How to Use Your Training Dummies for More Than Hitting

Five drills that get more out of the dummies at your rink

When people see our dummies for the first time, they usually assume there is one thing to do with them: hit them. That is what they were built for, and teaching contact is still their main job. After a few seasons of watching coaches use them at practice, though, I can tell you the best rinks get a lot more out of them than that.

Our dummies slide on the ice and hold a stick, so they can stand in for a defender, a screen in front of the net, or an obstacle that moves. Here are five drills coaches are using with them.

1. Stickhandling with your head up

Setup: Two or three dummies staggered across the neutral zone with their sticks out, about 15 feet apart. Players line up at the far blue line with pucks. A coach stands at the near blue line.

How it works: One at a time, players carry the puck through the neutral zone, protecting it around each dummy's stick. As they skate, the coach holds up a number of fingers, and the player has to call it out before reaching the blue line.

Progression: Add a second coach who points left or right, and the player has to cut to that side of the next dummy.

Coaching point: If a player cannot call out the number, their head was down. Players who skate with their heads down are the ones who get caught by big hits, so this drill builds safety and puck skills at the same time.

2. Screens for goalies

Setup: One dummy with a stick a few feet in front of the crease, directly in the goalie's line of sight. Two shooters at the points with pucks, and one forward at the side of the net.

How it works: The points take turns shooting low through the screen. The goalie fights to find the puck around the dummy, and the forward works for tips and rebounds.

Progression: Slide the dummy a step left or right between shots so the goalie has to keep adjusting, or add a second dummy for a double screen.

Coaching point: Goalies rarely get good screen reps in practice, because somebody has to stand in front of the net and take pucks. The dummy takes that job, and your goalie gets dozens of realistic reps in a few minutes.

3. Shooting around a defender

Setup: One dummy in the high slot with its stick in the shooting lane. Players line up at the half wall with pucks.

How it works: Each player skates in from the half wall and has to change the angle, pull the puck to their forehand or backhand, or find a seam before shooting.

Progression: Add a passer below the goal line, so shooters have to receive the puck and get it off quickly around the dummy.

Coaching point: In games there is almost always somebody in the way. Shooting around the dummy is a much more realistic rep than shooting at an open net.

4. Passing lanes

Setup: Two players about 40 feet apart, with two dummies staggered between them as defenders, sticks out.

How it works: Players pass back and forth, moving their feet to open a clean lane around the dummies before each pass. After every few passes, a coach moves one dummy a few feet so the lanes keep changing.

Progression: Add a third player to make a triangle, so the passer has to read which teammate is open before moving the puck.

Coaching point: Players learn to look for the lane before they pass, which cuts down on pucks thrown straight into a stick.

5. Angle and finish

Setup: One dummy along the boards near the hash marks. A puck carrier starts at the blue line, and a checker starts at the far faceoff dot.

How it works: The puck carrier skates up the wall. The checker angles from the inside out, takes away space, gets their stick on the puck first, then finishes with controlled contact on the dummy: knees bent, head up, hands down.

Progression: Start at half speed for the first five minutes, then build to game speed once the approach is clean.

Coaching point: Most bad contact happens before contact. Players who close too fast or come in straight on lose control. Have them focus on the angle and their stick first, and the hit takes care of itself.

Get them off the wall

A dummy sitting in the corner of the rink all season does not help anybody. The more ways your coaches use them, the more reps your players get, and the more value your association gets out of them. Kids like having them around too. We have watched more than one player trash talk a dummy before skating in for a rep.

If you want more ideas, you can find more 4Check drills here. And if your coaches want help setting any of these up, just reach out and we will walk them through it.

If your association does not have 4Check dummies yet, here is how our programs work. With our Foundation and Full Development plans, the dummies stay at your rink all season with a warranty, and we train your coaches to use them.