There is a debate among youth hockey coaches about time spend on individual skill versus team skill and how much practice should be focused on each.
I have had coaches tell me that under the age of 14, it should be all individual skill and once a player reaches a more mature age and can focus on system play, they should then learn more about team play.
I have also had coaches tell me individual skill is for private lessons and team play is for team practice.
While I do favor the side that leans towards team practices for teamwork, I also think players need to be able to develop their individual skill and not all can afford to, or have the time for private lessons.
To balance this, I think coaches should be running drills that allow for the growth of both. A drill that isolates an individual skill, but then progresses to more teamwork.
Drills created with Hockey Coach Vision.
Puck Battle to 2 on 1
This drill is a modification of a drill I saw used a lot in small group lessons that only included the puck battle, and then the players reset and got back in line. I found the drill really great from a skill development standpoint, but thought it was lacking in more fun and building into how to use this skill in a game.
Have two players stand with their shoulders touching. One designated forward, one on defense. The coach will then dump the puck onto the wall behind the players and the forward needs to win that race and get the puck, while the defense is trying to win and get the puck out of the zone.
Focus on making sure the forward turns their body in a way to block the defense and get early body position.
From there, the forward wants to pass the puck to the next player in line, activating a 2-on-1 and they try to score.
If at any time the defense gains control and throws the puck out of the small area, the game is over.
The players must use their own skills in winning that battle, using smart body positioning and puck protection and then find the right time to get the puck to their teammate.
3 Team Build a Team
This is a modified version of a drill the Pittsburgh Penguins ran at development camp, seen below:
In this version, the game starts as a 1-on-1-on-1, making each player battle and fight on their own, before finding a pathway to passing to their teammates. The goal is to get three players on your team so that you can score. Teams with one or two players cannot score, and if a team gets to three and another team then gets to three as well, the first team must send a player back to the line.
This ensures only one team can score at a time, and limits the max on the sheet to 2-v-2-v-3.
Players can shoot on any goalie once they reach three players.
As players are added, the individual skills of puck protection, movement, and finding open ice changes and they are able to begin working with someone for support.
3 shots – 3 ways
While this drill is an individual drill, it works on two different players at the same time. A shooter, and importantly, the goalie. It doesn’t necessarily add that team mentality, but it’s about compromise when it comes to all our drills, and this drill adds enough importance to a players ability to help their team score, I think it’s worth running.
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.
At the end of the day, we need practices that both increase a players skill and the team’s ability to work together and rather than find ourselves stuck in binary thinking, we can find ways to create or modify drills to do both at the same time.
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