Iron Cross

Drill:

1. Players start at the bottom of the circle and skate to the top
2. Then they skate backward to the side of the circle
3. Next they do side-steps to the other side of the circle
4. Then backwards to the bottom of the other circle
5. Skate to other circle and repeat

Focus:

1. Skating footwork and speed
2. Focuses on movement in all directions which will only help them in their game
   
   

Notes:

This will improve their footwork and speed over time.

If you have the full rink, use all 5 circles.

Related Drills:
Backward to Forward Transitions 
Footwork - Directional skating 

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Passing Forward/Backward Tandems

Drill:

1. Put players in 2 man teams
2. Player 1 skates forward while Player 2 is moving backward
3. Players are making passes back and forth as they skate up to the blue line
4. At Blue line, Player 1 skates backward toward Goal line and Player 2 skates forward
5. Players continue to pass back and forth

Focus:
1. Works on skating and passing
2. Keeping head up as you skate to see where to make pass or to receive pass

Notes:
Left side of diagram just shows skating as a team. Right side has passing incorporated into the drill. Depending on the skill level, you can decide where to start.

Related Drills: 
Passing Work Lateral Movement 
Passing Work - Forward/Backward Movement

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Passing Work - Lateral Movement

Drill:

1. Players start by skating across the rink making a receiving passes
2. Once they hit the side, they will backwards skate across the rink making and receiving passes

Focus:
1. Skate with your head up so you can see where you are making the pass or receiving the pass
2. Being able to skate forward or backward and make/receive a pass

Notes:
This is just a good drill for passing and skating and working with your head up. Coaches can always move around so they have to make passes to where they are located.

Related Drills:
Passing Work - Forward/Backward Movement
3 Man Weave

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Passing Work - Forward/Backward Movement

Drill:

1. Arrange cones in the pattern above
2. Player starts at top right and skates with the puck toward the Coach and makes a pass
3. At the next cone, they stop, skate backward and look for a return pass
4. Repeat through all cones

Focus:
1. Skate with your head up so you can see where you are making the pass or receiving the pass
2. Being able to skate forward or backward and make/receive a pass

Notes:
This is just a good drill for passing and skating and working with your head up. Coaches can always move around so they have to make passes to where they are located.

Related Drills:
Passing Work Lateral Movement
3 Man Weave

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3 Man Weave

Drill:

1. Players start at one end. 1 in each circle and 1 in the middle
2. Middle man passes the puck to one wing and follows the pass.
3. Man receiving the pass skates toward the middle and hits the opposite wing
4. Passer follows Pass, Receive skates toward middle and passes across
5. Players continue until they reach the other end and shoot on goal.

Focus:
1. Good passing
2. Movement both by the passer and receiver
3. This will help them work on moving left to right as they look to pass or are open looking for a pass.

Notes:
This is a take on an old Basketball drill I used to run.

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Footwork - Directional Skating

Drill:

1. 3-4 players at a time
2. They start by cross-over stepping to the side while facing the goal.
3. Then backwards skate and stop
4. Cross-over skate to the other side (again while facing the goal).
5. Then forward and stop
6. Repeat until you change direction.

Focus:
1. Good starts and stops
2. Keeping Shoulders square to the goal while skating laterally
3. Quick bursts for starts

Notes:
If no cones, just have the coach whistle and point a new direction.

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What's a Drill vs. a Skill

I've decided to re-Tag some of the posts here to make it easier to understand what they are for.  Several of my posts are now Tagged as a "Skill" and no longer a "Drill".  So what's the difference you ask?

Skills - These are items to use to build up your proficiency in a particular area, such as Skating, Passing, etc.  They are repetitive motions that are designed to help you become better at something.

Drills - In my mind, these are workouts that focus more on game type scenarios and help you think through the playing of the game.  While it may be a small part of what actually happens during a particular play, the "Drills" should be easily translated into a game situation.  Drills will still reinforce the 'Skills' but they don't seem so repetitive and boring to the player.

I'm hoping this separation makes it easier for coaches to build up skills for a particular player or teach game type situations.

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Stickhandle and Decide

Drill:

1. Have coaches stand between the circles
2. Player starts in the middle and skates thru the cones with a puck
3. Coach will move stick to one side and the player must adjust and go around the other way

Focus:
1. Head up skating to see which side the player should go to
2. Stickhandling is a big focus here

Notes:
Can be done with or without a goalie. Focus is really on stickhandling and having their head up to make the right decision.

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3 Shot Drill

Drill:

1. Have coaches with pucks on either side of the net
2. Player starts in the middle and skates in and shoots (wrist or slapshot) from between circles
3. They they take a pass from one side of the net and then the other

Focus:
1. These are quick shots to make the goalie work on movement up and down and left and right
2. Goalie also needs to focus on pucks coming from behind the net
3. O player should focus on quick release. If the puck comes on his forehand side, shot it quickly. Same with the backhand side. Get it on the backhand and shot

Notes:
Great drill to focus on quick shots from both forehand and backhand. Make sure on their backhand side they are shooting backhand shots.

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4 Corners – D vs. O

Drill:

1. Place O in each corner with a puck
2. D starts in front of net and skates toward one of the O
3. When he stops and transitions, the O drives the net and they play 1 on 1 until a score, puck freeze or D clears the puck
4. D then picks another O and repeats until all 4 O have played

Focus:
1. 1 on 1 work both for O and D
2. Backward skating and Defensive play
3. Stickwork and beating D

Notes:
This drill is good Defensive work and will help them develop their backward skating and 1 on 1 play.

