First Practice Hockey Practice Plan (60 Minutes)

Bring them to the boards in one group (knees on the ice is fine if they’re wobbly). Do a fast helmet/chin strap check and make sure everyone can hold their stick safely.

• Non-negotiables: when I whistle and yell “FREEZE,” you stop and look at me; sticks stay on the ice; no slapshots; if you’re unsure, go to the boards and wait.
• Cues: “Eyes up.” “Sticks down.” “Boards are home base.”
• Watch for: kids who keep drifting after the whistle—stop and redo the freeze until it’s clean.

Finish by showing them where water is and where they line up when called.

Set two lanes across the width with cones/discs. Players start on the goal line; send 2–3 at a time so spacing stays safe.

First 2 reps: marching steps only (lift feet, set them down). Next 2 reps: march for 3 steps then glide on two feet to the far side. They peel to the boards and return along the boards.

• Cues: “Knees bent.” “Belly over knees.” “Small steps, then glide.”
• Watch for: hands in front and knees bent during the glide—if they stand tall, they’ll wobble.
• Common issue: kids chase each other and bunch up. Fix: hold the next group, point to the gap, and only send when you see space.

If the group is comfortable, add one rep of gentle two-foot “airplane arms” glide to build balance.

Everyone in a big circle near the boards with lots of space between players. No pucks. You demo once slowly, then they copy.

1. Controlled fall to the side: knees bend, sit to the hip, hands to chest (no reaching).
2. Roll to knees, one skate up under the body, push up, then glide two steps and stop.
3. Repeat twice each side.

• Cues: “Hug yourself.” “Knees first.” “One skate up, then stand.”
• Watch for: they get to knees quickly and stand without crawling forward into traffic.
• Common issue: they try to stand with both skates flat and slip. Fix: physically point to the ‘one knee up’ position and have them freeze there for 2 seconds before standing.

Finish with a quick “freeze test” whistle—everyone drops into hockey stance and holds.

Water at the bench. While they drink, you set pucks in two small piles and slide cones into two stickhandling grids (one in each end if you have the ice).

Quick reminder before they step back out: pucks stay on the ice and we keep our heads up when we can.

Create two grids (about the size of a faceoff circle or smaller). Put half the group in each grid so everyone has room. Give every player a puck if possible.

Run 4 x 60-second rounds with a 15-second reset between:

• Round 1: stationary handles (forehand/backhand) with knees bent.
• Round 2: slow walking with the puck—tiny pushes, blade flat.
• Round 3: “head up challenge” — one look up every 3 touches.
• Round 4: protect the puck by turning your body (no contact) when you hear the whistle.

• Cues: “Soft hands.” “Top hand turns.” “Puck on the ice.”
• Watch for: the puck stays close to the blade, not out in front where it runs away.
• Common issue: kids slap at the puck and it bounces. Fix: take pucks away for 20 seconds and have them practice the motion with no puck: blade flat, short pushes, then give pucks back.

If they’re flying, add one cone in the middle and have them do slow circles around it while handling.

Set two lanes from goal line to blue line using cones/discs. Put 3–4 cones in each lane as “gates.” Players line up at the start of each lane with pucks.

They go one at a time through the gates, then glide to the boards and return along the boards to the back of the line. Keep the send interval big enough that nobody runs into the player ahead.

• Cues: “Eyes up between gates.” “Little touches.” “Hands away from your body.”
• Watch for: they can steer the puck without stopping their feet completely.
• Common issue: they stop skating to handle. Fix: tell them “two steps, two touches” and clap the rhythm as they go.

If it’s too hard, remove gates and just go straight with controlled touches. If it’s going well, add a gentle turn at the end (no tight turns yet—just a wide loop).

Use one end of the ice. Mark a rectangle with cones (inside the zone). Everyone has a puck except 2 “sharks” who don’t have pucks.

On your whistle, puck carriers skate/handle inside the box. Sharks try to knock pucks out (stick on puck, no body contact). If your puck leaves the box, you do a quick task at the boards (5 marching steps + glide back) and re-enter with your puck.

• Cues: “Keep it close.” “Turn away.” “Head up—find space.”
• Watch for: players using their body to shield the puck while keeping their feet moving.
• Common issue: sharks start swinging sticks. Fix: stop and show “poke then sweep” with the blade on the ice; any high swing sits out one round as a helper at the cones.

Rotate sharks every 60–90 seconds so everyone gets a turn and nobody is stuck chasing too long.

One slow lap as a group along the boards (no pucks). Halfway through, whistle “FREEZE” once to reinforce the stop-and-look habit.

Finish at the boards in a tight huddle. Ask three quick questions and point to kids who did it well: “What do we do when coach whistles?” “How do we fall safely?” “What’s our puck rule?”

• Send-off: tell them the one thing you want next practice: “Same freeze, same knees bent, and we’ll learn a simple stop.”