Winning The Walls
Winning the walls is an essential concept that we emphasize with every team and player we work with. I can’t remember a TFH Camp in the past 3 years where we haven’t done some version of the drills below.
The BIG question for every player & team is:
Do you come out of battles along the wall with possession or not?
If so, are you able to get your head up to scan the ice and make your next decision/play quickly? Are you able to get the opponent on your back and accelerate to the middle of the ice with full control of the puck?
If you lose that initial battle for possession, are you able to regain middle position quickly so that you can contain the puck carrier along the wall? Once they are contained, can you reapply pressure to get the pin or use your body & stick to separate the player from the puck?
I love using my Skate Through The Gate 1v1 Drills to work on winning the walls at all the team practices and skills sessions I run throughout the year. I’m constantly coming up with new variations – I’ve included some of the simple versions here to get you started.
GOAL: Help players to build confidence with using their physicality to win battles along the wall.
DESCRIPTION:
Basic Variation: Two players start at cones and coach passes puck against wall. Players battle for possession and look to skate the puck through the gate from outside to inside. If puck leaves immediate playing area, coach can throw in a new puck. Drill should last 10-20 seconds.
Shooting Variation: Same as above but player who skates it through the gate is rewarded with a shot on net.
Pin Variation: Players start in a pin with the puck in between the pinned player’s feet. On the coach’s go, the players battle for possession and look to skate puck through the gate from the middle of the ice. Can end with skate through gate or a shot on net.
Rim Variation: Two players skate down through middle of ice. Coach rims puck so that 1st player gets 1st touch. Off that initial touch, players are battling for possession – both are trying to skate it through the gate. If no shot to finish, coach can rim from behind net (as shown). If a shot at end, coach can rim from either corner.
More Challenging Variation – Two Mini Gates: Set up is same but there are two mini gates. Player with possession can skate through either gate and defender must react accordingly.
KEY POINTS
- For puck carrier – Win The Wall:
- Use body to gain inside position
- Build a wall (puck-you-bad guy)
- Build an escape route – give yourself stick length of space between you & wall so you can spin off either way
- Spin & sprint – spin off your check and accelerate out of contact to skate through gate
- For defender – Contain – Pressure – Obtain:
- Regain middle position – if you lose the possession battle, get back to the middle position (“goalside”) to protect the gate
- Get stick on puck, body on body – look for a pin and keep your chest facing the attacker (stops & starts, staying square)
- Control their stick – use stick lifts and/or body on stick to regain position/possession
- Logistics: drill can be done anywhere along wall, choose groups so players have 1:2 or 1:3 work:rest ratio
LEARN HOW TO WIN THE WALLS WITH US! We do different versions of these Skate Through The Gate Drills in every Total Female Hockey Camp we run. You can find the full schedule & registration details for our 8 weeks of summer day camps & evening sessions by clicking below:
