, especially if they’re not a player with regular scoring opportunities.
To fix this, I like to focus on drills that teach under-handling the puck. By that, I mean catching the puck on your forehand or backhand and quickly releasing the shot. This quick release takes away the valuable seconds the defense and goaltender need to take away a scoring chance.
These three drills not only make the players more comfortable quickly releasing their shots, but they help build the habit of doing so. This translates well into games because when they feel the puck hit their stick in a game, they will instinctually fire on the net when they know they’re in the right position to do so.
Drills created with Hockey Coach Vision.
Decision Zone Quick Shot
This drill accomplishes a few habits in one, which makes it a coach’s favorite. It gets the goalie some quick shots which they find fun, and the players get a chance to rifle some Ovechkin-like one-timers.
In the drill, player 1 heads up to the point to play the offensive defender, and player 2 makes a hard pass to them. Immediately upon making the pass, that player should skate into the decision making zone (the zone between the point player and the corner).
At the same time the passer takes off, the third player, moving as quickly as they can, should take off rounding the top of the face-off circle. The defenseman at the point is passing back down to the original passer who is then making a quick pass to player 3. The 3rd player is then deciding on which shot to take: a one-timer, or is snapping off a quick under-handled shot.
From the coaching perspective, this drill has the player making the pass to the point, and quickly leaving the corner, which for our team, is a no-go zone on the attack. We don’t want to get stuck in a corner battle, so when we pass the puck to the point, we want that forward to get into the decision making zone, ready for a pass back if that’s an option.
Under-Handle the Puck
This is a simpler drill to teach the concept of under-handling the puck. In this one, you place 3 tires away from the net and tell the shooter to skate around all 3 tires in any order they choose. As they round each tire, the player at the pucks sends a quick pass and the shooter should catch and release with no stickhandling at all.
As the players get more comfortable in the drill, you can have them try one-timers as well.
The simplicity of this one helps ensure it works at all levels, but even at higher levels, it helps reinforce the habit of under-handling the puck.
3 Shots – 3 Ways
Now, not all pucks end up on a player’s forehand and they should be prepared to quickly release shots on their backhand as well.
This drill has each player taking three shots, in three ways. Backhand, one-timer, and then quick release.
In the video, we show a divider as the pad to bounce the puck off. You can use an extra net (or an 8U mini net), a passer tool, or anything you can find to bounce a puck off.
Start by passing the puck under the player’s leg and bouncing it off the pad, the player should then pick up the puck quickly and skate to the side of the net that puts them on their backhand, taking a quick shot. Once they shoot, they should open up for a pass from the coach for a one-timer. Then the coach will bounce another puck off the pad which the shooter will pick up and make a quick forehand shot on the opposite side of the net.
Whether you have success with these drills or find they need tweaking for your team’s specific needs, comment below with your thoughts!
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