One of my favorite things to do is challenge players with multiple pucks. In late 2021, Ieven tweeted that I would address why in 2022.
Well… I didn’t write on multiple pucks in 2022. But better late than never!
Practicing with multiple pucks is a great way to build physical skills and mental capabilities. When there are multiple pucks for a player to worry about, they’re forced into developing many great elements that feed into all parts of their game.
This concept was popularized by Darryl Belfry over a decade ago but still doesn’t have mainstream traction in coaching circles today.
Physical Benefits
The #1 physical benefit is creating a separation of the upper and lower body. When there is only 1 puck, players are often overly in sync. One of the obvious signs is when a player is striding and stickhandling at the same rate.
With two pucks, players are forced to be out of sync with their skating stride cadence. This help smooths movement and allows for better puck skills within movement, particularly without helping players avoid breaking stride or stopping their skating to catch passes and give passes.
Mental Benefits
By working with multiple pucks, players are building excess capacity in their mental abilities and working on managing a mental load. Naturally, it’s harder. Players are forced to plan ahead, manage time and space, and place/tap pucks to space.
Getting players to plan ahead is a great enough reason to implement multiple pucks into training. When you look deeper, there are so many more benefits to explore.
Tapping pucks to space
Puck-centric movement
Improving puck control
Individual Training
There are many great ways players can train individually with multiple pucks/objects.
Stickhandle 2-3 pucks around a space
Kick a puck in the feet while stickhandling
Switch pucks throughout an activity
Once there is a basic puckhandling ability, any player can gain benefits from working with multiple pucks.
Team Training
If a player has mastered a technical skill we are working on, I’ll add a puck. Once that is mastered, I’ll add a second puck. It’s a great way to challenge players… particularly with skating drills!
Another aspect is a passing activity where players must be constantly scanning. Activities can have two pucks moving at the same time. A group of three players could have two pucks.
Many times, multiple pucks will encourage the development of a ‘give-and-go game.’
Within a small group passing drill, instead of one puck, have two pucks to swap.
As soon as you pass a puck, you’ll be quickly receiving a puck
Three players might have a puck while one is without a puck. Players then must find the open player where they have to read off of each other
A simple multiple-puck swap activity can bring out a ton. Notice how these two read off each other, the separation of upper/lower body, puck-centric skating and pass receptions, altering speeds, and all the struggles they encounter! Simple yet effective.
There are many benefits to using multiple pucks when training. And there are many ways to go about training multiple pucks. What can you come up with?
Further Reading