I've stuck to a season-long skills plan for most of the season so far, and I'm pretty proud of that fact. Not just that I've stuck to it, but that it's worked. As coaches we try to remove thinking from the equation for players, right? Less thinking, more doing, more natural instincts. That's the concept I hoped would show up at this time of the year when I built the skills plan in August.

It's January and it will be a sprint to the finish. My skills plan calls for skating this week, but I wanted to add lots of puck touches to keep the hands active. There's a time and a place to narrow your focus and drill down on skating or passing or shooting exclusively. 

Daniel Broberg's course has been invaluable for me for this fact. Skating is the focus, but the players in Daniel's drills always have the puck on their stick. He focuses on the posture, the balance, and the flow, and the players bring the puck along for the ride. 

I'm going to start with the first chapter of Daniel's course: Hip Control. I'm not allowed to share the whole thing but here's a sneak peak:

For the rest of this practice I'm using drills from Smooth Power so the feet are moving, the edges are carving, and the goalies stay involved as well. 

Check out the full course here, 7 Steps From Basic Skills to Smooth Power.