Agility Training for Young Hockey Players

Hockey players need various different types of training in order to be successful at what they do. This includes or at least should include agility training on a regular basis.   

When hockey players regularly focus on improving agility, they will notice big improvements in terms of their starting speed, the accuracy of their direction changes, their explosiveness, and so much more.

There are all kinds of benefits to be had through regular agility training, but what is the best way to go about this training?

Try Mohawk D Man Pivots

One thing you can try with the hockey players in your life is Mohawk D Man pivots, a great way to build agility quickly.

To do this drill, you start skating at the goal line then move to the top of the circle. Your next move is to pivot backwards, stop at the bottom of the circle, come to the top of the circle, go backward to the hash mark, stop, go to the top of the other circle, and then go backward to the bottom of the circle. That may seem like a lot, but it’s a good way to get used to moving in quick and agile ways.

The easiest way to run this drill is to line your players up. As one player finishes the routine, have him head to the back of the line as the next player starts it, and so on. Do this drill enough, and you’ll have agile hockey players in no time at all.

Do Some Good, Old-Fashioned Exercises

It may be simple, but a little exercise can go a long way toward improving overall agility. In fact, certain common exercises are designed specifically to improve agility and flexibility. These include exercises like:

l  Barbell squats

l  Sprints and jumps

l  Deadlifts

l  Pull ups

By working these agility-building exercises into a regular routine, hockey players can improve agility in no time at all.

Practice Quick Turns

One final thing to work on in order to improve agility is quick turns. With quick turns, which are exactly what they sound like, players start at the goal line, go around the first pylon, head to the bottom of the circle, do a turn around pylon 2, go to the bottom of the circle, and then go around pylon 3, doing quick starts in-between. This is a heart-pounding drill, but it’s also an agility-building one, so it’s definitely worth trying.

As you can see, there are many excellent ways to build and improve agility among young hockey players. Give these methods a try, and you’re sure to see big improvements quickly.