P.I.G. is One of my Favorite Off-ice Shooting Drills

When I was in high school, we had a hockey net and backstop out in my parents’ side yard. We also had a Shooter Tutor strapped up to the net, with about 100 pucks. Almost everyday my buddy and I would shoot pucks together. To keep it entertaining, most of the time we’d play a game called P.I.G.

P.I.G. is really fun, and can be played on or off the ice. Here’s how it works…

The Rules:
P.I.G. works a lot like H.O.R.S.E. in basketball, except that it’s a shorter game, so it’s a little more intense. Basically, a player calls his or her shot. The shots can be any typical shot, or you can get creative and start calling posts or crossbar, forehand, backhand, or even specifying shot type. If that player makes the shot, then the other player has to match it. If the other player misses, he or she gets a letter.

The player who called the first shot keeps calling shots until he or she misses the called shot (you don’t get a letter if you miss your own called shot). At that point it’s the other player’s turn to call a shot, and the process repeats itself.

You get two chances on the last letter.

In this video, my good friend Brett Fuller and I play a high-stakes game of P.I.G., to make it a little more interesting, the loser has to ride the bull (Happy Gilmore style) on camera. With so much on the line, neither of us wanted to lose!

I love putting a little additional pressure into practice drills––even off the ice! It gets you used to performing in clutch situations. Putting something embarrassing on the loser is definitely a fun way of doing this!

You’ll notice, 5-hole was giving us both a hard time in this video, and proved to be the game winner! Enjoy!

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Here’s Another One of my Favorite Hockey Passing Drills

I love this hockey passing drill because it just flows well––especially when you have the right group of players for it. At it’s best, this is a quick-paced, “tic-tac-toe” type of drill. However, if you have the wrong group of players, this drill will grind to a halt pretty quickly. So, just make sure your players are advanced enough before attempting this one!

Enjoy!!

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the Spice Figure 8 Passing Drill

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The Give and Go Corner Drill is EXTREMELY effective for the really young age groups!

This is an awesome drill for the really young players. It works on a number of key skill elements such as giving and receiving passes, skating to a receiving zone, power turns with the puck, and shots.

Enjoy!!

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the Give and Go Corner Drill

Technorati Tags: Age Groups, Elements, Pdf, Puck

The Window Drill is one of my staples for working on hockey crossovers with youngsters

I love the Window Drill for a few reasons: It’s easy to set up, easy to execute, you can run it half ice, and it’s extremely effective for working on hockey crossovers!

As you run this drill with your team, make sure you emphasize that the players MUST keep their feet moving throughout the entire “window.” Also, teach them to use puck protection tactics as they execute their crossovers.

Enjoy!!

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the Window Drill

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The C-Pass Give and Go is a great, high-tempo passing drill.

The C-Pass Give and Go is an awesome drill to get your players moving. It is high tempo, and works a lot on giving and receiving passes in motion.

This drill should be done at full speed. As your players get the hang of this drill, start pushing them to keep their feet moving throughout the entire drill.

Enjoy!!

CLICK HERE for a PDF of the C-Pass Give and Go

Technorati Tags: Full Speed, Lot, Pdf, Tempo