Contained on this page are 34 skill stations that can be used for Mini-mites through Midgets. Most of these drills were taken from or inspired by Czech drill videos that were posted on Youtube. Each of these drills was tested the past two seasons in our Mini-mite program, and this year in our house and travel programs, and have become a valuable tool in practice planning.
Where available, each drill has an associated video clip showing kids performing the skills. Incorporating 3 or 4 of these drills in your practices as stations and rotating the kids every 5-7 minutes works well. At the bottom are some ice utilization ideas for dividing the ice for stations and small area games.
One of the setups we found most effective was to run three skill stations and one small area game at the same time and rotate the kids through all 4 areas in a 30 minute time frame. We have included some ideas on ice utilization below Skill Station #34 so check these out, as well.
Incorporating these skill stations and proper ice utilization into your practices is in keeping with the intent of the skill development philosophies of USA Hockey's new American Development Model (ADM).
We are always looking for and testing new drills, so check here often for updates. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please contact Bob Adams via email at rsadams@charter.net.
Stopping and Crossovers
Pivots and backward cross-unders.
Edge work around sticks.
Obstacle stickhandling.
Passing and puck exchanges, creativity, imagination, vision.
Dekes, front fakes, wide moves.
Forward to backward and backward to forward pivots with crossovers/crossunders.
Edge work around sticks.
Edge work around sticks.
Pivots, backwards skating and crossunders.
Dekes, moves, shooting.
Speed turns, crossovers, overspeed, puckhandling.
Forward skating, backward skating, pivots, puckhandling and shooting or dekes.
Speed turns, pivots, overspeed, edge control.
Forward/Backward skating and transitions.
Stickhandling with head up, turning and edge control.
Dekes, moves, fakes, shooting.
Stickhandling with head up, turning, edge control.
Stickhandling with head up, turning, edge control.
Stops and starts.
Stride mechanics, edge work, balance.
Puck control, escape moves, shooting, dekes.
Forward/backwards skating, transitions, pass reception, one-timers, shooting, quick release.
Advanced station. Passing, receiving, head up, vision, communication.
Overspeed turns, crossovers, passing, receiving, shooting, 2-0.
1-1 SAG Race
Puck handling, forward and backward skating, moves.
Shooting, passing, transitions.
Quick feet, agility, starts, turns, transitions.
Toughness, competition, stickhandling, puck protection.
Puck handling, puck protection, competition, fun.
Shooting, quick release.
Shooting, taking pass on rim, breakout.
Overspeed skating, speed turns, edges.
Below are a few suggestions for dividing the ice for skill stations and Small Area Games. These are not the only options, but they have worked well for us in the past.
3-4 Skill Stations and SAG.
2 cross-ice and 2-small area games or skill stations.
3 cross-ice games or skill stations.