There are two kinds of tactics:

Players do not have a lot of time to think when they are in a situation, therefore they need to know ahead of time what they should do.

As a coach…
Teach your players how to watch a game and their opponents while on the bench.  Watching with a purpose and looking for situations will help players to understand what the other team is doing.  This will allow them to prepare a tactic to achieve a better outcome in the similar situation.  It is a great way to improve the ability of creating tactics.

Understand that players have a limited time to decide before reacting.  Prepare your players for the outcome that you know is best for a situation.  For example, if you want to teach offensive tactics for penetrating the opposing blue line, then you may want to show the player to use the boards to get the puck by the defenseman.  The main points to teach would be creativity, puck protection and adjusting skating speed.  If you do not emphasize those three tips, then the player may skate in a straight line and wonder why he keeps getting hit by the opposing defenseman.  You may also want to add head fakes or delays.  Keep in mind that designing an individual tactic involves taking a skill and adding the decision-making process to control a situation.

As a coach…
What are you preparing your players for in this situation?  Remember that it is not about being wrong or right; it is about thinking while playing.  More often than not, coaches will tell their players that they made the wrong decision instead of teaching them what options they have.  The result might not be favorable for you or your team but teaching a player to be creative and think on his feet makes for greater player awareness and instils confidence.  If they learn something, then your teaching is effective.  If you get upset because it is the wrong decision, then perhaps your teaching methods are not working.  This is minor hockey and development is the focus.  Teach the players to think for themselves in the offensive mode.

As a scout…
The tighter the situation for the player, the greater the pressure on that player.  This means that there is a small amount of space to work and very little time to make a play.  If the player is able to let his creativity flow while in this situation, then there is a good chance that he can handle pressure.  He will be playing in a quick thinking mode and be able to perform instead of panicking with the puck.

Here is a list of Offensive Individual Tactics that players need to learn to become more effective.

CATEGORY	TACTIC	DEFINITION
Scoring	Screening the goalie or potential pass receiver	Obstructing the view of the puck
	Tips	Deflect the puck’s direction on net
	One-time shooting	Winding up and making contact with the puck without stopping it
	Walk out / Wrap-arounds	Player comes from behind the net with puck and quickly jams the puck between the goalie’s skate and the post
One-on-One	Escapes	Moving or getting the puck to open team mates using give and goes, spin-offs, quick foot movement or chipping the puck past an opponent
	Evasive moves	Getting out of tight situations by using a soft shoulder, head fake, tight turn or delay

Balance is critical in positioning yourself.  Your body placement will determine if you are successful or not in achieving the desired outcome.  Whether you have the puck or not, your balance on skates will determine your next move.  It is like walking.  Unless you are planning to take jumps on one foot, your second step needs to be on the other foot.  While skating, if your weight is on the wrong foot or if you are leaning too far forward, then you will not be able to carry out your next move.  Ideally, you want to:

This is how you get potential power to lunge, spring or stop in an instant.  This is the same stance as the “ready” position in baseball, basketball, soccer and football.

If you are a defenseman and an opposing player has the puck in your zone, then you would isolate him to the outside (along the boards) so that he could not make a pass to his team mate in front of the net.  You would then angle him off the puck as he approaches the boards, which would eliminate the opportunity for your opponent to create a scoring chance.  You would share this with line mates and they could set up tactics for how they would handle their play.

If all the players did this, then they would have a list of strategies and a system for how the team would play in its own zone.

All the skills learned, regardless of your level, will be tested and put to work when the game is on.  Be ready.  Teach yourself how to be more effective in any given situation.

Here is a list of Defensive Individual Tactics that players need to learn to become more effective.

CATEGORY	TACTIC	DEFINITION
Checking	Contain	Keep an opposing player to a limited area
	Pressure	Force the opponent to make a quick decision by skating at them with direct speed
	Pinning	Stop a player along the boards from moving with the puck
	Pinching	Typically for defensemen to leave the opponent’s blue line and enter the zone to check the opposing player with the puck or go get the puck
	Gap control	The distance to manage between two players in a one-on-one situation
	Angling	Approaching an opponent on an angle to the boards to stop him or separate him from the puck
Block Shots	2-foot slide	Stopping a shot by stacking the legs and aiming them at the blade of the shooter
	1-knee block	Stopping a pass or low shot by covering a hole between the skates with one knee and gloves

Types of Individual Tactics

Whenever checking is involved, it means that you are on the defence.  When you don’t have the puck, you can be on any part of the ice.  There are great checks and nasty checks.  Nasty checks lead to penalties.  That’s the kind of check that contains your opponent in an area or that removes him from the puck.  Body checking in minor hockey is a hot topic.  In reality, checking is a tactic that requires a player to defend a part of the ice against an opponent.  It is not about knocking the player down or pushing him away.  It is about containing an opponent to keep him from attacking or setting up an attack in open territory.

