The Tire Stickhandling Shot is a station setup that allows players to practice stickhandling, passing and shooting all in one station.
Setup
- Coaches can set up the station with tires (or active stationary players as described in the video) that players must skate around to start the drill.
- After the players go through the stickhandling station, they puck their head up and skate around the tires in each of the corners of the ice.
- From there, they pick their head up to pass the puck to their coach, get a pass back, and take a shot on net.
Variations
- Coaches can replace the tires with stationary players that move their stick one way or another so that the stickhandler needs to keep their head up to determine which side of the ice to skate to.
- Coaches can set this up in different areas of the ice.
- Coaches can require players to work on different skills in this drill (backwards skating, one touch shooting, etc).
Coaching Points
- Once players are comfortable with the station, encourage players to pick their head up and use their peripheral vision. Adding stationary defenders that move their stick one way or another will ensure players are forced to pick their head up.
