A - Triple Threat Position – Cut to the Forehand – Sw

Key Points:

Carry the puck on the forehand side of the body without handling it. This gives a triple threat of option.

1 - carry the puck.
2 - pass the puck.
3 - shoot the puck.

Description:

This is a very strong position for the puck carrier to be in because it allows all of the options and the offensive player has a 270 degree view of the ice to base his/her decisions on.
This is the MOST IMPORTANT puck handling skill to teach because all of the moves, dekes, shots, and passes can start from this position. So 'less is more' and 'lock and load' when you get the puck.

In this video the player holds the puck at the side, fakes outside and cuts inside pushing the puck to the forehand.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=2014013018033086

A - Triple Threat Position – Sw
https://youtu.be/CV_uRVyVt9U

B2 - 2 on 1 Pass in Front of Toes - Pro

Key Points:
Forehand pass when possible. Pass in front of the defenders toe caps behind his stick.

Description:

1. Start with a coach defending then use players.
2. 1 skate outside and 2 skate to the net and 3 defend.
3. 1 pass on the forehand (if possible) to 2 and follow the pass.
4. Make the pass between the stick and the skates.
5. 2 shoot.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20140904104222128

https://youtu.be/msMp3ideerE

C3 - Dump-Breakout 5-0-Regroup-3-2 - Continuous – Pro

Key Points:

Defense shoulder check when going back for the puck. Forwards support on the boards middle and far wing. D practice D to D options and hinges as well as quick ups. D skate to the big ice between the dots before passing.

Description:

1. F1, F2 or F3 dump the puck in and D1 and D2 skate back for the puck.
2. D3 and D4 follow the play.
3. D1 or D2 make a breakout pass to F1, F2 or F3 and follow up ice.
4. Forwards regroup with D3 and D4 in the neutral zone.
5. F1-F2-F3 attack 3-2 vs. D1-D2.
6. F4-F5-F6 dump the puck into the far end and D3-D4 skate back for the puck and breakout.
7. F4-F5-F6 regroup with D5-D6 in the neutral zone and attack 3-2 vs. D3-D4.

• Continue this flow.

• Instead of the first regroup D3 or D4 could dump the puck in the other corner and D1-D2 break out again before the regroup and 3-2.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20140905093349684

https://youtu.be/87brHZATxfc

F202 – Skating for Quickness and Agility - Pro

Key Points:

Start low from a good athletic position. The first 3-4 strides fall forward with the toes pushing back and out and then the stride is side to side.

Description:

1. Quick Feet – Detroit – skate from the blue line to the red line.
2. Quick Feet - Tight Turn – Pro – skate hard in an arch, feint and tight turn the other way.
3. Quick Feet Arch Skate – Pro – skate fast around the top of the circle.
4. Quick Start – Pro – focus on the toes out and first few strides.
5. Small Ladder – Pro – start hard two or three strides-stop-back to blue-hard to red line.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20140909092948329

https://youtu.be/7aNk0Xh7c80

C3 - Continuous 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2 - Pro

Key Points:

Make plays early - create 2-1's - attack with speed - middle drive. Start 2-0 and shoot at one end, one defenseman follow.

Description:

1. Start 2-0 and one defenseman follow.
2. Attack 2-1 the other way and one defenseman follow.
3. One forward join with a puck and attack 3-1 the other direction, two defensemen follow.
4. Attack 3-2 the other way.
5. Start with a 2-0 with another group.

*Options:
a. Make a contest one colour vs. the other to see who can score the most in a certain time or else D and G vs.
b. F’s and count the goals scored in 8 minutes and next time see if there are more or less goals scored.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20140916101410255

https://youtu.be/RADuyU7pIIw

T3-4 King/Kozak Defensive Zone - U15 Boy's

Key Points:

Defensive player must quickly close the gamp and maintain defensive side and with stick on the puck, body on body.

