At-home hockey drills for 11 to 13 year olds: defense

This is a free sample week of at-home hockey training for 11 to 13 year olds, for a defense: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 13 to 14 minutes, with every step and minute. Nothing here is written for this page alone; it is what the app gives a family.

Everything here can be done in a room, garage or yard. Drills that need a team are left out; a parent can be the partner in a pair drill.

A free sample week of hockey for 11 to 13 year olds

Session 1

Gap and stick 13 minutes

Backward shuffle with stick out · 4 min
Stick on the ground, eyes on the chest
Poke checks at a ball a parent moves · 5 min
Stick first, body follows
Pivot forward to backward · 4 min
Turn on a line, keep facing the play

Session 2

Defense: Drag Around a Stick 14 minutes

Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
Drag Around a Stick · 5 min
Wide reach, pull it home.
Four-Corner Box Drill · 5 min
Plant outside foot, stay low. Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.
Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 3

Defense: Mohawk Open-Hip Turns 14 minutes

Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 2 min
Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
Mohawk Open-Hip Turns · 5 min
Open the hips, heels together. Safety: Wear a helmet with a full cage, a neck guard, a mouthguard and full gear on the ice.
Angling to the Outside · 5 min
Inside shoulder, steer them wide. Safety: No body contact in this drill.
Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Want the rest of the plan?

This sample is 3 of the 7 hockey plans SSTracker has for this group. In SSTracker every step is on the screen, your child logs the work, and you see it. No club needed: the family plan is $7.50 a month per player, or $12 a month for the whole household, and the first 14 days are free.

Get the full plan free for 14 days Coach or club director? Set up your team free Print a free week for another sport or age

The drills in this week

Drag Around a Stick

Ages 11 and up · 10 min

Pull the puck wide around a stick on the ground, like beating a defender's blade.

Lay a spare stick on the floor in front of you.
Push the puck out and pull it wide around the end.
Bring it back to the middle in one move.
Do 20 each side.

Coach's cue: Wide reach, pull it home.

Bring: stick, ball or puck, spare stick or tape line

Four-Corner Box Drill

Ages 10 to 14 · 10 min

Move around a small square using a different movement on each side: run forward, shuffle, backpedal, shuffle.

Set a square of cones 5 yards apart.
Run forward up the first side, shuffle across the top.
Backpedal down the far side, shuffle back to the start.
Do 3 each direction with rest between.

Coach's cue: Plant outside foot, stay low.

Bring: 4 cones

Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.

Mohawk Open-Hip Turns

Ages 11 and up · 12 min

Open your hips heel to heel to turn from forward to backward while you keep facing the play.

Skate forward to a cone.
Open your hips and turn your heels toward each other.
Glide backward the other way without stopping.
Do 8 turns each direction.

Coach's cue: Open the hips, heels together.

Bring: skates, ice, 3 cones

Safety: Wear a helmet with a full cage, a neck guard, a mouthguard and full gear on the ice.

Angling to the Outside

Ages 11 and up · 12 min

Steer an attacker toward the outside instead of chasing them.

Your partner carries the puck up a lane.
Approach from the inside and match their speed.
Force them toward the outside line of cones.
Do 8 reps each.

Coach's cue: Inside shoulder, steer them wide.

Bring: stick, ball or puck, 4 cones, partner

Safety: No body contact in this drill.

Safety for ages 11 to 13

Plans for this age group use beginner and developing drills only. Advanced drills open from age 13 in the app.
Home plans use only drills for a room, garage or yard. Stop if anything hurts.

Before you start: hockey

Helmet with full face cage, neck guard, mouthguard and full gear on the ice.
Goalies wear full goalie gear before any shot; soft balls and slow shots first.
No body checking in 12U and younger, and none at any age in girls' and women's hockey (USA Hockey).
Never hit from behind or to the head. Contact skills are taught slowly with a coach and a similar-size partner.
Locker rooms are supervised; an adult is never alone with one child.

For every sport and age (7)

Head knock or concussion signs (headache, dizziness, confusion, feeling "off"): when in doubt, sit them out. See a doctor, and no return the same day.
Back to sport only with a doctor's written OK, after a step-by-step return. Every U.S. state has a youth concussion law.
Heat: drink water before, during and after. Take shade breaks, ease into hot weather over about two weeks, and stop if dizzy, sick or headachy.
Lightning: if you hear thunder or see lightning, go inside a building or a closed car. Wait 30 minutes after the last thunder (the 30-30 rule).
Pain is a stop sign, not something to push through. Stop and tell a grown-up; pain that lasts or comes back each session needs a doctor.
Water and rest are part of training: 1-2 rest days a week, plenty of sleep, a meal or snack before and after, and other sports welcome.
Know where the nearest AED (heart defibrillator) is, and who calls for help in an emergency.

The research behind these plans

Which drills are shown at which age, and the safety notes, follow the 28 sources below: national governing bodies, medical associations and studies on youth sport (last reviewed October 2026). Where no study gives an exact number, the plans use cautious defaults, and we change them as the research does.

Hockey: governing bodies, safety and development (8)

Youth athletic development and safety (20)