End of the Year Post

As 2010 closes, I thought it was important to post a recap of what this site has become.  Back on July 26th, I posted my first thoughts about this site and what my intentions were.  I wanted to provide a place for Coaches of Inline Hockey to find easy to use drills and provide some of their own.  In all honesty, I never thought it would have the success it has. 

There are currently 58 drills and articles on the site.  Many have been provided by you, the reader.  In just 5 months, I've experienced over 3,240 page views, averaging about 650 per month the last three months.    As we go forward,  I'll continue to provide the same types of drills as well as some articles on how to coach 'situations' in hockey.  I'm hoping to provide some product reviews and am even working on some contests around Drill Submission.

As you visit this site, feel free to provide feedback.  I want to know what you the viewer wants.
 - Do the drills provide the details you need?
 - Would you like a way to download the dirlls?
 - What else could I provide that you would read?

Looking forward to a fun 2011 for the site.  Thanks again to all my readers and fellow coaches.

Denny
"Get your game in-line!"

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Wing Pass 2-0

Drill:

1. Player 1 starts skating and breaks up rink
2. Player 2 skates and then makes the long across rink pass to open things up
3. Player 1 carries the puck in toward the net while Player 2 goes for the net looking for pass/rebound

Focus:
1. Passing is key here to open up the rink
2. Player 1 should focus on the shot or looking to get the pass back to Player 2

Notes:
Add a coach or Defensive player in here after a few rounds to make them work against a player.

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Half-rink Back-checking

Drill:

1. Player 1 starts with the puck and skates up around the closest cone
2. Player 2 has to skate around the top cone and chase down the player with the puck

Focus:
1. Player with the puck should focus on speed, stickhandling and protecting the puck
2. Backchecking player should focus on getting their stick under the other players stick or creating a disruption

Notes:
This is a great drill for a competition during practice. Gives the kids something to play for as they don’t want to get chased down.

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Goalie Warm-up

Drill:

1. Line players in front of goalie in semi-circle
2. Alternate shots on goal
3. After everyone shoots, rotate players down the line

Focus:
1. Shooter – Pick a spot and shoot
2. Goalie – Work angles
3. Goalie – Quick recovery for next shot

Notes:
This is intense for the Goalies as they should be up and down, sliding left to right.
You can fire down the line or skip every other one or any variation.

Related Drills:
3 Shot Drill Variation
3 Shot Drill

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Why Dumping the Puck is SO Important

If you've ever watched Hockey at any level, you will see players get to the center rink, dump the puck to the corner and chase it down.  Did you ever ask yourself, 'Why?'

Or more importantly, 'Did I ever teach my players why?'

If you haven't, you really should think about it.  It's one of the most important plays in hockey. If you don't teach your players how to do it properly, it WILL cost you goals and possibly the game.  Think about it.  When do you dump the puck?

1. When you want a line change - If you don't get the puck deep enough, there is a charge of the opposition as your players are coming on/off the bench.
2. When you can't beat the other team through the neutral zone - If you don't have a play, dump it.  If you don't and you lose it (because you just tried to go around/thru 3 players) suddenly, your team is heading North and the puck and opposition is going South.

Both scenarios will cost you goals and/or a really irritated Goalie. Smart play will win you hockey games and teaching your players to play smart will only make them better players.

2 Drills I've found to help with this are:

Dump and Chase: http://www.inlinehockeydrills.com/2010/10/dump-and-chase.html
Using the Wall: http://www.inlinehockeydrills.com/2010/10/using-wall.html

Both of these drills are better when you have a full rink but can be worked from center red in, if you only have half a rink.

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Down-Low Give and Go

Drill:

1. Player 1 (O1) starts on one side with the puck
2. They make a quick pass below the goal line and skate
3. Coach (X1 & 2) below the line returns the puck to Player 1
4. Shoots on net and continues across
5. Player 1 stops at far wall and picks up a puck repeating process across.

Focus:
1. Quick passes back and forth
2. Pass the puck low and skate toward the net looking for a return pass
3. Key for downlow player is a good quick pass back to the player

Notes:
Replace Coaches with players to make the pass

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O-Zone Decoy

Drill:

1. Defenseman makes a pass to Center in neutral zone. Both Defensemen setup in the zone for the offensive rush. Their job is to breakup the play and clear the zone.
2. Once Center has puck, C,LW & RW start to enter the zone.
3. Center makes the first pass to either Winger, then the Center bursts directly to the front of the net.
4. The Winger that received the pass should skate further into the zone on his side and 1.) curl up at the middle of the circle and look to pass to the Off-Winger in the high middle slot, then cut to the net or 2.) If he has a lane to the net to skate hard an shoot.
5. The Off-Winger, should setup in the high middle slot looking for a pass from the other winger.
6. The Off-Winger should take the shot and all should look for a tip-in or rebound.

Focus:
1. Defensemen: This practices position discipline. It exercises making decisions on either playing the pass or taking the man.
2. Offensemen: This practices position discipline and teamwork with passes.
This strategy could be implemented during game play.

Notes:
This drill should happen quickly, passes and shots should be quick. This requires good positional knowledge.
It's important that the players without the puck get to the net. This pulls the defensemen away from the player in the high middle slot, given him a clear passing lane or shooting lane.
Mix up the drill by having the Defensive pass go to one of the Wingers. This causes each player to rethink their role in the drill.

As a variation, add a second line in the corner to play a Defensive role. This role should focus on watching the player in front of the net.

Thanks to Ducky Restauri for submitting this drill.

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Pointman Movement

Drill:

1. Have Defensemen line up at the Blueline. Offensemen line up in corner with Pucks
2. OFF passes to DEF
3. DEF passes back to OFF
4. OFF carries puck behind the net. DEF shifts to the high middle slot
5. OFF passes to DEF and gets in front of net
6. DEF takes shot from high slot
7. OFF looks for tip-in/rebound

Focus:
1. Active passing with DEF in the high zone
2. Puck movement
3. Hard, outside shots
4. Presence in front of the net
5. Tip-ins/rebound reaction

Notes:
Drill should be run quickly - Game Speed
Shots should be SlapShots and kept low for tips.

As a variation, add a second line in the corner to play a Defensive role. This role should focus on watching the player in front of the net.

Special thanks to Ducky Restauri for submitting this drill.

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