Practice time is where and when a coach has their greatest on-ice impact.
Ideas Behind Practice
For me, there are a few basic principles I want my practice activities to have:
Representative - The activity is “game-like.” This means elements or sequences of the game are identifiable to the players.
Coachless - A coach is not running the drill or station. The coach is then available to… coach!
Simple - A drill is intuitive to understand. Less complexity allows for players to focus on the details within the activity rather than simply not messing up the drill.
Variable - The environment is never the same. Rather than repeating the solution, the players are repeating how to get to a solution/decision/execution. Having no cones or on-ice materials is a great start, and so is going against a teammate.
Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) - Constraints can be placed on the activity. Less so “You must do this three times” and more so “You can do this to add an additional player until the opponent touches the puck.” We want plays weighing their options and thinking. Simply, it means more incentives than requirements.
Examples Of Ice Hockey Activities
What do these above principles look like during training/practice?
Fortunately, we are in the middle of running our program’s optional summer skates (middle school + returning HS players) so I have some videos to share.