Description:

1. Defender or defenders start on two knees in front of the net.
2. Attacker stands waiting for a pass from the coach. If multiple attackers then spread out.
3. Coach passes to the attacker and defender stands and defends.
4. Add another attacker and defender.
6. Add a third attacker.
7. If the puck is cleared, frozen or a goal the coach quickly passes another puck to an attacker and the play re-starts.

*Option is to have uneven situations and add attackers and defenders as you go.

*To create more space the coach and waiting players move back to the blue line. You can go up to 5-5 with this drill.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20150202092547285

https://youtu.be/3BOJrO7rjRU

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=6858&topic=6965#6965

B202 - Low-Wide-Middle to Low-Middle-Wide - Pro

Key Points:

Give a target, face the puck, do everything while skating, follow the shot for a rebound, shoot in stride, shoot to score, hit the net.

Description:

Start by passing low-wide-middle-shoot at each end and alternate sides.

a. 1 pass low to 2.
b. 2 pass to 1 in the wide lane.
c. 1 pass to 3.
d. 3 pass back to 1 in the middle lane.
e. 1 shoots, follows the shot for a rebound.
f. 1 becomes the next low passer.
g. 2 goes to the back of the line.
h. Repeat on the other side.
i. Change the drill by 1 skating in the middle lane for the first pass then wide for the second pass.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20140923090314839

https://youtu.be/GdSublHp9lI

https://www.facebook.com/518555930/videos/pcb.822820328627766/2952482318403335

C600 - 2 on 2 x 2 – Pro

Key Points:

Defenders play tight gaps, forwards create a 2-1 on one of the defenders, attack with speed. Defense box out and take sticks after the shot.

Description:

1. Forwards start from the four blue lines and D from the red lines.
2. F1-F2 cross and drop and attack D1-D2.
3. After the first attack D1-D2 skate to the neutral zone
4. F3 – F4 cross and drop from the far blue line and attack 2-2 vs. D1-D2.
5. Repeat with F5-F6 attacking the other net vs. D3-D4.

*To add a component F3-F4 could follow the rush and get a pass from D1-D2 then cross and drop at the far blue line and attack D1-D2.

*The same sequence can be used 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2 vary the situations randomly.

*Give a time to score like 10” on the first rush so the players fight for rebounds and make a second play before the whistle. This adds lots important of components to the drill.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20140926101333238

https://youtu.be/9-q0d7PnUmA

https://www.facebook.com/518555930/videos/pcb.829053021337830/1248011655637217

10 good tips for our youth coaches!

by Tommy Boustedt, - Swedish National Team

Hockey-Sweden is dependent on many participants for continued success. We are disproportionately successful on the international stage in comparison to the country’s size and population. A main reason for the success story is the annual efforts of all the Swedish youth coaches.

We humans often want to emphasize some single intervention or some single person when we try to understand and explain the reason and the background for success and successful achievements. Unfortunately, it’s not so simple. It is more about all the peoples’ hard work together with the right guiding principles and the right objectives.

Without all of our youth coaches’ everyday work, we would never have been a top nation in hockey. Sweden is currently number 1 on the IIHF’s rankings of the world’s best hockey nations. Unbelievable! But – if we want to keep ourselves there, there is no opportunity to sit back and take it easy. On the contrary, we need to increase the pace/ to raise the bar.

The vast majority – well, almost all – of the Swedish youth coaches are volunteers and unpaid. In spite of this the demands from society are many times higher than those previously on such hired and trained teachers. With this column, I want to pay tribute to the amazing Swedish youth coaches, while hopefully providing some good advice for the coming season.

10 good tips:

1 / Make a plan for next season. Plan how much and what you want to practice. Training Planning is important from Tre Kronor Hockey School and all the way up. Use the Swedish Ice hockey Association’s “Ice Hockey’s ABCs” as help. There are many useful and good guidelines on how to plan the season.

