OMHA Novice / Squirt Hockey Drills

Hockey Drills for Novice / Squirt players

These drills are great for any coach who is coaching novice hockey players. These drills focus on team tactics, individual tactics and technical tactics as outlined in the Skills Guide. The drills also focus on passing, skating, agility, and stopping. This is a good warm up drill for novice players

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 minutes	Back Alley Warm Up Drill
Hockey players take off one after another Backwards between blue line Two foot jump over each line Groin stretch between blue lines Touch Toes, trunk twists, leg kicks
Hockey Drill Diagram

The hockey drill below is a really good fun hockey drill for novice players. I still remember playing this game when I was at hockey practice and it was a lot of fun, and also taught the players puck control if you have the puck, and defense if you do not.

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Diminishing Pucks – Fun Novice hockey drill
Players skate around the neutral ice zone, each with a puck As players are stickhandling, they try to knock the puck off each others sticks. If a puck goes outside the blue lines into one of the end zones it is out of play Players that lose their puck have to try and knock pucks off of the sticks of remaining players Keep going until the last puck is knocked out of the zone
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a great skating drill because there are four different stations that will focus on many different areas of skating. This novice drill focuses on crossovers, skating, puck control quick starts and quick stops.

Drill Time	Drill Description
20 Minutes	Novice Skating Evaluation
Four stations, five minutes at each station Station One Player performs cross overs around circle Second player goes, once first player passes Station Two Player weaves through pylons and goes back in line Next player goes when first one gets to second pylon Second time through use a puck Third time through do 360’s around each pylon Station Three Player skates forward to pylon, performs a two foot stop, then proceeds forward to next pylon, etc Station Four Player skates forward to blue line, backwards to pylon, forward to blue line again
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a great puck control drill for novice hockey players. By breaking the drills into 3 stations every player can participate, and you will also keep the players attention by changing up what they are doing.

Drill Time	Drill Description
15 minutes	Puck Control Circuit
Three stations, five minutes at each station. Station One Players weave through pylons with puck Pass to coach Receive pass form coach Take shot on net Skate to pylon, pivot, skate backwards to next pylon Pivot, skate forwards back to end of line Station Two Players perform stationary stickhandling moves (figure 8’s, side stickhandling, through legs) Station Three Player does crossovers around circle with puck Next player goes after first player goes by Player then proceeds to next circle, does crossovers around circle, and then proceeds to take a shot on net.
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is another fun hockey drill. This drill teaches lateral movement, speed, and evasive maneuvers!

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	British Bulldog Hockey Drill
Players line up on goal line One player at center yells British Bulldog Players then try to skate to other end without being tagged. If a player gets tagged then that player has to help the person in the middle catch the rest of the skaters Play until last skater gets caught
Hockey Drill Diagram

Pond hockey is a great drill to use instead of a full game. By breaking the ice in half more players can participate.

Drill Time	Drill Description
10 Minutes	Novice Pond Hockey Drill
Split the rink in half and play 2 games of 3 on 3 On whistle players playing switch with players in nuetral zone Use 1 puck, or 2 pucks, tennis balls, soccer balls etc
Hockey Drill Diagram

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Chaos
Players skate all over the ice stickhandling On whistle, all players move to one half of the ice. On next whistle, all players move inside blueline On next whistle, all players move inside goal line
Hockey Drill Diagram

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Indy 500
Divide players into two groups, half on each side of the red line. Move nets up to hash marks Players partner up, front player bends down into sitting position, second player pushes from behind Players start on whistle, doing one full lap of ice (allowed to bump other teams in corners) Once players get around the ice, and back to finish line, next group goes
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a good novice shooting drill. The drills is broken into three stations to allow players to work on a new shooting skill at each station.

Drill Time	Drill Description
15 Minutes	Shooting Circuit -Novice Shooting Drill
Five minutes at each station Station One 1 passes to 2 2 passes to 3 1 skates around 2 and then between 2 and 3, receives pass back from 3 1 takes shot on net Make sure players are both skaters and passers Station Two Players line up along side boards Practice wrist shots, and backhand shots Station Three 2 passes to 1, who then skates out around pylon, and takes shot on net. Next player in line behind 1 passes to 2, who then skates out around pylon for shot on net.
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is a good novice hockey passing drill. There are four stations, with 5 minutes at each station. Don’t be afraid to change up the drills and add or take things away, that is what keeps practice fun and exciting.