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Side of the Net Tip-ins

Drill:

1. Position 1 player to each side of the net
2. Coach stands between the circles with a pile of pucks and passes to either side of the net
3. Players work on redirecting the puck into the goal
4. Goalie must react to the puck

Focus:
1. Good position beside the net
2. Players must be leaning hard on stick and ‘pushing’ it toward the net
3. Reinforce this is not a shot but a redirect/push of the puck
4. Goalie must work on side to side movement
5. If goalie starts to cheat one way, shoot for open net, reminding them their first responsibility is the shooter

Notes:
You can have a player making passes in front of the net to help with making decisions of what to do with the puck.

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1 on 1 Stick Handling Battle

Drill:

1. Place puck in middle of the circle, Players start on opposite side of the circle
2. On whistle, players race to puck
3. First player to puck must try to keep possession
4. 2nd player must work to get possession of the puck
5. Players battle until one keeps puck for a 10 count

Focus:
1. Players must stay within the circle
2. Player with puck needs to focus on stick work and keeping the puck
3. Player without puck must work on defensive skills to get puck off Offensive player

Notes:
Use multiple circles and make it a competition
You can extend the count longer or shorter depending on your players

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Start Stop Races

Drill:

1. Split players into 2 even teams
2. On whistle, first player picks up a puck and skates to first cone.
3. Picks up the puck on the cone and sets the puck they were carrying on the cone
4. This continues thru each cone
5. Next player starts when first player stops at last cone and sets the puck down

Focus:
1. Hard stops
2. Direction change
3. Quick starts

Notes:
My players are over skating plays and I need to teach them to stop quickly and change directions. Because they have to pick up a puck and place the puck on the cone, they can’t loop around . The race will make them go faster.

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Backward to Forward Transitions

Drill:

1. Players start facing the wall and backward skate to the top of circle
2. Transition to forward to the bottom of the circle
3. Repeat at each circle, always facing the same wall
4. Mid circle face other direction and complete circles facing other wall

Focus:
1. Transitioning between forward and backward going both direction
2. Focusing on one wall will make them be able to transition both ways.

Notes:
This can be done half rink with full skating circles

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Skate and Tip

Drill:
1. Players start at blue line and skate toward puck
2. Once they get to the puck and the take a slap slot (SS)
3. Next they skate to the front of the net looking and get position
4. Look for a deflection or rebound of shot from the Coach (C)

Focus:
1. Taking a slap shot while skating up to a puck
2. Getting position and working on deflection and rebounds
3. Goalie works on lateral movement
4. Goalie works on getting clear view of puck from player standing in front

Notes:
Run the drill from one side and then the other so they get used to shooting and moving from both sides.
Also, you have player move out to point and take shot on goal (after they have tried deflection/rebound.)

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Skate, Pass, Shoot

Drill:
1. Players start at blue line and skate laterally toward the wall
2. Next, they skate down the wall and pick up a puck and skate around the cone
3. Once around the cone, make a pass to the blue line to the Coach (C)

Next variation:
1. After #3, skate around the cone and look for a return pass
2. Shoot on net
3. Replace coach as the passer

Focus:
1. Lateral skating
2. Picking up a loose puck and skating/moving it along
3. Making good clearing passes
4. Shooting on net

Notes:
You can have them carry pucks behind the net and then make passes to the opposite wall. This will make them focus on having their head up as the cross behind the net.

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Slap and Go

Drill:
1. Players start at goal line and skate backward with a puck
2. Once they get to the cone, they make a hard pass to the next player in line
3. Next they skate to the double cones where a puck is waiting for them.
The Coach (C) will place a puck between the cones
4. Players skates up and takes a slap slot (SS)
5. Next they skate to the opposite cone, around and toward the net looking for a pass from the other Coach (C)
6. Player shoots and goes back in line.

Focus:
1. Backward skating while stick handling
2. Making a hard pass
3. Taking a slap shot while skating up to a puck
4. Accepting a pass from another player
5. Goalie works on sliding from side to side and they are taking rapid shots from both sides and multiple players

Notes:
Run the drill from one side and then the other so they get used to shooting and moving from both sides.

Thanks to Jake Bartos for drawing this one up.

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Breakaway Drill

Drill:

1. Line kids up on both sides of boards
2. Skate in and pick up puck from middle and stick handle and shoot
3. Change lines

Focus:
1. Picking puck up while skating
2. Stickhandling with head up, puck control
3. Making a move on the goalie
4. Picking a spot and shooting

Notes:
There are a lot of variations with this drill.
1. You could focus on backhand shots
2. A coach could play defense by chasing the player from behind to put pressure

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Stickhandling through the cones

Drill:

1. Line up players on each side of the rink (or net if you only have a half rink)
2. Players must pick up the puck and skate thru the cones
Note: have one set of cones in a straight line and the other spread apart
3. After completing the cones, skate in on the goalie and shoot.

Focus:
1. Builds stickhandling skills
2. Work on getting faster each time
3. Wide cones will focus on carrying the puck around tight turns

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Defending passes from behind the net

Drill:

1. Players line up in a semi-circle
2. Coaches are on either side of the net below the goal line
3. Coaches make passes to any of the players in front
4. Player settles puck and shoots or takes one-timers
5. Goalie needs to make save and react quickly for next shot

Focus:
1. Goalie: Make good save and even better recovery to be in place for rebound or for next pass
2. Players learn to shoot quickly.

Notes:
You can also set players up behind the net to make passes. This focuses them on making good passes.

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