Ice hockey drills for youth teams, with video, setup and coaching points, grouped by skating, stickhandling, passing, shooting and defense. For 6U to 14U.
4 drills · 26 minutes if you ran them all
Set up three or four stations from the video: skipping, cross-over steps, balance holds and ball tosses. Groups rotate every 90 seconds. Run it off-ice before practice or on-ice as the first station.
Have fun with it and move the whole time. Coordination now makes skating easier later.
Watch: USA HOCKEYMark five dots in an X pattern on the floor or rubber mat before players step on the ice. Players hop through the pattern with two feet, then one foot, then alternating, for 20 seconds each. Great in the hallway while waiting for the Zamboni.
Quick light feet, land soft and quiet. Eyes forward, not down at the dots.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPartners stand six feet apart with a tennis ball. One player hops side to side on one foot while the partner tosses the ball for a catch at each landing. Ten catches, switch feet, then switch roles.
Stick the landing before you catch. Soft knees, hands ready.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPlayers line up with space around them. Call out forward, back, left, right and they jump two-footed in that direction and back to center, then progress to single-leg hops. Thirty seconds on, thirty off, three rounds.
Land soft with knees bent, chest up. Explode off the ground on every jump.
Watch: USA HOCKEY5 drills · 46 minutes if you ran them all
From a standstill at the goal line, players explode on the whistle for 10 strides and glide. Then do it from a glide, from a stop, and from a crossover start. Three reps of each with a full rest between.
Short, fast, powerful first strides. Arms drive front to back, not side to side.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPlayers start at the goal line facing the boards and skate backward to the blue line using C cuts, then stop and skate back forward. Progress to backward crossovers around a circle once the C cuts look smooth.
Sit low, push out in a C with one foot at a time. Head up and chest over the knees.
Watch: USA HOCKEYUse the faceoff circles. Players skate the circle doing continuous crossovers in one direction for a full lap, then switch circles and go the other way. Progress to the figure eight through two circles.
Lean into the circle, outside leg crosses over and pushes under. Keep the knees bent the whole lap.
Watch: USA HOCKEYSet cones at the goal line, hash marks, blue line and red line. Players sprint to each cone, two-foot stop, and sprint to the next, then return the same way stopping on the other foot. Two or three trips.
Hard stop, both feet, snow flies. Then first step quick, do not coast out of the stop.
Watch: Hockey CanadaPlayers line up on the goal line facing the blue line. On the whistle they set the heels together in a V and take three short explosive strides, then glide. Rest, skate back, and repeat eight to ten times.
Toes out, knees bent, first three steps short and quick. Drive off the inside edge.
Watch: USA HOCKEY5 drills · 36 minutes if you ran them all
Players stickhandle while a partner or coach holds up fingers for them to count out loud, so their eyes are up and not on the puck. Switch partners every 30 seconds.
Feel the puck, do not look at it. Count loud so I know your eyes are up.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPlayers set two pucks or cones a stick length apart and move a ball or puck in a figure eight around them, off-ice or on-ice. Thirty seconds slow and smooth, 30 seconds fast, three rounds.
Top hand does the work, bottom hand loose. Roll the wrists and keep your head up.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPlayers carry a puck through a cone course as shown: weave, tight turn, open-ice carry, then shoot or pass to end. Two players go at a time on parallel courses so there is no standing around.
Puck out in front, head up, feet always moving. Control before speed.
Watch: Hockey CanadaPlayers stickhandle a puck side to side in front of them, cupping the blade over the puck on each touch so it never rattles. Progress to wider touches and then to moving forward slowly.
Cup the puck, do not slap it. Quiet stick, quick hands.
Watch: USA HOCKEYSet a cone or glove as the defender. Players carry the puck toward it, reach out, pull the puck back with the toe of the blade across the body and skate past. Both sides, five reps each, then add speed.
Reach, drag, go. Sell it with your shoulders and keep moving your feet.
Watch: USA HOCKEY4 drills · 34 minutes if you ran them all
Five or six players spread around a faceoff circle with one puck. Pass across the circle, never to the player next to you, and call the name of the player you are passing to. Add a second puck once it flows.
Blade on the ice, give a target, call the name. Receive, then pass, do not one-touch it until I say.
Watch: USA HOCKEYTwo passers stand still with pucks while a skater weaves a figure eight between them, receiving and returning a pass on each loop. Switch the skater every 30 seconds.
