It’s tough enough learning to skate, let alone learning how to skate and figure out hockey strategies while also keeping your personal safety in mind and watching out for the people around you.
That’s why we’ve put together these step-by-step beginner’s tips on how to teach hockey sense to yourself or a friend. With these tips, you can feel confident knowing they’ve got your back, and they’ll be able to keep up with you no matter what moves you make on the ice.
Table of Contents
Start With A Few Drills
Whether you’ve been playing hockey for a while or are just getting into it, it’s important to start by learning how to stop and start moving on the ice appropriately. It takes some time to get used to the rhythm of the game and figure out when it’s safe to make a move and when it’s best to stay put.
With this in mind, it’s important to start by doing some drills with a few friends. Whether you play goalie or forward, everyone will be able to learn something from these drills.
Practice Staying In Skates
It’s easy for a hockey player to lose their balance and fall down on the ice, especially if they’re not used to ice skating. For that reason, it’s important that you practice staying in your skates as much as possible. This will help you keep your balance and avoid as many falls as possible.
Every time you step out of your skates, you’re going to feel slightly off-balanced, even if the ice is smooth and flat. The truth is, the more you practice, the more you’ll feel confident and comfortable without your skates on. With that in mind, put them on and off whenever you feel the need to take a step or two, then get back in them as soon as possible.
Use Your Head A Little Bit More
Whether you play goalie or forward, you’re going to have to think a lot in hockey. This is especially important if you’re in goal because a lot of your time is going to be spent thinking about the position of the puck and the strategy behind guarding it. Being in a mental state of analyzing the situation rather than just reacting will help you make the right decision faster than usual.
In case you were wondering, the NHL calls this strategy “thinking”, not “reacting”, which is something you want to do in life as well.
As much as possible, you want to keep your head up when you play hockey. This will help you see the ice more clearly and make the right calls faster. Look up often and make note of where the puck is so you can anticipate where it’s going and what your opponents are doing. Plus, if the puck is in the air, it’s usually a good idea to look up and see where it is because you might want to pick it up and run with it yourself.
Teach Your Eyes How To Skate
It might seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning again: If you want to learn to skate, you need to start by looking where you’re skating to. This is called “teaching your eyes how to skate” and it’s something that takes a while to get used to. You’re always going to be looking at the ice in front of you, but you need to start by using your peripheral vision to check behind you as well. This way, you’ll be able to see any obstacles that might be coming at you from behind.
Once you get used to it, you’ll start seeing the ice in a completely different way. You’ll be able to read signs of trouble before it even happens and plan your moves accordingly. This is one of the most important things you can learn if you want to play at a high level – how to skate.
Play A Few Games
Just like with any new sport or hobby, you’re going to need to play a few games before you can really start to learn how to do it well. This is especially important if you’re playing on a lake or pond with other people because a game of hockey is a little different than simply skating around for fun. In a game, you’ll have referees and coaches to help you keep score, but aside from that, you’re on your own. This is a good thing, however, because it forces you to think on your feet and make split-second decisions instead of just going with the flow.
Once you get the hang of it and start playing games regularly, you’ll soon find yourself making smarter decisions faster than you would if you were just playing around for fun. Better yet, you’ll start seeing the game in a whole different way because you’ll be analyzing the strategies and habits of your opponents moreso than just trying to beat them. This is going to make you a better hockey player overall.
Hopefully, these tips on how to teach hockey sense gave you a good starting point for your journey. Remember to stay calm and keep your head up so you can make the right calls, and you’ll soon be able to answer the question “How to teach hockey sense?” with a confident, “just keep practicing”.