Coach's Corner

How To Play Defence - One on One

Mar 28, 2012, 11:55 am

Defence One-on-One

1) Stay Between the Forward and the Net
2) Control The Gap
3) Watch Their Hips
4) Keep your Hockey Stick out in Front

1) Stay Between the Forward and the Net.

When learning how to play defence in Hockey, you can never go wrong with the basic principal of keeping yourself between the opposing player and the net. One-on-Ones are a perfect example.

Keep Him to the Outside

When a hockey player on the other team is heading into your zone with the ball, your goal is to keep him to the outside towards the boards. His chances of scoring from the outside are far less than if he beats you on the inside. The best way to do this is with your body position. If the player is coming in down the middle of the rink, position yourself directly in front of him.

Own the Centre Lane

If he’s coming in on the wing, line up slightly towards the centre of the rink. Your outside shoulder should more or less line up with his inside shoulder. This encourages him to try to beat you to the outside, where he’s less of a threat. Picture a wide imaginary lane down the middle of the rink, and keep the other player outside of that lane. The tricky part is controlling the amount of space, or the gap, between you and the other player.

2) Control the Gap

A Gap Too Wide will allow the forward to cut to the inside. Or, it may give him enough room to get in close to the goalie for a shot, using you as the screen. You don’t want the gap to be much wider than about two lengths of a hockey stick.

A Gap Too Narrow, and you run the risk of letting him get around you if you’re unable to check him.

3) Watch Their Hips

One-on-Ones in hockey can be tricky against an experienced ball carrier. These guys are just dying to deke you out and score that highlight reel goal. Watching their hips will help prevent you from getting deked-out in your own zone.

Mr. Deke
Once you’ve correctly positioned yourself between the opposing hockey player and the net, Mr. Deke will try to fake you out any way he can. As you know, Mr. Deke has a hockey bag full of tricks.

Don’t Stare at the Ball

The best hockey tip I’ve been given on this is to watch his hips as he’s coming in on you. An experienced forward will try to fake you out with the ball, his head, his shoulders, a change of speed, or anything else he’s got up his sleeve. If you focus on his chest or the crest on his jersey, he may even deke you with his entire upper body. The worst thing you can do is watch the ball. Keep the ball in your peripheral vision, but don’t stare down at it.

The Hips Don’t Lie

He is not going anywhere without his hips, so keep your eyes on them. A hip can’t be dropped like a shoulder, or quickly dart around like a head-fake. With your eyes at waist level, it also makes it a little easier to keep the ball within your peripheral vision. Watch their hips, not the ball.

4) Keep your Stick out in Front

Keep your stick on the rink out in front of you, with one hand on the stick. Not in the air, not off to the side. Pointing your stick at the hockey player coming in allows you the flexibility of swinging it towards whichever side he tries to go around you.

Be Patient

Let the forward make the first move, then react to it. If you lunge at the ball and miss, you could find yourself right out of the play.

If you notice the forward is having trouble with the ball, that’s the time to try a poke-check. Otherwise, just keep your stick out in front and be ready when he makes his move.

Stick Handling

Feb 7, 2012, 3:47 pm

One of the most important stickhandlings basics is to always keep your head up. You've got to be able to be aware of what's happening around you on the rink without looking at the ball. If you're staring at the ball while stickhandling, you're likely to be checked by somebody you didn't even know was near you. A second tip in stickhandling is to use 'soft hands'. What this means is to not grip the stick too tightly. Try to control the ball gently so you don't over handle it. Think of the ball as an egg, and try not to break the shell. The shorter your stick, the easier it will be to bring your upper arm across your you body. Your stick should be around chin level when on skates, or nose level when off the floor. When practising your stickhandling, try to reach out as far as possible with the ball on both sides of your body. Try to use just your upper hand on your backhand side. This will help you when trying to move around other players on the rink.

Coaching Tips

Jan 31, 2012, 8:12 am

Yoga can do wonders for your flexibility. The incredible stretches and deep breathing increases the blood supply to your muscles and ligaments which reduces the chance of injury.

Yoga a powerful tool for stretching and strengthening the muscles and increasing flexibility. Physically, hockey demands a lot of strength from legs. This mean that hockey players keep a lot of stress in their legs. Calves, quads,glutes, and lower back muscles are heavily used. There are many yoga stretches that can help after hockey play, to relieve tension and prepare for the next game.