Catch on the move and give it right back. Passers, lead the skater so the puck arrives on the blade.
Watch: Hockey CanadaGroups of four or five form a circle with one player in the middle. Players pass across the circle and the middle player tries to intercept; whoever gives it away goes in the middle. Keep groups small so everyone gets touches.
Move the puck quick and look off the defender. Middle player, stick on the ice and read the eyes.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPairs face each other 15 to 20 feet apart. Pass forehand to forehand, then forehand to backhand, then backhand to backhand, 10 of each. Receiver shows a target with the blade on the ice.
Sweep the puck, do not slap it, and follow through at the target. Receive with a soft blade.
Watch: USA HOCKEY4 drills · 38 minutes if you ran them all
Players skate from the corner, receive a pass from a coach at the half wall and shoot from the slot, then circle back to the line. Alternate the side the pass comes from each round.
Catch the pass clean first, then shoot. Blade on the ice, eyes on the net.
Watch: Hockey CanadaPlayers stickhandle through three cones at the top of the circle, then release a wrist shot on net without stopping. Rotate from both sides so they shoot off each foot.
Hands moving through the cones, then quick release. Do not stop and set up, shoot in stride.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPlace pucks at three spots: the slot, the top of the circle and the half wall. The shooter skates to each in turn and shoots without stopping, then skates back to the line. Run two lines on each end.
Shoot in stride and get your shot off fast. Three different angles, three different releases.
Watch: Hockey CanadaShooters line up at the hash marks with pucks. Walk through the wrist shot: puck back by the back foot, weight transfer, sweep, roll the wrists and point the blade at the target. Ten shots low, then ten high.
Pull the puck, push with the bottom hand, roll the wrists and follow through to the spot you want to hit.
Watch: USA HOCKEY4 drills · 40 minutes if you ran them all
Play two on one or three on two toward one net, with the extra defender starting behind the play and backchecking on the whistle. Attackers must shoot before the backchecker gets there. Rotate every rep.
Backchecker, sprint and take the open man, stick on the ice. Everyone goes hard back to the net.
Watch: USA HOCKEYA puck carrier skates up the boards and a defender starts a few feet inside and behind. The defender skates an angle to the boards, stick on the ice, and steers the carrier to the wall without contact. Switch roles each rep.
Skate the angle, do not chase from behind. Stick on the puck, steer with your body.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPartners face each other with one puck. The defender keeps the stick on the ice in the passing lane and mirrors the puck carrier, who tries to walk around without body contact. Switch every 30 seconds.
Stick on the ice, blade in the lane. Take away the pass with the stick and the skater with your feet.
Watch: USA HOCKEYDump a puck into the corner and send one player from each of two lines. The first player there gets body position between the puck and the opponent, keeps the stick on the puck and skates out to a coach. No checking, just angles and position.
Get there first, get your hips between the puck and the other player, and keep your feet moving.
Watch: USA HOCKEY4 drills · 51 minutes if you ran them all
Play three on three in the zone below the top of the circles with nets on the goal line as shown. Teams must complete a pass before shooting and the coach spots pucks from the corner.
Protect the puck, pass low to high, and get to the net front. Keep the shifts short and the energy high.
Watch: USA HOCKEYPlay three on three in one zone with a player from each team behind the opposing net as a Gretzky. A goal only counts if the shooter gets a pass from the Gretzky first. Shifts of 45 seconds.
Look for the player behind the net. Attackers, get open low; defenders, stay between the pass and your man.
Watch: USA HOCKEYTwo on two between the blue line and the goal line with a coach spotting pucks. When a team scores or loses the puck, a new pair jumps in for the team that lost possession. Fast changes, nonstop play.
Short shifts, go hard, and talk. Win the puck, then look up before you shoot.
Watch: USA HOCKEYTwo small nets set up in a half-ice area with three on three. Play continues off the walls with no whistles and the coach spots a new puck after every goal. Change on the fly every 40 seconds.
Quick puck movement, short passes, shoot when you see net. Nobody stands still.
Watch: USA HOCKEYVideos are linked, not hosted, and belong to USA HOCKEY and Hockey Canada. Drill write-ups are by Cheat Code Coaching. Durations are what we run them at with a youth team; adjust for your group.
Every drill here is already in the Cheat Code Teams Practice Builder for Youth Hockey. Drag them into a plan, tap Start practice, and the clock, the whistle and the next drill are on your phone and your lock screen.