Essential Drills for Your Hockey Practice Plan

Hockey practice plans can sometimes feel repetitive, leaving players disengaged and coaches frustrated. Luckily, we have various hockey practice plans to breathe new life into your training sessions. By incorporating structured drills and targeted skill development, these plans ensure your team stays motivated and improves continuously. Here, we’ll break down several comprehensive practice plans that can be customized to fit your team’s needs. Feel free to utilize a plan or take a look at the plans for inspiration to create your plan that meets the needs of your hockey players.

Hockey Practice Plan Option 1

Hockey Player Warm Up

1. Forward Skating – Warm Up

Start with a dynamic warm-up focusing on forward skating to get the blood pumping and muscles ready.

2. Puck Control Warm Up – Puck Dots

Engage players with puck control drills around dots, enhancing their ability to manoeuvre and control the puck under pressure.

Hockey Practice Skills

3. Hockey Station Skills

• Skating – Transition Races: Improve transition speed and agility.
• Puck Control – 4 Pylon Agility: Develop quick changes in direction with puck control.
• Scoring – Corner Puck Protect: Practice protecting the puck in corners while preparing for a shot.

4. Hockey Station Skills (Part 2)

• Scoring – Corner Puck Protect: Reinforce puck protection and scoring from the corners.
• Skating – Agility – 5 Puck Agility: Focus on quick, agile movements with pucks.
• Shooting – Quick Release – Shoot on Front Foot: Enhance shooting accuracy and speed.

Hockey Practice Plan Option 2

1. Skating Backwards Warm Up

Kick off with backward skating drills to build balance and coordination.

2. Puck Control – Warm Up

Introduce basic puck control to get players comfortable with the puck.

3. Hockey Station Skills

• Skating – Transition Footwork: Enhance footwork during transitions.
• Puck Control – 3 Puck Stickhandle: Improve stick handling skills with multiple pucks.
• Scoring – Crosby Delay: Master delayed shooting techniques inspired by Crosby.

4. Hockey Station Skills (Part 2)

• Scoring – Circle Shooting: Practice shooting from various angles within a circle.
• Puck Control – Corner Obstacle Agility: Navigate obstacles with agility while controlling the puck.
• Shooting – Quick Release – Shoot on Front Foot: Focus on rapid shooting accuracy.

Hockey Practice Plan Option 3

1. Skating Forwards – Warm Up

Begin with a forward skating warm-up to prepare for intensive drills.

2. Puck Control – Warm Up 02 – Random Obstacles

Incorporate random obstacles to challenge players’ puck control in unpredictable scenarios.

3. Hockey Station Skills

• Scoring – End Wall Retrieval – Attack Net: Drill scoring from end-wall puck retrievals.
• Passing – 1 Touch Pass and Move: Enhance passing skills with one-touch passes and movement.
• Scoring – Side Wall Retrieval – Attack Net: Focus on scoring after side-wall puck retrievals.

4. Station Skills Part 2

• Skating – Transition Footwork Races: Compete in footwork races to improve transitions.
• Skating – Agility – 5 Puck Agility: Increase agility with multiple pucks.
• Scoring – Quick Feet – Pass off Wall – Random: Develop quick feet and scoring from random wall passes.

Hockey Practice Plan Option 4

1. Skating Forwards – Warm Up

Warm up with forward skating to energize the team.

2. Puck Control – Warm Up

Focus on puck control around dots for precision handling.

3. Hockey Station Skills

• Skating – Skating Circles: Improve circular skating techniques.
• Puck Control – 4 Pylon Agility: Enhance agility with pylon drills.
• Scoring – Side Wall Retrieval – Attack Net: Practice attacking the net from side-wall retrievals.

4. Hockey Station Skills (Part 2)

• Scoring – Corner Puck Protect: Reinforce puck protection and scoring from corners.
• Skating – Agility Nets: Navigate agility nets to improve skating skills.
• Scoring – Eberle Move: Master scoring with the Eberle move.

Hockey Practice Plan Option 5

1. Skating Forwards – Warm Up

Start with forward skating to get the team moving.

2. Puck Control – Warm-up: Random Obstacles

Challenge players with random obstacles for improved puck control.

3. Hockey Station Skills

• Skating – Transition Skating: Focus on smooth transitions between skating styles.
• Puck Control – Agility Nets: Enhance agility with net obstacles.
• Puck Control – Corner Obstacle Agility: Work on agility around corner obstacles.

4. Hockey Station Skills (Part 2)

• Scoring – Crosby Behind the Net: Perfect behind-the-net scoring inspired by Crosby.
• Passing – 1 Touch Pass and Move: Sharpen passing skills with one-touch passes.
• Scoring – Outside / Inside: Practice scoring from both outside and inside positions.

Wrapping Up Your Hockey Practice Plan

A well-structured hockey practice plan can make all the difference in player development and team performance. Utilizing these detailed plans ensures that your practices are engaging, effective, and enjoyable. Whether you’re focusing on skating, puck control, or scoring, these plans provide a comprehensive framework to help your team excel.

For coaches looking to elevate their training sessions even further, consider integrating SkillShark into your routine. SkillShark is a powerful app that allows you to create custom evaluations, track player progress, and provide detailed feedback. With SkillShark, you can streamline practice planning, enhance player development, and take your team’s performance to new heights. Give it a try and see the difference it can make in your coaching journey!