2 / Gather parents and players and go through how you have planned the season. It’s always good to be clear and tell what the season will look like. It builds a basic foundation in the important relationship with the parent group. In this area there are good parent education materials to use. They can be found on Swedish Ice Hockey Association’s instructional site “Hockeyakademin.se“.

3 / Add a lot of time to practicing hockey’s basic skills. The five key basics are; I) skating, II) puck handling/feints, III) passing/receiving, IV) shooting/goal scoring, and V) checking/checks. If these areas are not learned during youth hockey times, one may not get it again in adulthood! So – a lot of technique/skill training! Lots of suggested drills are available in the Swedish Ice Hockey Association’s educational materials.

4 / Also practice technique/skills “off-ice”. Work with imitation of skating and skating jumps, dribbling and passing wooden balls, practice shooting on the shooting platform, practice on checking and battling drills. Do not forget the useful and fun street hockey. Where not only techniques/skills are developed, but also the game concepts and game understanding.

5 / Start with strength training early. Preferably from 7 years of age. When we talk about the right kind of strength training, not “bodybuilding” at the gym. Please use your own body weight as resistance. Professor Tonkonogi’s research in this area has led to a whole new approach to weight training for children. More detailed advice can be found in the Swedish Ice Hockey Association’s educational materials. Check on “Hockeyakademin.se.”

6 / Work a great deal with games in various forms. Scrimmage on the whole rink, in the end zones and in small areas are good drills. Play 5 on 5, but also for example 3 vs. 3 and 2 vs 2. Use various conditions such as two pucks, direct/touch passing, direct shot/one-timers to finish off the play, etc. The Swedish coaching legend Åke “The Professor” Lundstrom said and wrote in the 60?s that scrimmaging is the best hockey drill.

7 / Creating an environment where players feel joy of playing, skating fun and where you have fun together. It’s no secret that learning works best in an environment where you have fun. Try as a coach to think positively and act positively. Emphasize what is good, and teach the kids to praise and encourage each other. Everyone needs praise. It is underestimated, and works better than other hocus pocus.

8 / Talk a lot of hockey with the players and encourage the players to talk a lot of hockey with each other. Discuss and explain solutions to various game situations. Listen to the players and learn yourself. Use tactical boards, and the resources available for them. Explain drills and educate the players theoretically in why you are practicing this or that, and what happens in your body when you are working in a certain way.

9 / Teach the players to compete. Use many drills with competitive elements . Relays, shooting competitions, tournaments in small team games, technique/skill courses based on time limits, battling drills on the ice and off-ice, penalty shot competitions, etc. It’s not negative to battle and do their best to win, but it is important to learning both how to win and lose. The effort is more important than the result. Teach the players to do their best and not worry about the outcome.

10 / See to it that all players have an individual development plan. It’s every Swedish players right. Before the season then the coach should sit down with each player and draws up a plan for the player’s development. The plan will, for instance contain the player’s strengths and parts to develop in terms of techniques/skills, tactics, physical capacity, psychology, nutrition, games, etc. Furthermore coaches and players together should set up objectives for the different areas. The plan is evaluated and followed up on a few occasions during the season. For more info, see Hockeyakademin.se.
—–
<This article was supplied and translated from Swedish into English from my coaching colleague, Kevin Sullivan (USA). It is very timely with the start of a new season upon us. Thanks Kevin! – DH and TM

B600 - Regroup with D 2-0 x 2 – Detroit

Key Points:

No need for whistles as the players can see when to start. Face the puck, pass hard, give targets, shoot and follow the shot and stop at the net.

Description:

1. Forwards and defense leave from diagonal four blue lines.
2. F1 at each end pass back to D1 and mirror D1.
3. D1 skate across and pass up the far wing to F2.
4. F1 and F2 attack the net from both ends.
5. Start at the other diagonal blue lines and F3 pass to D2.
6. F3 mirror D2 across the ice and attack 2-0 with F4.
7. Keep this rhythm alternating sides.

