Squirt / U10 Full Ice Practice #2

Split up players into four equal lines and have them line up at each neutral zone dot with pucks. On the whistle, first player from each line skates into the center circle with a puck. There will be four players in the center circle stickhandling and controlling the puck. On the next whistle the four player skate to the end of the line diagonal from the line where they came from. At the same time the next players from each line skate into the center circle doing the same thing. Players should focus on controlling the puck with their head up. Encourage players to be creative.

This is the first in a series of overspeed warm up skating drills.  The players split into two lines in opposite corners of the rink.  Two or three players can go at each time.  Typically two is better unless you have a lot of skaters.  The objective of this drill is to keep the feet moving as fast as possible around the circles.  Make sure players are not sacrificing good cross-over/cross-under technique for quicker feet.  In the middle of the ice the players will need to keep their head up because they may intersect with players comign from the other line.

Another skating progression to incorporate into a warm-up with a lot of skating.  This has lots of variations and it is easy to come up with your own twists to this drill.  Pucks are also easy to incoporate many ways.  A few variations that incorporate pucks will soon be published.

This progression still focuses on quick feet and an emphasis on overspeed skating.  In this variation the skating route is a larger circle which should allow for more speed as they leave the zone.  The players should stay just inside the blue line and just inside the dots as they make a large circle in the zone.  Explain to the players their power will come from the cross under and to use a full extension so they get the most out of each stride.

As the players leave the zone they will do two cross overs in each direction all the way down the ice.  Quick lateral movement that is gained by exploding off the outside edge of the leg that is crossing under should be a point of emphasis.

This is a good skating and puckhandling drill for all ages.  This drill can also be performed with or without pucks.  More advanced players can add players and a shot at the end.  It can be a good overspeed drill as well when you emphasize players moving thier feet faster than than they are comfortable with.

Place the pucks in opposite corners with two equal lines of players.  One player will go at a time with a puck.  They carry the puck up the wall and cross over into the middle of the ice in a circle.  At the bottom of the circle they will transition backwards and then pivot forwards again while maintaining control of the puck.  Once the first player completes the circle and is skating up ice the next player in line can go. The players do this once in each zone for a total of three times.  After they do this in the offensive zone they turn sharply off the wall and cut to the middle of the ice for a shot on net. The shot on net is good for goalies and players as they both get to work on a situation where the player is coming through the slot area from side to side.

This is one of many great drills you can run out of the corner so it can be a good idea to have a handful of these drills ready and run them back to back.  It gives the players a lot of reps with skating and puck control.

The focus of this drill is to contain the forwards from a tough situation.  The set up of this drill puts the defense at a dis-advantage.  Set up the drill as shown in the diagram.  The spacing of the players may need to be adjusted after you run a few reps so that defense are coming out of their transition equal with the forwards.  The forwards should have a good speed when they receive the puck and drive to the outside towards the near post.  The goal for the defense is to try and contain the forwards to the outside and not let the forwards have a good scoring chance.  If the defense gets beat they should learn how to open up and sprint to the post to try and cut off the forward before they get to the near post.

There are two slight variations.  One vaiation has the coach making a pass to the forward as they tranistion around the cone and attack the zone.  The other variation has the pucks setting our at the blue line and as the forward transitions and attacks the zone they pick up a puck near the blue line.

This 2 on 1 drill sets up a situation that players often find in a game..a neutral zone turnover that creates a transition. If acted upon quickly, this turnover can create a great scoring opportunity for your team. The turnover develops into a 2 on 1 using half the width of the ice (a situation that is even common during a rush in 3 on 2 situations). Regardless of how you are teaching your players to react to 2 on 1, both offensively and defensively, this drill presents a great situation to practice.

Setup

To set up the drill place two lines of forwards at center ice as shown in the diagram.  Two forwards from each line come out to the blue line, one along the wall and the other inline with the edge of the circles. One puck is placed inline with the dots at center ice. The defense is lined up under the hash marks along the wall and the defensive player that starts is at the top of the circles.

On the whistle, the forwards sprint up to the blue line, retrieve the puck, then attack the defender 2 on 1. The forward that starts on the inside will retrieve the puck.  There are three options for the forwards to emphasize. First, have the puck carrier drive wide.  If they do this then the inside forward drives hard to the net or stays high.  Second, the puck carrier can cut to the middle towards the defender and either keep the puck or drop it as the inside forward cuts behind.  All three options are shown in the animation.  The players should play the puck until they score, the goalie freezes the puck, or the puck goes above the top of the circles.

Coaching Points

• Player without the puck should work to get open or drive the net
• Forward should try using deceptive techniques to create space, a couple of examples:
  • Change up skating pace
  • Look one way and pass or skate another way
• Defenseman should make sure to keep their stick on the ice to take away passing options and play a tight gap.

Variations

• Quick Turn Up 2 vs 2
• Quick Turn Up 1 vs 1

This is a basic 2 on 2 game that can be set up in the neutral zone. Split up the players into two teams and have them line up along the dots as shown. The coaches can have the pucks on both sides in the middle. On the whistle two players from each team go into the center circle and the coach plays a puck into the circle. The four players play 2 on 2. When a goal is scored, the puck is frozen, or the puck goes out of play then the coach plays a new puck into the center circle. On the next whistle the players exit the playing area and two new players from each team enter. Player along the outside can help keep pucks in play by bumping them back to the inside.

To work in tight spaces the nets can be brought very close together or they can be spread out a little bit to give players more space.