Stops Foundation is a great drill to work on the fundamentals of stopping. Encourage players to use their inside edges and push hard on the ice.
Description
Coach places 3 cones down the middle of the surface.
Players line up behind each cone on either side.
On the whistle players skate to the cone and practice their stops
Players then skate back to where they started and again practice their stops.
On the double whistle players return to their starting point and take a break.
Key Points
Load edges with pressure by bending knees and dropping hips slightly.
“Snow plow” or point toes towards each other to initiate loading inside edge.
Use leg strength to push down on the ice and scrape.
Encourage players to make snow by stopping.
As players get better encourage them to spray the cone with snow.
If players are struggling use a marker to draw shapes on the ice that they can scrape.
