Coaching insights & hockey tips
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Introducing "Team Pack" for Coaches
We're excited to announce Team Packs for coaches. Team Packs allow up to 4 users to have Premium-level access to our drill diagrammer and practice planner, but also allow the 4 users to privately share their drills and practices. Browse your coaching staff's drills or practices and copy them to your own private database with a single click - all while keeping them invisible to the public.
Puck Protection (Video)
Protecting the puck allows players to maintain puck control under pressure from a defender. In this video, we cover the basic techniques for simple puck control.
Offensive Escapes (Video)
Sometimes the best option isn't to drive straight to the net, but instead to delay and pull back waiting for a new seam to open. In this week's video, we…
Tryouts: 7 Factors Other than Talent
As many clubs enter the most stressful time of the year - tryouts - I wanted to share a few thoughts on factors coaches consider when making decisions. The talent aspect is obvious - talented players are what coaches look for on the ice when it comes to performance, but there are other aspects coaches use to make their final decisions.
Defense Turns (Video)
Defense turns are an essential pivot to learn for both forward and defensemen. A "D turn" is a transition from forward to backward using a 1 or 2 foot stopping technique into a cross-over to change directions.
Cycling the Puck by Coach Nielsen
Friend and fellow blogger Coach Nielsen has posted a great progression of cycling drills over on his blog. This post is definitely worth a read if you're trying to teach cycling to your group:
Stretch Passes (Video)
The stretch pass is a quick pass (usually coming from a defenseman) allowing your team to quickly transition from a regroup to an attack. It's important for defensemen to learn the skill of making this pass while skating backward.
Summer Training: Skill Drill #6 (Video)
The final skill development video in this series focuses on defensemen handling the puck at the point and driving to the middle. The drill is very simple, but the techniques used to control the puck are crucial for them in game situations.
Summer Training: Skill Drill #5
In video number 5 of 6 in our summer training series, we'll take a look at the Double Pivot Drill. The Double Pivot Drill is great for focusing on explosive change of direction and maintaining puck control.
Summer Training: Skill Drill #4
The 4th skill development drill is the Figure 8 Pass & Drive drill. This drill works on passing while in transition, and driving to the net and shooting in stride.
Summer Training: Skill Drill #3
The third video in this series shows a simple, but effective drill used to practice a player's ability to transition from a stickhandle (or a move) into a drive to the net - in this case, along with a change of direction.
Summer Training: Skill Drill #2 (Video)
Video number 2 in the summer training series is again simple to run, but difficult to master as there are a lot of skills being worked on at once. This quick skill drill focuses on quick passes, following the play up, and shooting in stride. This drill can be varied lots of ways to fit your needs.