Game version
Shadow skate: stay between your partner and the net with your stick on the ice, with no contact. Swap often.
Goalie Ready Stance
For goalies: set a balanced ready stance and track a soft ball all the way into your body.
By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026
Set up
Feet wider than your shoulders, knees bent, glove open.
Core: Skates. Beat your own run of steady shadows.
- Ages
- 7 and up
- Time
- 8 min
- Players
- You and a partner
- Space
- Yard or field
- Bring
- Goalie stick, soft balls, partner
- Level · skill
- Beginner · Defense
The steps
How it works
- Feet wider than your shoulders, knees bent, glove open.
- A partner tosses soft balls at your body.
- Watch each ball all the way in and trap it.
- Do 30 tosses.
Coaching point
Eyes on the ball, square up.
Safety: Full goalie gear for any shots. Start with soft balls and slow shots.
Make it fun
Play it, don't drill it
Challenge
Pick a level: Less (partner glides), Core (skates), More (changes direction). Beat your own run of steady shadows.
Story
You are a shadow that sticks to its owner.
My best
Beat your own count
Beat your own run of steady shadows. Only your own number counts: today against last time.
Practice makes progress
Print it now, or save it free
Free for families and teams
Save this drill to your child or team, free
Sign up and the free hockey week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.
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Does your child's coach know about this?
An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.