Good checking (not hitting) is defined as restricting or directing a player to an area so that you can contain him or remove the puck from him. 

In the offensive zone:

In the neutral zone:

In your own zone:

In each of these cases, you are in a one-on-one situation.  How you read what your opponent will do, where you want him to go and how you are going to get him there are elements that you need to encompass in a good strategy.

Think of a triangle.  Imagine the three points of this triangle as being you, the opponent and a point of contact on the boards where you and the opponent will meet.  You and the other player will move closer to the point of contact.  You must time your skating by adjusting your speed and positioning your body while holding your balance to be ready for contact.  The point of contact is where you will stop, strip your opponent of the puck or contain him from the rest of his team mates.

Blocking Shots: A player reacts to another player shooting the puck by getting in the way during the wind-up stage.  In this case, timing is everything.  You need to make sure that while the opponent is in his wind-up or back swing you are going down to take away any opening.  Blocking the shot can be performed in two ways:

It is about timing and body positioning.  If you are in the right place at the right time, then the shot will not hurt.  In fact, done correctly, there will be no shot but rather a break in the follow-through of the player.

This is something for coaches to teach with a great deal of progression.  Use tennis balls to start and simulate a player winding-up to shoot.  The ability to make a decision quickly is the difference between the shot getting through and getting blocked.

Face-offs: In this case, neither team has the puck.  This is a time in the game that if you have the puck, you have control.  Becoming a good face-off man takes great hand-eye coordination, timing, positioning and the ability to read situations.  It is a tactic because you still need to make a decision about what you will do concerning the opponent.

There are 3 ways to approach a face-off:

Being a good draw man takes more than knowing only one way.  Each zone for face-offs requires some quick assessments before deciding what to do.  For instance, in the neutral zone, if a team is down by a goal late in the game and time is of the essence, the centre may choose to push or shoot the puck as far as he can to allow his team mates to go as fast as they can down the ice to pressure the opponents.

There is no one perfect way to take every draw.  This is up to each player to know his opponent and be aware of the game’s situation.

Our statistics section explains the importance of tracking wins and losses of players’ face-offs.  Use this benchmark number to track your percentages.  If you can be a face-off expert and have a 65% win average or better, then you are among the best in the world.  Most face-off artists in minor hockey are between 50% and 60%.

As a coach…
Speak with your staff and players prior to deciding on how your team will play.  Find out about their current level of knowledge about tactics.  Determine if they are ready to buy into your ideas and systematic approach to the game.  Think of it this way: if you have to steer a sailboat in the water, it is much easier if the wind is at your back than if it is in your face.  Make sure that you get your players and staff on your side first. 

Team tactics are the most complex part of the game because they rely on the players’ minds and attitudes.  Whereas a player’s skill is determined primarily by body movements, tactics require quick decision-making abilities. 

Two Systems of Play
Only two systems are played during a game.  Either your team has puck possession or it does not.  This is no different from individual tactics.  If your team has the puck, then you are on the offence.  If it does not, then you are on the defence.  What you do when you are on the offence or defence is tactics!

The Importance of the Basics
In order to be successful, you must master the basics.  A team’s ability to use the tactics they have practiced is most often seen during game overtime.  At the age of 10 years or older, players become exposed to strategies and systems.  Keep in mind that if players cannot perform the basics needed for hockey, then they will have a difficult time understanding a team tactic.  Each member of the coaching staff must be clear and concise when explaining purpose, roles and accountability in order for players to understand what it means to perform or not perform the tactics laid out.

As a coach…
Teach your players to position themselves well.  They will always be square to their opponent and be ready to make the next move.