* Option: Have the D join the rush and get a trailer pass. If there is a group less than 18 you may want to go one group at a time and then the D could join and get a pass from the corner to shoot while F's screen.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=2014100209062168

https://youtu.be/h1IyhcQg3qc

ABC's of International Hockey Level 0-1

This is the progressive program that Juhani Wahlsten and myself designed for the Austrian Ice Hockey Association. I have replaced the German text with English. There is a logical progression of skills but what makes it unique is that the program also has a progression of good playing habits and game understanding.

Level 0 is the starting point and begins with a plan to teach 'non-skaters' how to move in all directions on the ice.

Video of Level 0 and level 1

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/album.php?aid=36&page=1

ABC's of International Hockey: Book 1 (Digital copy of Book 1)

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/album.php?aid=11&page=1

These levels are designed to be read in the two page mode with the text on the left and diagrams on the right.

Hockey Coaching ABC Level Three

Level 3

The first and third playing roles are worked on at a more advanced level. Level three includes intermediate passing and receiving,shooting angling and defensive side practice with drills, games and contests that isolate these skills in realistic situations.

Puck handling with the head up, seeing the puck at all times, playing the man always while in one on one defensive situations are the basic individual skills needed before team play skills can be developed.

The four game playing roles up to the three on three siutation are the focus of the team play teaching. D games stress the second role of supporting the puck carrier.


These levels are designed to be read in the two page mode with the text on the left and diagrams on the right.

My coaching friend Mike Tschumi showed me this drill/game before we played men's hockey on Friday. You can do it as a drill with many pucks or a game with one puck as I prefer.
---------------------------------------

DT400 1-1 to 2-2 Angling Game

Key Points:

Attack with speed and go to the net hard. Defender fight for the defensive side with the stick on the ice.

Description:

1. A1 start at the red line.
2. B1 start against the boards at the top of the circle.
3. Battle until a goal, frozen puck or puck is out of the scoring area.
4. Pass to A2 who attacks vs. B2.
5. Rotate from A-attacker to B-defender.

* Vary the situations; 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2.

https://youtu.be/KNDsyJMl0VA

This isn't the game but a good angling drill.
T3 - NZ Angling - College W
https://youtu.be/kge-Z-EUGTk

DT400 Two Net Game – Regroup with Jokers - U15 B

Key Points:

Quickly transition from offense to defense. Communicate coverage. Attack quickly then work cycle and back to net to change the point of attack. Screen, tip on offense, box out, seal sticks to the outside on defence.

Description:

1. Two nets in line with the dots on the goal line.
2. Teams line up facing the net they are attacking.
3. Start with the coach shoot the puck in and play from 1-1 to 3-3.
4. One player is the Joker at each offensive point and can pass or shoot but not skate in.
5. Pass to first player in line for the next group to go onto offense.
6. The team that was attacking and lost the puck must quickly defend the net on the other side of the zone.
7. Rotation is attack, defend, return to the line up.

http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20141017120508529

https://youtu.be/qpoOZaWmUg4

B202 1-0, 2-0 With Chip – Pro

Key Points:

Face the puck and give a target, rebound for the next shooter. Chip by the defense at offensive blue line and skate into the middle lane.

Description:

1. Two lines face each other from each blue line.

Part One

2. B1 regroup with R1 from one line and R1 regroup with B1 on the other side.
3. B1 and R1 get a return pass and attack each net.
4. B1 and R1 circle back to rebound for the next shooter.
5. R2 and B2 repeat from diagonal corners – add a one touch pass.

Part Two

6. Change the drill so both B1 and B2 leave with B1 passing to R1.
7. B1 regroups with R1 who chips the puck into the zone.
8. R2 cuts across and picks up the chip while R1 drives to the net.
9. Repeat with R1 and R2 regrouping with B3.


http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20141018095954964

https://youtu.be/D64p7-P_noI