4 Hockey Skating Drills for Youth Players: Building Speed, Balance, and Agility

• By Jackson Chlebowy

Skating skills are the foundation for any good hockey player. Youth hockey players who develop good skating technique and habits at a young age will have a significant competitive advantage over their teammates and opponents. Mastering the hockey skating fundamentals early will give young players a head start in developing speed, agility, and edgework. Whether you are coaching complete beginners or a talented team of Peewee’s, practicing ice skating basics will help build an edge over the competition.

Basics of the Forward Stride: One Foot Push Drill – Nicole Uliasz

Coach Nicole Uliasz is a women’s varsity ice hockey coach for the Lawrenceville School, a prestigious prep school in New Jersey. She played women's hockey at a high level, starting her career in 2000 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2001, she left the team to play for her country on the US national team. In 2002, she played games on the pre-Olympic tour before joining the women's U-22 national team. She later returned to Wisconsin to finish her collegiate career, earning All-Big10 Honors.

Coach Uliasz teaches the basics of an efficient skating stride in her course ‘Hockey Fundamentals for Beginners’. Good skating starts with a strong, hockey-ready stance. In an athletic stance, a player's knees should be bent, shoulder width apart. Their chest should be up, facing the direction they want to skate. Some players will hunch over, tilting their chest down toward the ice. This is not ideal for skating as it puts the body in an awkward position, resulting in inefficient strides and wasted energy. It also makes it difficult for young players to keep their heads up, and aware of their surroundings. This is key for player safety, but also for game awareness.

If a player skates their head down, they are less likely to be ready to receive or give a good pass and will miss opportunities to make plays. Keeping the head up is a crucial habit to develop at a young age. 

The key to an efficient and effective stride is a strong push. Emphasize the importance of digging the skates into the ice and getting a strong outward push before returning them all the way back under your body. This is key, as it allows for a longer, more powerful stride at minimal energy cost. Shorter, choppier strides that don’t return under the body are less energy efficient and don't allow the player to generate as much power and speed over space. These are good for getting a quick start, but not skating fast over longer distances.

The One-foot push drill is an easy way to get young players comfortable and familiar with the proper skating form and technique. It may be difficult for young players to consistently use proper mechanics, but by breaking it down they will become more aware and intentional about their stride. You must emphasize the long stride starting and returning from under the body.  Make the drill fun, and challenge players to see who can glide the farthest per stride. Turn it into a one-footed race, challenging players to skate as fast as they can with proper form.

Quick Feet Stop and Start Drill

Hockey is a game of inches. The ability to gain speed and change direction on a dime is essential for being a good skater. Learning quick stops and starts will help players be more effective skaters and will allow them to follow the puck/play more effectively. It is also a crucial skill in developing small space speed and acceleration, allowing players to win more puck battles or create separation from their opponents. 

The drill is simple. Line players up at the bottom of a faceoff circle, or in a line with 2 cones spread a few feet apart. On the coach's whistle, players will make a quick crossover start, getting 3 quick and powerful strides focusing on getting from stop to start as fast as they can. They will then stop at the top of the circle, and explode out of the stop back to the bottom of the circle, repeating this as many times as desired. You can incorporate puck carrying into this drill for more skilled players. Make sure you explain the importance of keeping their heads up with the puck on their stick and instructing them to protect the puck when they stop and start. 

Jump Sticks Drill – Coach Patrick Burke

Coach Patrick Burke is a former collegiate and junior hockey player, playing for Connecticut College, the Ramapo Saints, and the New Jersey Rockets. He is now a USA Hockey Association coaching education director and certified USA hockey coach. Coach Burke has coaching experience at nearly every level of the game, from mites to elite high school hockey. He has now turned his attention to youth hockey, focusing on youth player development.

Coach Burke’s ‘Jump Sticks Drill’ from his ‘Coaching Youth Hockey: From Mites to PeeWees’ Course is a great way for young hockey players to practice their balance and agility on their skates. Have your players spread out and lay their sticks down on the ice. On the coach's go, the players will practice jumping over their sticks. Start with 2 feet jumps, emphasizing the importance of keeping their knees bent, and their chest and head up. This will help players keep balance and prevent them from falling. After they’ve gotten the hang of the 2-foot jump you can add fun wrinkles to the drill to keep the kids engaged. They can try 1-foot jumps, spinning jumps, or fast feet. If they really get the hang of the stick jumps, you can incorporate figure 8 skating. Have the players begin on one side of the stick, jumping over the stick and making a tight turn around the ends of their stick. This further stresses the importance of balance and that athletic stance while incorporating movement and skating. 

Circle Skating Drills

There are many different circle skating drills that are very effective in teaching good skating skills and habits. All of the variations follow one base drill. Line all of your players up in one corner, with the first player in line where the goal line meets the corner. Without a puck, have players practice skating on the circle all the way around. Teach players to use crossovers to keep and gain speed while staying on the circle as best they can. After the first player skates past the line, and around the top of the circle again, they will skate to the next circle (2nd corner). Players can be sent on the coach's whistle, or after the player in front passes the line.

After players have the hang of skating the circles, you can add edgework. One way to do this is by having players lift one leg, using only their inside or outside edge around the tops of the circles.

You can have players practice their transitions and backward skating. Tell players to keep their chest facing the far end of the ice at all times (or if there is a clock or scoreboard use those as landmarks to limit confusion). This will force players to incorporate both forward and backward skating while also working on smooth transitions as they reach the tops and bottoms of the circles. 

Adding pucks is also a good way to elevate this drill, forcing players to focus on puck control and making turns with the puck. 

Finally, you can turn this drill into a race, having players chase one another around the circles. If any player gets caught by their teammate they owe push-ups. The race adds stakes, creates competition, and keeps practice fun for young players.