When you have a hockey team that begins to fill up with highly skilled players, you can often lose the edge of physical play, and even the pace of your team’s play.
An observation I regularly see is that players who are incredible with their hands often stop focusing on their speed and use their ability to outmaneuver their opponent rather than outskate them, or even better, both.
Those same players also seem to often lose their grit. Being a physical player doesn’t mean you have to be a dirty player, but they cannot shy away from body contact, even at non-checking levels.
I tell my players often, I don’t want them to be dirty, but I want the player they are going into a corner with to be afraid they might, and that will cause them to make a mistake.
You don’t have to break the rules to get that reputation, you just have to be consistently unafraid of contact, and be stronger on your skates so that you’re the one who stands up when that contact is made.
It’s a fine line, younger players often struggle to understand that line, but we use the three drills below to push both the pace of their play, but also, making them feel comfortable with physicality.
"I find it’s important to emphasize aggressive, hard play, while also reminding them you won’t tolerate dirty play . . . 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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