Stage 1: Discover Hockey
People discover hockey in different ways and at various ages and stages of life. A positive and fun first exposure is critical to instilling a desire to get involved in the game
Your Coaching Checklist
Below is an overview of the skills and tactical concepts you should be coaching players at this stage of their hockey journey. If you need help with understanding these skills, there are several videos that can be found here.
Fundamental Skills
Grip
Basic grip
Hitting grip
Ball Carrying
Running with the ball
Changing direction
Change of pace
Elimination
Dragging (L-R/R-L)
Distribution
Forehand push pass
Forehand ‘slap’ push pass
Reverse upright pass
Receiving
Forehand & reverse open receiving
Forehand closed receiving
Basic movement/changing angles
Goal Scoring
Forehand push/flick
Winning the Ball
Footwork
Forehand/reverse stick tackle
Forehand/reverse stick interception
Goalkeeping
Ready position
Balance
Clearing the ball (R/L foot)
Tactical Concepts
Offensive Concepts
Triangle play & possession
Positioning & structure
1v1 attacking strategies
Defensive Concepts
Understanding dangerous space
Interception mentality
Angles of approach
Creating/defending small spaces
General Concepts
Manipulating space & time
360 degree vision
Recognising passing lanes
Passing & moving
Weekly Planner
Below are some suggestions for what you might want to run on week-to-week to help develop your players, as well as some drills to give you some ideas on how to do it!
Basics: Build & Improve
Skills
Basic grip
Running with the ball
Forehand push pass
Forehand & reverse open receiving
Footwork
Drill Links
Skills
Basic & hitting grip
Running with the ball & changing direction
Forehand push pass
Forehand & reverse open receiving
Footwork & forehand/reverse stick tackle
Drill Links
Reinforce Basics & Introduce New Skills
Skills
Change of pace
Dragging (L-R/R-L)
Forehand ‘slap’ push pass
Forehand closed receiving
Forehand push/flick
Drill Links
Skills
Change of pace
Dragging (L-R/R-L)
Forehand ‘slap’ push pass
Basic movement/changing angles
Forehand closed receiving
Forehand push/flick
Forehand/reverse stick interception
Drill Links
Reinforce New Skills & Add Tactical Concepts
Skills
Manipulating space & time
360 degree vision
Understanding dangerous space
Interception mentality
Triangle play & possession
Positioning & structure
Drill Links
Skills
Manipulating space & time
360 degree vision
Recognising passing lanes
Passing & moving
Understanding dangerous space
Interception mentality
Angles of approach
Creating/defending small spaces
Triangle play & possession
Positioning & structure
1v1 attacking strategies
Drill Links
Add It All Together
Skills
Manipulating space & time
360 degree vision
Recognising passing lanes
Passing & moving
Understanding dangerous space
Interception mentality
Angles of approach
Creating/defending small spaces
Triangle play & possession
Positioning & structure
1v1 attacking strategies
Drill Links
Planning a Training
It's often preferable to structure your trainings in a way that builds progression of the skills or tactics you're developing. We do this through games or drills that grow in complexity or demand as the session goes on.
10%
Warmup
20%
Individual skill focus
30%
Modified games
40%
Small games
Where possible, it's also a good idea to spend a few minutes before training talking about last week's game, or what you might be doing this training. This should be very quick and brief.
