Perpetual Breakout Drill Mimics Passing Patterns Often Encountered in Games

The Perpetual Breakout is a great drill to develop hockey breakout abilities in a high-tempo, flow and timing setting. Here’s what the drill looks like:

Perpetual Breakout Explanation:

1. “Ghost man” passers start the drill by shooting then picking up a puck behind the net to initiate the breakout
2. Low forward simulates winger, and swings in to pick up board-side breakout pass
3. High forward swings through and acts as the centerman providing middle support
4. winger one-touches to center, who attacks and shoots, then initiates breakout in far zone
5. winger moves to middle line.

NOTE: winger can swing from top down, or from bottom up, depending on your team’s breakout set up.

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Start the game with a BANG using the 2-3 Press!

The 2-3 Press is a really fun forecheck if you have the right group of players for it. If you have a fast, hard-hitting team, you can use this forecheck to strike fear into the hearts of the other team, and make it so they’re constantly looking over their shoulder for the rest of the game!

I like to use this forecheck for brief “spurts” during a game because it is very high-tempo, and uses a lot of energy. So give it a try for each line’s first shift in the game, or maybe the first shift of each period. This will help get your team off to a fast start, and should give you some momentum in the process.

Enjoy!

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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

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During the course of a practice, it is not uncommon for players to get uninterested and become detached, especially at younger ages while working on boring skills like technical skating. Adding Hockey Shooting Drills into the mix is a wonderful way to liven up your practice and keep your players motivated and up beat. High tempo shooting drills can also help spark some competition and mentally rejuvenate your players during longer practices.

When working with Hockey Shooting Drills, I try to implement a few key points that help my players to get the most benefit possible:

1. Make sure your players keep their feet in motion while shooting, this is called shooting in stride. Many players slow down and glide just before shooting, not only does this affirm to the goalie that a shot is forthcoming, but it also gives the backchecker a chance to get a stick on the shooter and muck up the shot. Shooting in stride is a great custom to get in to!

2. Follow up on rebounds. Coach your players to take their shot, then drive home any rebound. Again, this constructs a good habit that will be useful in games!

3. Add a shot at the end of a skating drill. You can entirely change a skating drill in the mind of a youngster by putting a shot to the end of it, motivating him or her to practice all kinds of skills he or she doesn’t really like. I use this a lot when working on backward skating with the really young kids.

4. Designate what types of shots to use. It is tempting for players to walk the puck all the way in and deke. There is a time and a place for dekes, but most shots in games will not be dekes. Sometimes its helpful to clearly spell out what type of shot you’d like your players to focus on, and where you’d like to see the shot come from. This will guarantee that players are adequately developing a wide range of skills around the net.

As you progress through the season, you’ll get a good feel for your team, and you’ll be able to acknowledge when they need some good Hockey Shooting Drills to get them revved back up again. Give these easy pointers a try and see how it goes in your next practice!

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Hockey Passing Drills like this one can be great tools to run high-tempo practices

I call this the Hymas Square Drill (or the Wag the Dog Drill – since Hymas is one of those players who loves to give input). Either way, this is a great, quick-paced, heads up passing drill. As always, click here for the printout.

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