Coaching Cross-Ice & RWB

What are our goals for our youngest skaters?

1) Create a welcoming environment where kids will play, love and excel at hockey.

2) Tons of puck touches and use smaller spaces to engage all of our skaters.

3) Have fun and compete. Use challenging drills that look like hockey and force quick decisions.

How do we build practices for them?

6U & 8U hockey practices should focus on:

1. Individual skill improvement (SKATING, hockey skills, activities, and games) —70%

2. Hockey sense (teaching of concepts through small area games) —30%

3. Systems (team-‐play training) —0%

Station-based practices will keep players active and engaged while utilizing the ice more efficiently. Players will receive more opportunities for individual coaching. They’ll receive more repetitions which means more development. These best practices are designed to maximize activity in a fun and competitive environment. In addition to the core fundamentals (skating and stickhandling), players will develop contact confidence while battling for loose pucks in races and other small-area scenarios. Keep your players active and engaged. Players that have fun will want to return, and by getting them to return we can further their development.