For the month of November, we have been focusing on introducing new and fun ways to work on our agility, speed, quickness, and coordination. Last month was introducing very basic movements to make sure we had a foundation to go off of, this month we are adding more complex movements to keep all athletes moving forward. At the 8U level we have still been working on our multi-tasking skills and coordination as well as quick transitions into different exercises. Some of the exercises include single leg hop catches with a foam golf ball, relay races with added single leg/ double leg jumps to start, and more games such as sharks & minnows to keep them excited about dryland.
 
At the 10U level we have remained on the path of a more in-depth workout off the ice with more basic movement of bodyweight squats, pushups with correct form and wall sits. We continue to work on our speed and agility as well with the introduction to the agility ladder. With the ladder we do some exercises such as icky shuffle, 2-in 2-out, two feet in and one foot in. All of these are meant to be quick but as we learn the movement some athletes need to take their time to fully understand how to do each exercise.
 
With the 12U we have also introduced the agility ladder in our workouts with emphasis on doing the exercise correctly and not just trying to rush through. We still have our main focus on how little details matter the most within our sport. The exercises with the ladder are the same one foot in, 2 feet in, icky shuffle, as well as one-foot twists. We have also started to add a game in at the end of the session which is their favorite part. The best game right now is link-tag, it works on speed, quickness, and agility to get away from the tagger.
 
The 14U/16U/18U teams are all around the same level with being able to handle multiple directions given while still executing the exercises correctly. They have started to do ladder workouts as well to work on quick feet, they do the same movements as the other ages with just a quicker pace. We have also started to do speed workdays to enhance our quick change of direction and agility. Some of the exercises include W-drill, slalom weave drill, and 3 cone L drill. All of these are quick change of direction while trying to keep maximum speed in mind.

For more age-specific training visit https://www.usahockey.com/agespecifictraining
 
~Kinsey Saiz, Sno-King Dryland Coach