Drills: Initiation Level

Initiation Level Hockey Drills

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The following drills were designed by the OMHA for initiation level hockey players. These are great drills for beginner hockey players, or young hockey players. These drills were created to help coaches build their players hockey skills, and also have diversity in practices. Hockey players sometimes learn more if they are having fun (especially at young ages) because they will try harder, and want to learn more in order to improve. The following drills are from the OMHA drill book which can be found on the website at Hometownhockey. These youth hockey drills focus on technical skills and individual tactics as these are the skills that should be worked on the most at the initiation level.

This drill is designed to be a fun drill and is a good drill from young hockey players. Fun drills are usually good drills to start with as the players will enjoy them and it will help the players warm up.

Time	Description
5 Minute Drill	Chaos – Free Time
Players skate all over the ice, stick handling the pucks Coaches interact with the players passing the pucks back and forth Encourage kids to hand the pucks, forehand, backhand, kick the pucks with their skates, no shooting against the boards
Drill Diagram

The point of this drill is for the players to practice many of the fundamental hockey skills in 10 minute sessions. This is a good drill to have because players can move quickly from one station to the other and little time is wasted explaining and setting up new drills.

Time	Description
50 Minutes	5 Station Skills Circuit – 10 Minutes at each station
Skating Forward stride and bend, stop at blueline Forward jump stride, stop at blueline Forward crossovers Backward c-cuts backward striding backward crossovers Puck Control Stationary puck control Figure eights Toe drag Partner puck control Pond Hockey 3 on 3 cross ice Passing Stationary forehand passing / rec Stationary backhand passing / rec Telescope passing / rec Balance and Agility Stationary balance 1 leg Stationary deep knee bends Inside / outside edges Gliding on one foot
Drill Diagram

This is a great drill for players to practice their skating and stick handling abilities. By providing the players with different equipment it allows them to develop different motor skills and also adds a fun element to the drill which will keep them focused.

Time	Description
5 Minutes	Free Skate
As each skates steps onto the ice they are given either a puck, tennis ball, or street hockey ball Skate in any direction on the ice On the whistle the player must exchange their item with another piece of equipment No shooting allowed, only puck control
Drill Diagram

This is a great drill for players to practice their balance and agility. Stations are kept at 5 minute intervals in order to keep the players attention and work on many different skills in a 20 minute time frame.

Time	Description
20 Minutes	Balance and Agility
Four stations, five minutes at each station. Change stations on a determined signal. Station 1 (one of the end zones) Players do crossovers around circle 1 (two and a half times) and then around circle 2 (two times) Send 2-3 players at a time Repeat 2-3 times Do same as 1, but with pucks Station 2 (Between blue line and red line) Players run over agility boards. Execute a glide turn at pylons 1 and skate to pylon 2. Stop using tow foot front stop facing boards. Skate backwards from pylon 2 to pylon 3 and stop. Do lateral crossovers back to original position, repeat. Station 3 (Between blue line and red line) Group one skates backwards to pylon and pivots backwards to forward, then accelerates out of turn, skating forward and execute two foot stop at boards, then go to end of group two line Group two skates forward to pylon and pivots forward and backwards. Skating backwards to sideboards and stopping. Go to end of group one line Station 4 (one of the end zones) Player controls puck while weaving through pylons Player performs glide turn at last pylon, skating forward for ten metres before stopping. Face boards when you stop Skate backwards to opposite side of rink while controlling the puck
Drill Diagram

This is a good drill to use to help develop puck control among initiation level players. This drill adds some friendly competition and also puck control in the feet.

Time	Description
15 Minutes	Puck Control Stations
Three stations, 5 minutes each, change stations on a determined signal Station 1: Tight Turn Competition Arrange players into two groups Arrange pylons as shown, and have players race for a spotted puck and finnish with a shot on goal (add a second puck for second player if needed) Station 2: Control puck with feet Players cross the ice using feet to control the puck Options are keeping the puck in feet at all times, or kicking puck slightly ahead (1 metre) alternate skates Station 3: Chaos Have each player skate randomly with a puck throughout the zone Coaches add pressure to check and encourage to keep head up
Drill Diagram

Time	Description
5 Minutes	Fun Time
Players skate to the blue line and… Coast on both skates, jump the red line and blue line. Take off on two feet and land on two feet. Coast on both skates. Jump the red line, turn 180 degrees in air and land backwards. At the blue line jump and turn 180 degrees and land going forwards. Always take off on two feet and land on two feet Coast on only one skate. Jump red and blue line on one skate. Do not put other skate down Repeat last point with other leg Do these 2 or 3 times each
Drill Diagram

This is a good alternative to a scrimmage. By breaking the players into three groups in three sections on the ice, more players will be involved in the practice at one time.

Time	Description
5 Minutes	Pond Hockey Drill
Use a puck Use three areas and play cross ice Use pylons as goals (instead of nets) To score puck pust hit pylon No goalies
Drill Diagram

This is a fun skating drill that is also good to use as an opening drill to warm players up.

Time	Description
10 Minutes	Free skate
Players skate clockwise around the ice. At blue line they perform four warm-up exercises Touch toes Squat low Pull knee to chest Touch one knee to ice Between the blue lines: Skates stay on ice at all times, spread legs wide and then bring them in together.
Drill Diagram

Time	Description
20 Minutes	Balance and Agility
Cross ice touching knee on ice after each stride. I.e drive with left skate, touch left knee to ice and get up. Drive with right skate, touch right knee to ice and get up, repeat across ice. Do three times Cross ice doing forward alternate leg crossovers Players skate forward and perform a task at each section of ice. Jump over agility board Dive under obstacle (set on two high pylons) Jump over agility board set on pylons Dive under obstacle set on two pylons. Player gets up and turns 360 degrees around pylon, skates forwards (six metres) pivots forward to backwards and skates backwards to boards. Lateral crossovers back to original postion. Repeat Same set up as 3. Players can carry puck with them. Must slide puck under obstacles on pylons, skate around and puck it up. Perform an open ice carry on the return to position. Repeat using route-2 as players should do on forehand and backhand
Drill Diagram

This is a good passing and skating drill. Half the players line up and practice passing and the other half practice skating with the puck. If desired the entire team can practice passing, and then the entire team can practice handling the puck

Time	Description
10 Minutes	Stationary Passing / Receiving and Stopping with puck
Review and demonstrate key points Players partner off approximately six metres apart Practice forehand pass and receive practice backhand pass and receive Alternate with players spaced ten metres apart Players practice stickhandling across the ice stop and repeat. Repeat 6-7 times
Drill Diagram

I hope these drills will help you come up with some effective practices for your players. I am working on putting a post together for Novice level hockey drills and Novice level Practice plan. If you would like to get more posts like this sent right to your inbox then feel free to subscribe to this blog by entering your email address in the box to the left.

Posted in: Drills