Free drill library · Hockey

At-home hockey drills for 14 year olds and older: defense

This is a free sample week of at-home hockey training for 14 year olds and older, for a defense: 3 of the 7 plans SSTracker has for this group, each 14 to 15 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 14 year olds and older

Session 1

First pass out 14 minutes

  1. Retrieve, shoulder check, pass · 5 min
    Look before you get it
  2. Wall passes on the move · 5 min
    Hard, flat, on the tape
  3. Saucer passes over a stick · 4 min
    Roll the blade, land it flat

Session 2

Defense: Backward Crossovers Around Cones 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 3 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Backward Crossovers Around Cones · 5 min
    Shoulders square, feet do the work. Safety: Wear a helmet with a full cage, a neck guard, a mouthguard and full gear on the ice.
  3. Give and Go · 5 min
    Pass and move; never stand and watch.
  4. Cool-down: walk and easy stretches · 2 min
    Breathe slowly and hold each stretch about 20 seconds, never to pain.

Session 3

Defense: Drop Pass and Drive 15 minutes

  1. Warm-up: easy jog, skips and arm circles · 3 min
    Start slow and build up. Loosen up; nothing should hurt.
  2. Drop Pass and Drive · 5 min
    Call it, leave it, drive. Safety: Wear a helmet with a full cage, a neck guard, a mouthguard and full gear on the ice.
  3. Reactive Gate Chase · 5 min
    Watch the hips, not the head. Safety: Use a clear, non-slip space and change direction only as fast as you can control. Stop if a knee or ankle hurts.
  4. 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

Backward Crossovers Around Cones

Ages 14 and up · 12 min

Hold your speed going backward through turns, the way a defender keeps the gap.

  1. Skate backward around a line of cones in a wave.
  2. Cross the outside foot over the inside foot on each turn.
  3. Keep your head and stick facing up the ice.
  4. Do 6 lengths.

Coach's cue: Shoulders square, feet do the work.

Bring: skates, ice, 6 cones

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

Give and Go

Ages 14 and up · 12 min

Pass, move into open space and get the puck straight back.

  1. Pass to your partner and accelerate past a cone.
  2. Receive the return pass in stride.
  3. Finish with a shot or a second pass.
  4. Do 12 reps.

Coach's cue: Pass and move; never stand and watch.

Bring: stick, ball or puck, partner, cone

Drop Pass and Drive

Ages 14 and up · 12 min

Leave the puck for a trailing teammate, then drive wide to open space for the return.

  1. Carry the puck up the middle with a partner trailing.
  2. Call "drop", leave the puck behind and keep skating wide.
  3. Your partner shoots or passes back to you.
  4. Do 10 reps.

Coach's cue: Call it, leave it, drive.

Bring: stick, pucks, net, ice, partner

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

Reactive Gate Chase

Ages 13 and up · 12 min

Your partner moves toward one of several gates and you shadow them to arrive at the same gate. A partner game, not a contest.

  1. Set 4 gates (two cones each) across a 10-yard line.
  2. Your partner jogs and fakes, then runs through one gate.
  3. You mirror from 3 yards away and try to arrive together.
  4. Do 6 reps each, swapping roles.

Coach's cue: Watch the hips, not the head.

Bring: 8 cones, partner

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

Safety for ages 14 and up

  • Plans for this age group use beginner, developing and advanced 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)

More plans