Drill Time	Drill Description
20 Minutes	Passing Circuit – Novice Passing Drill
Players spend 5 minutes at each station Station One 1 passes to 2, then begins to skate 2 passes to 3, 3 passes to 4 1 skates towards blue line, turns and skates between 2 and 3 to get a pass from 4 1 then takes a shot net Make sure all players get to be skaters and passers Station Two Three players for four pylons As one player passes the puck, the player without the puck must move to the open pylon so that the puck is always with the middle person. Station Three Pig in the middle Two players pass the puck to each other, while a 3rd player tries to stop the pass If the player in the middle stops the pass, then he / she switches with the player who gave up the puck Coaches should work with goalies while players are doing the passing drills
Hockey Drill Diagram

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Shootout
2 lines facing each end of the ice Line on left has players down on one knee Line on right is player with puck On Coach’s signal, player with puck skates towards net for shot, player on one knee has to play the back checker, and try and catch the puck carrier Switch lines after each attempt
Hockey Drill Diagram

This drill is good for building players balance and agility. Players learn well by dropping to one knee, diving and rolling, and jumping, they also have a lot of fun too! I remember always being the fastest on my belly and back up again back when I played novice!

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Novice Balance and Agility Drill
Players are divided into two groups and follow the patch as indicated in the diagram Perform the following exercises Drop to knees at blue line Dive and roll at red line Jump at each line Backwards between blue lines Glide on one foot between blue lines Shoot the duck between blue lines Key execution points: Change direction after three minutes
Hockey Drill Diagram

Drill Time	Drill Description
15 Minutes	Novice Skills Station Drill
Players Weave Through Pylons First time through using one foot, inside edge only Second time though using one foot, outside edge only Third time through using both feet, leading with front foot Fourth time through use pucks Push and Glide Players line up along boards, and perform t-pushes across ice, change leg on the way back. Try to do 3-4 pushes Players then do the same going backwards, using C-cuts of backwards cross over start to begin, and finishing with c-cuts to far boards Repeat four times Crossovers Players begin in one corner and work on crossovers forwards and backwards. Concentrate on full crossover (outside foot) and cross-under (push through of inside skate for power Key Execution Points: Switch stations after 5 minutes
Hockey Drill Diagram

This is another fun hockey drill for novice players. For this drill players will develop speed, acceleration, tight turns and winning the race for the puck!

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Mill Drill – Fun Novice Hockey Drill
Divide players into four teams, one at each blue line as shown Place all of the pucks in the center circle, on whistle the first player from each team begins by doing a 360 around the pylon, then gets a puck, and takes the puck back to the end circle nearest the team. Once the puck is in the circle, the next player from that team can go Once all the pucks are gone, each team counts how many are in their circle, the team with the most pucks wins Can do more than once, change things up by making players skate backwards to the circle once they get the puck. Key Execution Points: Teams cheer for their players, lots of pucks in the middle.
Hockey Drill Diagram

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	Moe Mania
Players line up as shown. Spray paint lines half way between all cones so that players have a mark when to make their pivot. Player skates forward toward first cone and at spray paint line pivot to backwards. Continue this the entire way through the set-up. Players should always pivot so that they never lose eye contact with the cone in front of them. Ensurte that players lead with their stick to maintain good balance on the pivot Start with no pucks and add in pucks once players are ready
Hockey Drill Diagram

Drill Time	Drill Description
5 Minutes	3 Station Passing Drill
Montreal Drill 1 passes to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 back to 1 in the slot (rotate) Pass with Accuracy Move laterally giving and receiving passes on the outside of the cones Pig in the Middle One checker between 3 players with players continously passing the puck until the checker intercepts. Checker then trades places and becomes a passer. Key Execution Points:Change stations after 5 minutes, Players need to think
Hockey Drill Diagram – Novice Hockey Passing Drill

Drill Time	Drill Description
10 Minutes	One Man Drive
Introduce the one man drive but focus on principles that will be important for net drive and triangulation Start with the player on the left boards. Player accelerates and receives a pass from the coach in stride. Once the pass has been received the player drives hard to the net, takes a shot from the circle and attacks for the rebound As soon as this player has completed the drill the player from the centre takes a pass and drives straight down the mid-lane to the net, repeat with player off other boards. Continue sequence Run out of both ends of the ice Spray paint circles where shown to encourage players to drive to the net and attack for rebounds Key Execution Points: Players must be ready to go, Keep drill going to keep players moving
Hockey Drill Diagram

I hope these drills will help you run a good practice, and help your players develop. If you’re looking for ways to help your team improve their individual hockey skills, check out The Pond. The Pond is our all in one hockey training platform designed to continually challenge players. We break down every skill in an easy to understand, step by step format. After learning our methods you will be able to easily teach fundamental skills to your players so they can improve faster. Use coupon code COACHESRULE to get $5 off your month! You’re welcome to pass the coupon on to your team as well, because we all know coaches rule.