Trimble’s Drill of the Week- Off Ice Drills to Develop Youth Players Hand- Eye Coordination
Simple Games in a Group Setting to develop Hand- Eye Coordination off the ice.
Baseball is on the decline… which was a great way for kids to develop simple hand- eye skills. Kids are becoming more specialized earlier in hockey, but oftentimes lacking the complete athletic development than playing multiple sports offers.
A way to mitigate this is to incorporate some fun off ice skills and games that hide the athletic benefits that come from playing them. So try these…
- Bounce Ball- This is in the first video. Take a group of kids and a Big Red Walmart ball. Rules of the game- 1) Restrict the Area to a small space. 2) Ball Needs to be bounced in the general direction of a participant. 3) Ball needs to be bounced prior to catch it, but can only hit the ground once. 4) if the player drops the ball or misses the ball, or it bounces twice- a point is awarded to the bouncer of the ball.
- Play to a set number- 5 or 7
- Wall Ball- This is in the second video. Take a group of kids and a tennis ball. Rules of the wall- 1) Restrict the area and have a set target for the throw such as a cement wall 2) Ball needs to be thrown off the wall and bounce back towards the participants. 3) Ball needs to be bounced prior to catch it, but can only hit the ground once. 4) if the player drops the ball or misses the ball, or it bounces twice- a point is awarded to the thrower of the ball.
- Play to a set number- 5 or 7
Incorporate these Games into your dryland or team activities and watch as they have fun and enhance these critical athletic skills.
