The Head-Up Scan The Ice Warm-Up from Dwayne Blais of the NSDA is a simple yet highly effective warm-up drill that is great for all age levels. The goal of this warm-up activity is to get players in the habit of keeping their head up while they stickhandle so they can look for open ice and evade obstacles. 

Setup

• Can be set up to be full-ice (like it is shown in the video) or half-ice.
• On the whistle, all players skate in the same direction.
• On the next whistle, players check their shoulders and turn to go in the opposite direction.
• Coaches can add obstacles (cones, sticks, tires) that players must stickhandle around, and coaches can also be obstacles (like shown in the video).

Coaching Points

• Players should practice keeping their head up!
• Players must shoulder check and look over their shoulder to determine where the open ice is.
• Coaches should encourage players to keep their head up as much as possible during practice. Players can't keep their head up in the game if they do not learn the skill at practice!

Variations

• Can be full ice, half ice, or in zone setup.
• The coach can blow the whistle to change directions every 10 - 20 seconds for younger age groups or every 3 - 5 seconds for higher-skilled groups.
• Can add obstacles and / or defenders that players need to be aware of and stickhandle around.

1. Players pass the puck around the circle without the coach intercepting the puck. players can move around the circle to get open.

2. 1 vs 1 Puck race. Players power turn around 2 cones. The coach passes a puck for the 2 players to race for. alternate lines

3. 1 vs 1 battle. coach starts the drill by shooting a puck into the corner. Player race to the puck and try to score. If neither player scores after 20-30 seconds start a new group.

4. 4 vs 4 game. Players try to score by hitting a tire or cone.

5. Players power turn around first cone transition to backwards around second cone and continue skating backwards to the goal line. Alternate lines

This is a full ice activity great for any age level under 12 years old. It is great to use this as a warm up activity to help increase the energy for practice. Players work on awareness, agility, and puck control while having fun.

Set Up

Select 3 players or coaches to be the "police" in the middle. The "bank robbers" start on the goal line without pucks. Scatter as many pucks as you can throughout the neutral zone.

How to Play

On the whistle the players will skate into the neutral zone. Their objective is to retrieve a puck and cary it out of the neutral zone and place it into the net at the other end. The "police" must stay within the neutral zone. If a "bank robber" is touched in the neutral zone by the "police" they join the "police" in the next round. Play until all the players have been tagged or until all of the pucks have been stolen and placed into the nets.