ADM Kids

Q: My son’s bantam coach recently ran a station-based practice. How will my son learn to play if they aren't doing full-ice drills?

A: While most parents and coaches tend to think of station-based practices being only for young kids, the reality is that station-based practices are great for players of all ages. The key is for coaches to modify what players are doing in the stations.

At the older age classifications, stations are great for working on technical skills (skating, puck handling, passing, and shooting) as well as learning individual tactics, habits, concepts, and hockey sense. A good coach can teach any team concept within a small area of the ice to keep players better engaged and teach them to perform under duress. Players soon learn that if they can make plays in a smaller area, it becomes easier to make the same plays in a game situation, with more space. By making players practice in tiny areas, players learn to push their tempo, and then the game often slows down for them when they play on a full sheet, allowing them to display even greater proficiency.

And let's not forget, players can never be too skilled. Systems are something you can always learn later, if you have the skills, hockey sense and a grasp of hockey concepts.

If you are ever fortunate enough to see a college or professional hockey practice, you will often see them doing station-based work and small-area games. It’s a staple of their high-level training. If it works for them, it most certainly works for bantams, too.