One often neglected aspect of practice is addressing the needs of the goalie.

You’ve certainly heard the expression “Practice makes perfect.” And it can, but only if both players and coaches conduct themselves responsibly. The first act of responsibility is actually holding (for a coach) and attending (for a player) practice sessions. If you are playing in a competitive league and are not practicing, you are doing a great disservice to your team. Players need more than a game situation to become familiar with each other’s skills and attitudes, and practice is where that extra familiarity is born.

I mentioned both players and coaches being responsible about practice sessions. For their part, the players must come to practice with an open mind and a positive attitude. They must have a burning desire to excel. If the player fails to bring that desire to the rink, they will likely fail even before they hit the practice surface. These are players who are always be looking for someone else to blame—their teammates for a bad game, their coach for a poor practice. If you are that type of player, a fresh approach to your next practice session might do wonders for both your skill level and your popularity.

The hardest part

For a player, the hardest part of practicing is often accepting what a coach says as law. But that is exactly what players must do in order to be successful, both as a team and as individuals. Almost all players will have questions during a practice session. If they are patient, and have a good, communicative coach, they should receive their answers.

Coaches have their own responsibilities when it comes to running a practice. Veteran NHL coach Roger Neilson points out that “Practice is where the real coaching is done.” And that couldn’t be more true. Practice is the avenue in which a good coach will excel.

Want to excel at your next practice? Here are some things to keep in mind.

Have objectives

Always have a plan, and a goal for the specific practice session. Some of the things you might focus on include skills development, team systems improvement, teaching (skills or systems), conditioning and, lastly, motivation and attitude development.

Recognize needs. You have to know what to work on in order to get positive results from a practice. Some of your determining factors for planning your practice might include previous games played (What went badly last game?); upcoming games (What strategies need to be worked out?); or specific skills that need improvement, such as shooting, passing, or checking. Certain sessions might focus on teaching specialty aspects of the game, like power plays, 2-on-1 conversions, the transition game, or defensive zone coverages. Other sessions might focus solely on your team system.

Don’t forget the nets

One often neglected aspect of practice is addressing the needs of the goalkeeper. A coach must determine if the netminder needs specific drills, like confidence drills, or extra work on puck handling, clearing to the corners, etc.

Other things for a coach to consider in setting practice goals include the team’s need for physical conditioning work (based on what point of a season the team is at), or even the mood of the team.

Mood is central to motivation, and a coach must take steps to achieve the mood he or she feels is correct at that time (e.g. do you want to build them up, or bring them down to earth?).

Coaches, especially for younger age groups, must also consider fun drills. They must be able to determine, according to the age group of the players, the optimum length of drills, length of teaching time, sequence of drills, water breaks, and use of rink space—especially if they share the practice rink with another team.

Be clear

Be sure to explain each drill clearly and concisely, stating the purpose of the drill and how it relates to, and fits into, your game plan. Be patient—stop and explain the drill again if you have to—but move on if the drill is still not going correctly. Always demonstrate your drills, either with a player (try and use your captains) or a coach. Post your practice schedule in the locker room prior to the first player arriving, and post a copy out in the rink somewhere so if a player forgets the sequence of events he/she can review them.

Keep ‘em interested

Try and use occasional breaks between drills (e.g. sprints, cool down laps, water breaks, etc.) in order to keep players fresh and interested. If you are blessed with assistant coaches, please use them or they will not be around very long. But be equally clear with your assistants; make sure they know what you expect from them. Don’t forget to be organized, and refer to your practice planner in order to develop drills relating to both previous and upcoming games.

Coaches should always remember that most players want to learn, develop their skills, work hard, and have fun. And players should remember that running a successful practice is one of the biggest challenges in coaching. They should want to help the coach achieve his, and the team’s, objectives. So let’s each go to our next practice with our specific responsibilities in mind.

If both the players and the coaches do their parts, then practice might just make perfect.