Why Hockey Practice Is Essential for Adults: Skills, Benefits & How to Get Better

Whether you’re brand new to hockey or a seasoned beer leaguer, one truth holds strong: practice matters. Many adult players focus solely on games and wonder why their skating feels sluggish or their passes miss the mark. The answer? Practice.

In this article, we’ll explore why regular hockey practice is especially important for adults, how it improves your skills, and what you can work on — alone or with a group — to level up your game.

Hockey Practices are essential to progressing your skills

 Why Adults Should Practice Hockey (Yes, Even You!)

Adult players often juggle jobs, families, and other responsibilities, which is why it is often easy to just show up for weekly games and hope for the best. However, since I took up hockey, I have found that practicing offers a way for me to take the time to learn new skills or improve my current skills. This is very true for my power skating, stick handling, and shooting skills. Without realizing it, I found that practices yielded improvements in my game and helped me become a better player much more quickly than others.

1. Faster Skill Development

Without a doubt, practice accelerates your growth. You get more puck touches, repetition, and chances to try new moves without the pressure of a game.

2. Better Conditioning

Drills improve your cardio, core strength, and balance — especially during intense skating sessions. Better conditioning = more energy and fewer injuries. Trust me, sometimes practices can be more intense because you don't get the same breaks as in a game.

3. Improved Confidence

When you practice regularly, you’ll notice improvements in everything from shot accuracy to backward crossovers. Confidence grows when you feel in control. It's hard to do this in a game because someone is always trying to take the puck away.

4. Game Impact

Practice sharpens your decision-making, positioning, and timing, so you make smarter plays during games. Practices give you time and space to understand the rink layout and learn how to pass the puck and position yourself better.

Key Hockey Skills That Practice Improves

Practices focus on the individual elements that make up great gameplay. These include:

• Skating: Edge control, speed, crossovers, transitions

• Stickhandling: Control in motion, dekes, puck protection

• Passing: Accuracy, timing, one-touch passes

• Shooting: Wrist shots, slap shots, backhands, quick release

• Positioning & Awareness: Reading plays, supporting teammates

• Goaltending: Movement, angles, rebound control (for goalies)

  
  

👤 Practice Alone: What You Can Do Solo

You don't always need a team to get better. Solo practice is great for targeting specific weaknesses.

🔄 Examples of Solo Drills:

1. Stickhandling Ladder

Use cones, pucks, or even shoes to weave the puck through. Try it standing still and while moving. This can be tiring at times, so it's essential to break up your drills.

2. Shooting at Home

Use a shooting pad and net (or garage wall). Practice wrist shots, snapshots, and backhands. Focus on quick release and accuracy. I do this, if you're lucky, it can really give you ample opportunity to get a feel for shooting, even off ice, and you will see an improvement.

3. Skating Drills

If you have access to open ice or public skating sessions, do edge drills, figure 8s, stops/starts, and transitions. Yes, it can be a pain doing public skating, but the more ice time, the better.

4. Puck Control Wall Drill

Find a rebound board or wall, and pass to yourself at different angles. Add movement as you get better. You can even do this as part of your pregame warmup if you're doing a game.

5. Vision Training

Watch game footage (your own or pro games) and try to anticipate plays. This helps improve your hockey IQ. I would also look at YouTube videos to see how players pass and seem to always anticipate where the other player will be.

👥 Practice With a Group: Why It Helps More Than Just Skills

Practicing with others adds pressure, variety, and unpredictability that you’ll face in games. It also builds chemistry with teammates, essential in adult pickup or league games.

Group Practice Drills are Essential:

1. Give-and-Go Passing

Work on quick passes while moving. You pass, skate into space, and receive again.

2. Small Area Games

Set up 3v3 or 2v2 scrimmages in one zone. These fast-paced games develop quick thinking, puck support, and awareness. Ottawa West Beginners currently hosts such games, www.ottawahockeyhub.ca/owbh

3. Breakout & Regroup Drills

Great for team flow. Learn to make clean passes out of the zone and support puck movement under pressure.

4. Shooting with Screens & Rebounds

Add a goalie and defenders to simulate real shooting conditions. Practice cleaning up rebounds and tipping shots.

5. Goaltender Drills

Goalies need practice, too. Work on angle play, glove reaction, lateral movement, and rebound control with a coach or teammates shooting at you.

🎯 Setting Goals and Measuring Progress

Set specific, achievable goals like:

• "I want to improve my slap shot accuracy by 25% in 2 months."

• "I want to stickhandle better while moving at full speed."

Track your progress with video, feedback from teammates, or time-based skill benchmarks. I have found that feedback from my hockey practices is essential to progressing more rapidly. Sometimes, setting a goal and then having someone watch your progress will give you instant feedback and allow you to make adjustments.

Tips for Adult Hockey Practice Success

• Show up regularly. Even one dedicated practice per week helps.

• Warm up properly to avoid strains or pulls.

• Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask a more skilled player or coach for feedback.

• Keep it fun. You’re here because you love the game — so enjoy it.

Where to Find Adult Hockey Practice Opportunities

Look for adult-specific practice sessions or skills clinics in your area. Currently, the Ottawa West Beginner Hockey League organizes practices for adults. Sign up below, and many other organizations within Ottawa offer “Adult Hockey Development” with Trainers.

Sign up with Bench App

Great resources to check out:

• How to Hockey – Great drills and video tutorials

• USA Hockey Adult Section – National resources and programs

• HockeyShot – Training equipment and tips

• Local rinks and community leagues often post adult practices on their websites

Final Thoughts on why Hockey Practice is essential

Hockey practice isn’t just for kids or pros. For adults, it’s a powerful way to improve, stay active, gain confidence, and enjoy the game more fully. Whether you're practicing shots at home, working on skating skills on open ice, or participating in a team practice, the benefits will show every time you hit the ice.

So grab your gear, lace up, and start practicing — your future self (and your teammates) will thank you!