Stage 2: Play & Desire to Learn
As players get to know hockey a little more, you can encourage growth through their desire to really get involved.
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
Frying pan grip
Short handle grip
Ball Carrying
One-handed dribbling
Forward lifted dribble
Elimination
Change of pace (in contest)
Body positioning to protect the ball
Lifting the ball (forehand/reverse)
Distribution
Forehand sweep
Forehand one-touch/deflection
Forehand lifted pass
Forehand upright hit
Forehand short-handle hit
Receiving
Bouncing ball receiving
Goal Scoring
Forehand upright hit/chip/choke
Rebounding & positioning
Forehand/reverse stick deflection
Winning the Ball
Jab/poke tackle
Goalkeeping
Footwork
Angles/positioning
Tactical Concepts
Defensive Concepts
Man-to-man
Engaging distance & timing
Defending roles
Regaining & transitions
Offensive Concepts
2v1 attacking strategies
Verbal/non-verbal communication
Transfer awareness
Recognising numbers up/down
Attacking roles
General Concepts
Pre-scanning before receiving
Communication strategies
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
Frying pan grip
Short handle grip
One-handed dribbling
Change of pace (in contest)
Body positioning to protect the ball
Forehand sweep
Forehand upright hit
Forehand short handle hit
Jab/poke tackle
Drill Links
Skills
Frying pan grip
Short handle grip
One-handed dribbling
Change of pace (in contest)
Body positioning to protect the ball
Forehand sweep
Forehand upright hit
Forehand short handle hit
Jab/poke tackle
Man-to-man
2v1 attacking strategies
Drill Links
Reinforce Basics & Introduce New Skills
Skills
Forward lifted dribble
Lifting the ball (Forehand/reverse)
Forehand ‘slap’ push pass
Forehand one-touch/deflection
Forehand lifted pass
Bouncing ball receiving
Forehand upright hit/chip/choke
Rebounding & positioning
Forehand/reverse stick deflection
Drill Links
Skills
Forward lifted dribble
Lifting the ball (Forehand/reverse)
Forehand ‘slap’ push pass
Forehand one-touch/deflection
Forehand lifted pass
Bouncing ball receiving
Forehand upright hit/chip/choke
Rebounding & positioning
Forehand/reverse stick deflection
Engaging distance & timing
Defending roles
Verbal/non-verbal communication
Transfer awareness
Attacking roles
Drill Links
Reinforce New Skills & Add Tactical Concepts
Skills
Forehand lifted pass
Bouncing ball receiving
Forehand upright hit/chip/choke
Rebounding & positioning
Forehand/reverse stick deflection
Pre-scanning before receiving
Communication strategies
Drill Links
Skills
Forehand lifted pass
Bouncing ball receiving
Forehand upright hit/chip/choke
Rebounding & positioning
Forehand/reverse stick deflection
Pre-scanning before receiving
Communication strategies
Defending roles
Regaining & transitions
Recognising numbers up/down
Attacking roles
Drill Links
Add It All Together
Skills
Communication strategies
Defending roles
Regaining & transitions
Recognising numbers up/down
Attacking roles
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.
