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,...

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Wing Pass 2-0

Drill:1. Player 1 starts skating and breaks up rink2. Player 2 skates and then makes the long across rink pass to open things up3. Player 1 carries the puck in toward the net while Player 2 goes for the net looking for pass/reboundFocus:1. Passing is key here to open up the rink2. Player 1 should focus on the shot or looking to get the pass back to Player 2Notes:Add a coach or Defensive player in here after a few rounds to make them work against...

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Half-rink Back-checking

Drill:1. Player 1 starts with the puck and skates up around the closest cone2. Player 2 has to skate around the top cone and chase down the player with the puckFocus:1. Player with the puck should focus on speed, stickhandling and protecting the puck2. Backchecking player should focus on getting their stick under the other players stick or creating a disruptionNotes:This is a great drill for a competition during practice. Gives the kids something...

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Goalie Warm-up

Drill:1. Line players in front of goalie in semi-circle2. Alternate shots on goal3. After everyone shoots, rotate players down the lineFocus:1. Shooter – Pick a spot and shoot2. Goalie – Work angles3. Goalie – Quick recovery for next shotNotes: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 Variation3 Shot Dr...

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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?When you want a line change - If you don't get the puck deep...

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Down-Low Give and Go

Drill:1. Player 1 (O1) starts on one side with the puck2. They make a quick pass below the goal line and skate3. Coach (X1 & 2) below the line returns the puck to Player 14. Shoots on net and continues across5. Player 1 stops at far wall and picks up a puck repeating process across.Focus:1. Quick passes back and forth2. Pass the puck low and skate toward the net looking for a return pass3. Key for downlow player is a good quick pass back to the...

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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...

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Pointman Movement

Drill:1. Have Defensemen line up at the Blueline. Offensemen line up in corner with Pucks2. OFF passes to DEF3. DEF passes back to OFF4. OFF carries puck behind the net. DEF shifts to the high middle slot 5. OFF passes to DEF and gets in front of net6. DEF takes shot from high slot7. OFF looks for tip-in/reboundFocus:1. Active passing with DEF in the high zone2. Puck movement3. Hard, outside shots4. Presence in front of the net5. Tip-ins/rebound...

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