The Drive Drill Race is a great hockey angling drill that can be used at any age or skill level. Here’s what it looks like:
Drive Drill Race Explanation:
1. (F) makes give and go with (P)
2. (D) can’t leave until (F) has received the pass
3. 1 on 1 to the net
The 4 Blueline Warm-up is part of the Scott Fukami drill collections available through DrillDraw. If you already own DrillDraw, you should really take a look at these. They’re phenomenal. This drill has 5 phases, or sequences. Here’s what they look like:
PHASE 1:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.
On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1) for a shot on the (G).
Stretch Pass : see Seq. # 2.
PHASE 2:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.
Stretch Pass :
On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and continues to the blueline. (3) makes a stretch pass to (1) on the opposite blueline for a shot on the (G).
Full-circle Stretch Pass : see Seq. # 3.
PHASE 3:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.
Full-circle Stretch Pass : (only one side shown)
On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and continues full-circle to the opposite blueline. (3) makes a stretch pass to (1) on the opposite blueline for a shot on the (G).
Double Regroup Stretch Pass : see Seq. # 4.
PHASE 4:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.
Double Regroup Stretch Pass : (only one side shown)
On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and continues full-circle to the opposite blueline. (1) turns to the boards. (3) makes a stretch pass to (1) for a shot on the (G).
PHASE 5:
**Drill starts on the whistle. Both ends at the same time.
Mohawk Turn Stretch Pass : (only one side shown)
On the whistle, (1) skates across the blueline and makes a pass to (2). Return pass to (1). (1) makes a pass to (3) and makes a mohawk turn to the boards. (3) makes a cross-ice pass to (2). (2) makes a stretch pass to (1) on the opposite blueline for a shot on the (G).
Enjoy!!
CLICK HERE for a PDF of the 4 Blueline Warm-up Drill
Passing is a skill that most players don’t think about working on away from the rink. The main reason they don’t think to work on passing is pretty obvious: because you need a partner to pass to, and to receive passes from… Unless, of course, you have the Extreme Passing Kit.
Overview:
The Extreme Passing Kit is a really cool skill pad & passing rebounder combo, that will let you work on multiple skills such as regular passes, touch passes, and one-time shots.
The Extreme Passing Kit comes in two different models, the One-Timer Model (which you see in this video), and the Bungee Cord Model. The only difference between the two is that the rebounder is removable in the One-Timer Model, and can be mounted onto another shooting pad, or even your dryland flooring tiles. This feature gives you a little more flexibility than you have with the Bungee Cord Model.
On the Bungee Cord Model, the rebounding bungee is mounted right onto the skill pad, making the unit completely self contained (which has it’s benefits as well, in my opinion).
Both models use the 4×8′ roll-up shooting pad (huge!), which is light weight, durable, and portable. You can easily roll it up for storage when you aren’t using it, or pack it in the car to bring it to a new dryland training location.
My Experience:
The Extreme Passing Kit comes already rolled up for you. When I first unboxed mine, it had retained the shape of being rolled up (which is to be expected), and I had to sort of “pry” it open and “reverse roll” it a bit on the ends to keep it from rolling back up on me. I let it sit out on my driveway in the hot sun for about an hour, and it flattened right out.
Once the shooting pad had flattened out, I mounted the rebounder to one end (it just clamps on), and went to town!
One thing you’ll notice about the Extreme Passing Kit is that it works really well with pretty much any type of puck. I’ve used mine with regular black pucks, FlyPucks, and Green Biscuits, all of which slide really well, and stay flat off the rebounder. In fact, the pucks stayed flat enough that I was actually able to work some one-touch passes as well (which actually surprised me a little).
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Extreme Passing Kit is definitely a worthwhile product to add to your Home Hockey Training Center. It is well built, versatile, portable, and the surface area of the skill pad is big enough to use it for shooting, stickhandling, or passing.
A number of years ago, one of my coaching buddies told me he had just bought 10 Attack Triangles to use for his team. I took a look, but didn’t totally see the value. I thought it looked a little gimmicky, and it seemed like it would be a hassle to bring that many on the ice each practice.
It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I actually got the chance to use the Attack Triangle, and when I did, I liked it a lot!
The Theory
The Attack Triangle is designed to mimic a defenseman in a 1 on 1 stance. You’ve got the stick and two skates, and they’re positioned exactly where a real player would have them. The fact that it’s a 3-dimensional model makes for a more realistic experience for your players. For example, if you start your move too late, you’ll hit the the stick and lose the puck. If you don’t pull your stick back in time, it’ll get caught up in the Attack Triangle’s stick, and once again, you’ll lose the puck.
Off-Ice Training
A big part of effective stickhandling practice is just getting your reps in, plain and simple. This is where off-ice training with a tool like the Attack Triangle can come in REALLY handy. Instead of having a partner stand there, mimicking a defensman’s stance for countless reps, you just set up the Attack Triangle, and go to town. I definitely recommend getting one or two of these for your off-ice training center.
On-Ice Benefits
This training tool can also work in your favor as a coach during practices. In the past, I’ve often had a coach offer “token” resistance in a stickhandling drill, and basically stand in the way, in a defensive stance, and let players make moves around him… maybe you’ve done the same? While this method can work, it’s taking at least one coach completely out of the equation! Now instead of coaching, he’s playing “token defense.” Definitely not the best use of personnel in my opinion. Why not throw down an Attack Triangle and let your coaches be free to coach?
Conclusion
The Attack Triangle is a really good tool, with a lot of possible uses. In my mind, having one or two for your off-ice training center is a no-brainer. It will help you to develop your dekes and moves in ways that are much more realistic. On the ice, I also see many uses for the Attack Triangle. The only question is how likely are you to bring them to the rink and back every practice? If you have a situation where you can leave them safely at the rink somehow, then I’d definitely consider picking up 10-12 to use in place of cones.
If you’ve been following along with our Home Hockey Training Center course, you probably know by now that versatility is one of the biggest selling points for me when it comes to selecting hockey training products. I like products that will give me multiple uses, and that can be combined with other products to make an even more creative “work space.” SweetHands definitely fits that criteria!
Features and Benefits
Here are a few of the SweetHands features I thought were noteworthy:
My Experience
Setting up your SweetHands is easy. The pieces just snap together, and you’re up and running in seconds. I liked being able to choose how many pieces to include in my set-up. As you see in the video, I messed around with a few different combinations to work on different aspects of stickhandling.
I also like how durable this product is. I had seen some durability demos on other videos (kids stepping on the SweetHands “crossbars” with skates), but I wasn’t planning on actually putting hat to the test… However, my rambunctious 4-year-old thought otherwise. I caught him walking tightrope style across the SweetHands unit, AND jumping up onto the crossbars like plyo jumps, and trying to land and balance on them! I’m happy to report, the SweetHands held up to the abuse just fine.
Sweethands is a pleasure to use. It works really well, and does exactly what it was designed to do. As I was making the video, I kept thinking how much better a stickhandler I would be if I would have had some of these tools available to me as a kid!
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun putting this post together. SweetHands is a great product, with lots of versatility, and the capability of making you a better hockey player if you use it consistently. It’s lightweight, portable, and easy to put together and take a part.
The drill book and DVD are two added bonuses that are VERY worthwhile! In fact, if it were sold separately (which it’s not), I’d recommend picking up the DVD even if you didn’t get the SweetHands unit itself, it’s that good! I definitely recommend this product to anyone looking to improve their stickhandling off the ice!
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