Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 February 2016 16:51
By Andy Ness
For this article I would like to give a couple basic, yet functional drills you can do at any level or at any age. The key to these drills is quality repetition and making sure to make each rep count. It is also important to remember that it always comes down to execution. A lot of reps do you no good if half of them are poor.
For the first drill, we have the shooter stand somewhere in the slot facing away from the passer. The passer can be somewhere around the bottom of the circle to the dot. The passer should be armed with about 10 pucks to start. To start the drill, the passer can yell “go.” As soon as this happens, the shooter spins, locates the pass, controls the puck and gets a quality shot on net.
The key to this drill is the passer. The passer can pass it anywhere, in the skater’s feet, on the backhand, out in front of the shooter. The whole idea is that as soon as the shooter spins, he/she has to adjust to where the puck is. The great thing about this is the passer can determine how difficult the drill is by passing it harder, quicker or put it in more challenging spots.
The second drill can be set up the same way, except now the shooter can face the passer in the slot. Also, the passer no longer is going to pass the puck. In fact, the passer is going to drop his/her stick and grab a stack of pucks in hand. The passer now is going to bounce the puck on edge to the shooter. The shooter has to find a way to either knock the puck down with his/her stick or feet. The shooter should again get the puck in a shooting position as quickly and controlled as possible and then fire a good shot on net.
A great tip I have learned for shooters without goalies who are aiming for pipes. Always aim for the inside of the pipe to go pipe and in. This will create muscle memory with your shot, as well as developing one of the best habits of all, actually hitting the net. The idea is that if you err, you still hit the net as opposed to the puck continually hitting the boards or the glass.
As you can see, these are easy, yet very effective drills that any skater can do. They are not exhausting, so you can really get a lot of reps in. The idea is to always focus on the precision aspect of the drill. Like Michael Jordan would say, “If I prepare myself the right way in practice, the game won’t be able to throw something at me I haven’t seen before.” Good luck.
Andy Ness is the head skating and skill coach for the Minnesota Wild. He has also been an assistant skating instructor for the New Jersey Devils, the University of Minnesota men’s and women’s hockey teams and the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team.
