Torpedo is a great warm up activity for young hockey players. It is most appropriate for U8 & U10 but even U12 players find it fun and engaging. The game gets players warmed up, excited, and raises the excitement level for practice.

How to Play

All the player will throw their sticks down behind the goal line so they are out of the way and line up all the way across the goal line. The coaches will collect as many cones as the can and station themselves along the wall. On the whistle the players will try to skate from one end to the other without getting hit by a "torpedo" (cone). If they get hi they have to take a knee until the game is over. The last player to get hit wins that round.

This version of 1 vs 1 allows players to play in a tight space. The small space allows them to start developing puck protection instincts, winning 50/50 races for pucks, and how to take pucks away. There is really nowhere for players to hide so they have to be engaged.

Set Up

View the diagram and animation to show you how the playing areas can be setup. The coach will have the pucks just outside the box with players split up on both side. Try to match players of similar ability together. The coach will throw a puck into the box and the next to two players in line will play 1 vs 1. Once a goal is scored the coach plays a new puck into the box and the next two players go.

While the kids will have an absolute blast playing dodge ball they will also be taking 100's of repetitions of the shooting motion.

Setup

Place all the tennis balls along the center line of the station and divide the players into two teams. You may want to place some discs or cones along the center line so players know where the center line is. 

How the game is played

Players start along the wall on their side of the ice. On the whistle the players will race to gather as many tennis balls as they can from the middle. Players shoot the tennis balls at the other team. If a player is hit they drop to two knees and wait for the next round. If a player catches a ball then all of their teammates are back in the game.

This is a basic cross ice 3 vs 3. Depending on your numbers and the age level you can do 4 vs 4 as well. Keep in mind one of the goals is to get every player engaged and a lot of puck touches.

Set Up

Place two nets cross ice facing each other with three players from each team in the playing area. In this set up the goals are moved up to the face-off dots. This allows more space behind the nets and allows for more plays and shots on net. Allow the players to play for 60 - 90 seconds then blow the whistle for a shift change.