What outcome do you want to achieve in a situation?  This should be the guiding question when deciding to use a strategy.  Don’t decide to use a strategy and then look for an outcome.  Many times, coaches hear about a tactic in the form of an attack or specific zone coverage from another coach.  They try to figure out a way to adapt it into their program with their team.  They add it to practices and expect flawless execution after one or two times.  Team tactics are not easily incorporated into a team.  They must be fit into the planning and communicated effectively.  Then they must be practiced repeatedly.

Before you can deploy tactics, here are the levels to consider:

Offensive Team Tactics & Strategies

Here are some of the key team tactics that you can incorporate in your season with your team.

CATEGORY	TACTIC	DEFINITION
Scoring Chances	Attack triangle	Setting up 3 players to form a triangle in the opponent’s zone during a rush attack, offering 3 options for the puck carrier
	Cycling	Controlling the puck along the boards in the corner by having three players create a 3-Official circle rotation by passing along the boards into the corner
	Odd man situations	Puck control between players in 2 on 1, 3 on 1, 3 on 2, 4 on 3, 4 on 2, 4 on 1, 5 on 2, 5 on 3, 5 on 4 situations
	Even man situations	Puck control between players in 2 on 2, 3 on 3, 4 on 4, 5 on 5 situations
Special Teams	Man Advantage	Defined as power play opportunities with a 4 on 3, 5 on 3, 5 on 4, 6 on 3, 6 on 4, 6 on 5 situation, as a result of the opposing team getting a penalty
	Shorthanded	Defined as penalty killing situations with a 3 on 4, 3 on 5, 3 on 6, 4 on 5, 4 on 6, 5 on 6 alignment; it comes as a result of your team getting a penalty
Zone Penetration	Attacking the blue line	Getting the puck over the opposing team’s blue line and keeping control for an attempt at scoring
	Regroups	Controlling the puck usually in the neutral zone, by passing it and preparing for another attack at the opposing blue line
	Break outs	Starting in team’s own zone with the puck and trying to get into the neutral zone – called controlled, semi-controlled or quick break-outs

Success is dependent on the distance between players, the options available, the time left during the game and the other team’s abilities to defend against you.  Even when carefully laid out and practiced flawlessly, it is not guaranteed that team tactics will work every time.  It will however increase players’ awareness with respect to opportunities.

Here are some of the key team tactics that you can incorporate in your season with your team.

CATEGORY	TACTIC	DEFINITION
Coverage	Defensive zone	Contain the opponent in your own zone
	Neutral zone	Steer the opponent, transition to positional play, back check into position
Special Teams	Power play	Pressure the opponent by out manning them
	Shorthanded	Contain the opponent to non-scoring chances
Fore checking	Pressure	In the opponent’s zone, a type of approach to the puck carrier and his line mates

For example, when your team is on the penalty kill or in a shorthanded situation, the objective may be to keep everyone on the outside of the box.  Keeping track of quality information will demonstrate to players how often the other team penetrated.  Controlling the focus of your players will help them to execute more effectively and make the tactic more useful against competition.

If you thoroughly explain the outcome desired in a situation, teach the proper execution steps and properly track the progress, then you will challenge everyone to perform at a higher level.  Planning for tactics is identifying all the situations that exist in a game.  Decide on the outcome you want to achieve and systematically run down what needs to happen and by whom.

As coaches, you need to advise the players on the bench as well as the players on the ice of their roles.  You need to be clear so that your players can understand.  As players, you need to work together and communicate clearly so that your execution is precise.

Anyone can have a plan; not everyone can make it work.  Understanding your role will make things happen. Know where you should be if you are on the ice.  Know what options you have to achieve the outcome.  Create a back-up plan in case all goes wrong.

Once you have determined a good plan and everyone knows his or her role, make sure that you try it in a game situation.  In theory, most things work.  It is when we put them to practical tests that we see their true value.  Remember to take statistics on what is happening.  You may find that your outcome is nowhere near your expectations.

www.hockeycanada.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/7158/la_id/1.htm
Hockey Canada’s guide to checking and how to teach it.

www.hockey.lifetips.com/faq.asp__Q__siteid__E__113
This page has a list of FAQs with specific questions relating to skills.

BOOKS:
The Hockey Coaches Manual by Michael A. Smith

The Hockey Source does not necessarily endorse all the information on the linked pages it provides.