I Can Move Stickhandling Loop
Confidence
Legend
- player
- cones
- ball
- movement path
How it works
Build early skating and stickhandling confidence by having players complete a simple puck-control loop and celebrate their own success.
What you need
- hockey stick
- puck
- cones
- ice
Your focus
Confidence at ages 6-9 is built through experiencing success in a supportive environment. A simple loop drill ensures every player completes a rep they can feel proud of. Teaching players to self-affirm their performance builds the internal confidence voice that sustains effort when external praise is unavailable.
Set up 4 cones in a simple loop on the ice.
Each player skates the loop with a puck, stickhandling through all 4 cones.
When they complete the loop, they must stop, pump their fist, and say I did it!
Coach cheers each player and gives one specific positive comment about what they did well.
Goal
You've got it when you finish the loop with a big smile and don't hesitate, every kid should feel like they owned it.
Helpful cues
- Celebrate yourself, you earned it
- Look at how far you skated with the puck
- Every loop you finish makes the next one easier
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Run the loop without a puck first, celebrate the skating success before adding stickhandling.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Add a shot on an open net at the end of the loop to finish with a scoring success.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.