At the beginning of November, I had the chance to travel to Alberta to visit a few of the associations/clubs that we work with here at The Coaches Site. During the trip, I stopped in at Bill Hunter arena, in Edmonton and watched Dan Basterash and the Edmonton Female Hockey Alliance U15 team practice. The drill below is one of just a few drills that Coach Dan had the girls work through. It was a fantastic practice, the girls worked hard and had fun learning new zone entries and offensice routes. One of my favourite things about this whole practice, was that at the end of every rep - the girls back checked hard to the blueline. Something I will start implementing in my own practices. Hope you enjoy!
Example 1
Example 2
Drill Description
- On the whistle, 2 players sprint across the ice, receiving a pass from the opposite hashmarks
- Through the neutral zone, the puck is either carried or distributed to the player in the outside lane
- Once the puck has crossed the blueline, the inside player cuts across to the outside lane, taking the defenders stick and running a pick.
- The puck carrier cuts behind the middle drive, into the middle of the ice
- Player with the puck takes a shot on net and both players drive the net for a secondary oppurtunity/rebound
Key Points
- Ensure that players are gaining speed and entering the zone with feet moving - put pressure on the D
- Shoot to score - practice like you play!
- After the rep is over - players sprint hard back to the blueline, reinforcing good back checking habits
