We Saw Variety of Different Drill Styles, and Witnessed Their Effectiveness

Results from Development Week 2012

Thank you to those of you that participated in this year’s development week. I hope that you were able to get as much useful information from the week as the development team was. I am proud to report that we witnessed some well thought out practise plans. More importantly a lot of positive conversation was generated from the delivery of these practises. The goal of this year’s development week was to pool all of our hockey knowledge and experience as coaches and share this knowledge and our diverse styles with one another. To follow is the feedback generated from the practise viewings.

The practises that started on time and seemed to flow well were the ones that had a well thought out practise plan that the assistants were involved in and were well versed in the teaching points. These were also the practises where the coach and the assistants seemed to have a detailed conversation about the ice plan prior to the ice session.

The warm ups were mostly active ice use and little to no ice time was wasted on stationary stretching.

We saw variety of different drill styles, and witnessed their effectiveness.

Line work – These types of drills have the athletes lined up on the goal line in a single group or split in two. This style promotes a large number of athletes being engaged at one time as well as a competition factor which promotes high speed delivery of the skill. Because the drill is being done in unison demonstrations are quick and easily viewed by all athletes with little wait time from demonstration to drill delivery.

Lane work - This style is another excellent way to keep the majority of the athletes active for a large portion of the drill. The most successful lane drills are the ones where the athletes end back at the starting position. This promotes flow. However the constant flow makes skill correction difficult. The coaching staff must be strategically placed and athletes must be pulled aside for demonstrations.

Stations – Station drills seemed to promote a high level of individual skill analysis. Due to the small groups coaches could easily see and correct individual athletes that were preforming the skill incorrectly.

Obstacle courses- These types of drills can promote a number of skills within one drill. The athletes have fun doing them and if you can turn the course into a race it can be very high tempo.

Game like drills – These were drills such as 3 on 3 in small areas of the ice. These drills tie all the skills together and allow the athlete to use these skills at high speeds. These drills are also where the athlete is not restricted and can be creative.

From our perspective a combination of these drill styles made for an excellent practise.

The practises that promoted a high volume of feedback and communication with the athletes seemed to be the most effective practises. Athletes appeared more engaged in the drill when the coaching staffwas constantly communicating with them. This is where assistants can be very effective. Conversations with athletes in small groups or in line while others are preforming the drill give the coach the ability to point out skill delivery without interrupting the flow of the drill.

Higher levels of individual skills are achieved when a practise is designed around specific skills, and a progression of those skills. For example the practise is designed to work on tight turns and crossovers. All drills have these components as their main objective. Earlier drills are simplified and as the practise progresses so does the difficulty of the drill.

The practises where the coaching staff was placed strategically within the drill fostered higher levels of feedback to the athletes. For example if using a coach at the start line of a drill to control tempo, have that coach stand 10 to 15 feet into the drill for feedback on the first phase of the drill rather than the coach standing on the start line of the drill with no ability to give feedback.

The coaches that communicated with the athletes and expected a high level of focus from each athlete seemed to have much more control of the practise.

The athletes were more focused on the group discussions when they all had similar body position for example when they were told to all take one knee. We saw some coaches take a knee with the athletes.

Coaches that controlled what athletes were to do after water breaks seemed to be more organized and less ice time was wasted. Some coaches had individuals stop for water whenever they needed it. There were fewer stoppages with this method however it may not be recommended for younger athletes.

The practises where the coach alternated high tempo drills with slower more educational drills seemed to allow the athletes to perform at a higher level throughout the practise.

The coach designing the practise plan must have an understanding of the number of athletes involved in the practise as well as their skill level. Coaches must be able to change drills on the spot if the athletes are not responding.

The best practises had the appropriate number of drills. It is not necessary to jam a large number of drills into a practise. Drills require set up time which can eat away at practise time.

The most successful coaches were the ones that put drills together that flowed together and had similar set up plans. This limited the time it took to move pucks and set up apparatus.

If your drill includes only one goalie and there is more than one goalie on the ice, have the resting goalie involved in the drill by passing the puck back to the players or rimming the puck around the boards. The goalie could also be preforming stationary stick handling. The rest period is the perfect time for a goalie to work on puck control.

One of our coaches was kind enough to forward some coaching apps that he found very useful. They are listed below.

Coach on the go

Hockey HD

Interactive white board

Hockey pro

Starting line up

I sport (library)

In closing, I feel that the week went fairly well. The coaches that participated were a great help and a tremendous amount of conversation was generated from the viewings. As the season progresses the development team will be joining or viewing random practises and relaying that feedback to the coaches. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any immediate needs. Thank you.

Jason Pisarczyk

AMHA Player Development

Email: