The MacDonald Forecheck is a nice little drill to work on forechecking lanes and angles. Here’s the diagram and explanation:
MacDonald Forecheck Drill
1. On whistle, forecheckers take a lap around the center circle
2. As the forecheckers finish their lap, coach dumps the puck in
3. Forecheckers attack, 5-man unit breaks out
4. After the breakout occurs, puck is passed back to the coach
5. 2 of the 3 forwards peel out to take a lap around the middle circle, becoming the new forecheckers (forwards must communicate who goes!)
6. As forecheckers finish the turn, coach dumps the puck in for a breakout from the far end
7. New 5-man unit moves into the end that just broke out
Thanks to our friend Kevin over at M2Hockey and HockeyShare.com, we’ve got a great 3 part video series for you on stickhandling drills that will be sure to improve your game. I always stress to my players that you have to work on this skill. All the best players in the world have perfected this and that’s why they are so good.
These can be done anywhere. You don’t need a rink to be able to do this. Stand in front of your TV and work out while watching it. It will teach you to get your head up and focus on something other than the puck. It then becomes about the feel of the puck on the stick.
The Cycle Give and Go Drill is an awesome way to introduce cycling concepts, and offensive attack patterns. Here’s the diagram:
Cycle Give and Go Drill
1. Player from line 1 leaves with the puck and walks up the boards, then cycles back to player from line 2
2. Player from line 1 drives through the seam for a give and go pass, receives the pass from player 2, then executes a one-time-shot
Variation: After receiving the pass back from player 2, player 1 touch-passes to player 3 or 2 for a one-time-shot
The Fukami Breakout Warm-up Drill is a great drill to get everybody moving. It incorporates a little bit of everything, and even involves the goalies in the play. Here’s the diagram:
Fukami Breakout Warm-up
1. On the whistle, forward dumps a puck on net
2. Goalie sets the the puck up for the defenseman, who has skated back to retrieve it
3. Forward times his/her skating, and explodes through the middle to receive a pass from the defenseman, then shoots
Variation: The forward can delay in the corner, then make a pass to the defenseman for a shot on net. (Not shown)
5-Card Skating is a great drill my assistant coach, Ryan Newton, came up with. I like this one because it lets you work on the defensive zone coverage skating patterns while getting some conditioning in. Here’s the diagram:
5-Card Skating Drill
1. Players start in 5-card formation
2. On whistle, each position skates full speed out to his or her designated attack area, pivots, then skates backward into 5-card position
3. Sequence follows, position by position. Center covers for the corner positions until they get back, and takes the seam (attack areas 2 and 5)
4. Wingers alternate between attack positions each “lap”
5. Do 4 “laps” then switch out 5-man unit for a new one
Although this drill loosely mimics a breakout drill, the real purpose behind this one is to introduce Timing and Support concepts to youngsters. Players must time their skating to arrive at the designated receiving zones on time for a possible pass. Here’s the diagram:
Controlled Skating Breakout Drill
1. 2 lines of Fs and Ds on the blue lines (out of the way)
2. D starts drill on dot
3. On the whistle, F passes to D, who pivots toward the boards, then skates behind the net to initiate a breakout
4. F control skates through each of the 4 receiving zones, presenting him or herself as a passing option in each zone (never taking eye off puck)
5. After receiving pass, F attacks 1 on 0
Mike Babcock is a fascinating individual, in my opinion. Anyone who has followed his career knows that he has a certain set of values that govern not only his hockey team, but his life. Babcock now shares his credo, using the much celebrated 2010 Olympics as his storyline.
The book does not quite know what it wants to be. It’s partly and Olympic diary, but it only hints at what could have been a truly fascinating inside look for hockey fans. It’s part self-help book, like something Jack Canfield or Stephen Convey would write. But the delivery style lacks polish and focus. Babcock would have been better advised to emphasize his major themes of his philosophies and present the book under those headings.
Ultimately what this book lacks is a major publisher behind it. Babcock chose to support his Alma Mater by having the University of McGill publish the book. As a result the book is oddly presented, from weird use of spacing and margins to the ill-advised presentation of content.
I hate to be critical of this book, because there are some very good teachings to be learned, whether you are an aspiring hockey player or coach, an enthusiastic fan who wants to implement Babcock’s teachings into their athletic, business, academic, or personal life.
Leave No Doubt was Team Canada’s Olympic credo in 2010 and have always Mike Babcock’s outlook on life. These words – leave no doubt, every day counts, our determination will define us – inspired not only 23 hockey players, but a nation. Reading Babcock’s approach to succeeding in life is relevant to people of all interests and ambitions.
This book may not be the blockbuster that it could have been. But it remains an intriguing option for hockey fans everywhere.
HockeyOT was designed by pro hockey players & coaches. It’s like having your own personal hockey strength & conditioning coach at a fraction of the cost
It’s no secret I’m a huge believer in off-ice training. In my last post we talked about the importance of understanding who your competition is, and how to gain an advantage over them. You an check that post out here: Who IS my Competition Anyways…?
Biggest Potential to Gain an Advantage:
In that post, we talked about some of the on-ice factors that go into being an effective player… these on-ice factors are definitely important, however, where you’re really going to gain an advantage is off the ice!
Off-ice strength training and conditioning is probably the biggest category that will give you an advantage over your opponent. There’s nothing better than being bigger, faster, and stronger than your opponent… and knowing it! And having a solid off-ice training program is key to making that happen!
Introducing HockeyOT:
Recently, I had the chance to chat with the founder of HockeyOT, Dr. Chad Moreau. As I was introduced to this program, I knew it would be something that would benefit a lot of young athletes, and I was excited to share it!
As soon as I got my membership set-up, I put myself through the baseline assessments, and started in on it. In this video I walk you through the set-up process, and give you a quick look inside the membership area.
HockeyOT was designed by pro hockey players & coaches. It’s like having your own personal hockey strength & conditioning coach at a fraction of the cost. Once you get in and get your account set up, you’ll go through your baseline assessments and get your program designed for you. From there, you’ll be able to progress, track your improvements, and compare your results against other athletes of your age and gender. Another cool feature is that you can compare your results against the various Pro Athletes that are also on the program… That’s right, there are multiple NHL’ers on this program, running the same baseline tests as you!
Conclusion:
Needless to say, this is a solid program, and definitely one I recommend. So, go ahead and check it out, and get ready to start the process of dominating your opponent!
MacDonald Forecheck Drill
