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Age-Appropriate Fall Training Guide

By Touchpoint Media, 08/16/16, 1:45PM CDT

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What can your child do to improve their hockey skills this fall, without breaking the bank? Focus on dryland/off-ice training, says Minnesota Hockey coach-in-chief Christian Koelling.

That’s right. He wants to see kids training more off the ice this fall than on it.

“I think there are so many different benefits, but I think one of the main benefits is just developing good habits and maintaining the focus that it takes to continue to be successful as you move through the ranks,” Koelling said. “And it’s also the key to continue developing athleticism, which is really laying the foundation for a better hockey player.”

The Main Ingredient

The key to a successful training program is that it’s fun, of course. Whether you’re working out on your own or training with your team, you should be enjoying yourself.

What’s an easy way to make dryland training fun? Games.

“I think that the big thing is when coaches are involved in the dryland activities, I think it’s important that they make sure that it’s fun and that they can incorporate games into the training for young kids,” Koelling said. “USA Hockey has a ton of dryland materials and a bunch of different ideas for coaches that they can use to keep it fun.”

Speed, Quickness and Agility

Fall is the perfect time to work on speed, quickness and agility.

“Sprinting is important,” Koelling said. “Anything that can incorporate sprinting to improve quickness and those short bursts of speed – that’s so important in hockey. And then any drills or games that include changing direction – those help with agility and explosiveness. Think about how often players are stopping, starting and changing direction in hockey. It’s happening constantly.”

Here are some age-appropriate sample exercises and games that emphasize explosiveness and agility that your child can do at home:

8 & Under:

  • Irish Dance can be done alone.
  • Relay Race is a fun and competitive game that can involve many friends and teammates.

10 & Under:

12 & Under:

Stickhandling and Shooting

Fall is the perfect time to jumpstart stick skill development – and you can do it in the driveway, garage or basement.

One thing Koelling wants players to focus on is handling the puck in a variety of positions – close to the body, farther away from it, to the side and even behind. Push the limits.

“Working on having quick hands is important,” Koelling said. “It’s also important to work on being comfortable handling the puck (or ball) in different positions – further away from your body and close to your body – and being able to shoot from those different positions, as well. Work on being able to handle the puck and get it into a position to shoot easily and naturally.”

Here are some age-appropriate off-ice stickhandling and shooting exercises:

8 & Under:

10 & Under:

  • Toe Drag is a silky skill that kids can start toying with.
  • Shuttle Passing is a fun activity to improve hand-eye coordination and passing.

12 & Under:

Parents’ Role

And what should parents do for their child’s training regime?

“Let them have their time and let them be with their buddies and let them do what they enjoy,” Koelling said. “I think the worst thing you can do is to push something so that you feel like you’re just training as a kid. I think developing good habits is one thing, but this should be kids having fun, and they should be doing it because they enjoy it.”

He said that from personal experience, the players that have the most success in hockey are the ones that love the game the most. With that in mind, Koelling wants to see kids be well-rounded individuals.

That means kids should keep playing other sports in the fall.

“Play a lot of sports and do a lot of different activities,” Koelling said. “Also, make sure you’re well-rounded and pursue interests outside of sports. When it comes to achieving as high as you can go in hockey, the kids that go the furthest are the kids that love the game the most. I think that’s bottom-line for me – if you want to go far, love the game more than everyone else.”

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