Every coach wants to have more practice time, however, are we making each drill we use productive from a development perspective?
When it comes to warm-up drills, the mindset is to use this time to get players touching the puck, getting their blood flowing, and feeling good. As a coach, is there a way we can look at warm-up as a way to improve technical skills, focus on spatial awareness, and set a highly competitive standard for practice?
It is critical for coaches to assess how we structure our warm-ups in practice. In a youth hockey game, you are only given a few minutes to warm-up, then the game is on, so we need to create an environment that replicates that in practice. We need to create an environment early in practice that will enhance the competitive level of our players, while still using this time to promote technical and tactical skill development.
The following are five warm-up drills coaches can incorporate into their practices to make warm-up more effective for player development:
Don't just warm up, improve technical skills while you're at it . . . 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
- See also:
Justin Pereira
Head Coach U-14 AAA Oakville Rangers.
High Performance 1 Certified Coach.
Great warm-up drills to get them moving and engaged.
Appreciate the drills! Will use these both as warmups and as stations when running a more ADM style practice. Thanks!
Love these Drills, Great for all age groups, gets them to keep moving and keep their heads up. Have used these in practice for both my teams (8u Girls & 14u Bantam)
While these drills can add competitiveness and get players focused at the beginning of practice the game transfer is also very high for players from U9 to the oldest players. If you haven’t done these drills I challenge coaches to use them and see the results that follow.