Creating offense can be a struggle for any team, but generating it out of a breakout from your own zone continues to be harder and harder as the players get bigger and faster.
In previous articles, I have discussed working on the breakout and building upon that breakout through the season, but these three drills below, while touching on aspects of the breakout itself, add a few new elements.
The first two will focus on using your goalie to generate the breakout that sends your players flying down into the other zone to attack the net, and the last will work on the player’s endurance to skate the length of the ice to join a play forming on the other end.
Most of my drills are station based, but once in a while, utilizing all of the ice helps create a game like experience.
2v1 Goalie Breakout Warmup
This drill we use more to warm up the players and goalie. A 2v1 you can run in both ends at the same time just timing out the starts and stops with a whistle.
With two forwards starting on one side of the blue line and a defender on the other, the first forward should rim the puck around the boards for the goalie to come out and play.
In older groups, you can even have the forward pass to your goalie (if that’s part of your game), but for younger players, the last thing I want is our players sending passes to the goalie and making the pass too sloppy leading to an own goal.
These 3 drills really put a lot of work into creating scoring chances by starting with smart plays in your own defensive zone . . . SEE MORE OF THE COACHES SITE Join The Coaches Site to access the latest drills, tactics & leadership lessons from hockey's top coaches. Already a member? Login
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Dan Arel
Dan Arel is the Director of Coaching Education and Development for the San Diego Oilers and head coach of their 12U A team. He was also named the 2020 San Diego Gulls Foundation's Coach of the Year. You can email him at [email protected].
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