Fundamental skill development for U9 hockey

Hockey for 7- and 8-year-olds is about teaching and refining the basic skills of the game

U9 Skills Matrix

The Long-Term Player Development Model places U9 hockey at the Fundamentals 2 stage, with programming focused on fundamental skill development. The U9 skills matrix identifies the skills players must have the opportunity to develop through progressive and meaningful practice sessions.

Focus on Skill Development

• Small-area games in practice / station-based practices / skill-focused drills.
• Only 25% of practice time should be spent on tactics, with 75% of practice time spent on skills.
• Basic positional play and rules can be introduced at the end of the season or prior to the start of the U11 regular season. Basic defensive-zone positioning, offside, icing, etc., can be introduced during the ice sessions prior to evaluations or after teams are selected.

U9 Skills | LTPD Stage – Fundamentals 2