your coaching checklist
Below is an overview of the skills and tactical concepts you should be coaching players at this stage of their hockey journey. If you need help with understanding these skills, there are several videos that can be found here!
Fundamental Skills
GRIP
Frying pan gripShort handle grip
Ball carrying
One-handed dribblingForward lifted dribble
Elimination
Change of pace (in contest)Body positioning to protect the ballLifting the ball (forehand/reverse)
Distribution
Forehand sweepForehand one-touch/deflectionForehand lifted passForehand upright hitForehand short-handle hit
Receiving
Bouncing ball receiving
Goal scoring
Forehand upright hit/chip/chokeRebounding & positioningForehand/reverse stick deflection
Winning the ball
Jab/poke tackle
Goalkeeping
FootworkAngles/positioning
Tactical Concepts
General concepts
Pre-scanning before receivingCommunication strategies
Defensive concepts
Man-to-manEngaging distance & timingDefending rolesRegaining & transitions
Offensive concepts
2v1 attacking strategiesVerbal/non-verbal communicationTransfer awarenessRecognising numbers up/downAttacking roles
Weekly planner
Below are some suggestions for what you might want to run on week-to-week to help develop your players, as well as some drills to give you some ideas on how to do it!
BASICS - BUILD & IMPROVE
WEEKS 1 & 2
Skills
Frying pan gripShort handle gripOne-handed dribblingChange of pace (in contest)Body positioning to protect the ballForehand sweepForehand upright hitForehand short handle hitJab/poke tackle
WEEKS 3 & 4
Reinforce basics & introduce new skills
WEEKS 5 & 6
WEEKS 7 & 8
Reinforce new skills & add tactical concepts
WEEK 9
WEEKS 10 & 11
Reinforce new skills & add tactical concepts
WEEKS 12 & 13
Planning a Training
As seen in the Westie Sticks document, it's often preferable to structure your trainings in a way that builds progression of the skills or tactics you're developing. We do this through games or drills that grow in complexity or demand as the session goes on
10%
Warm-Up
20%
Individual skill focus
30%
Modified games
40%
Small games
Where possible, it's also a good idea to spend a few minutes before training talking about last week's game, or what you might be doing this training Feel free to tweak these percentages to accommodate set plays like penalty corners
