Why Most Players Waste Practice Time
- Kevin Geist
- Jan 20
- 2 min read
Most youth hockey players don’t have a talent problem. They have a practice problem.
Week after week, players show up to the rink, go through the motions, and leave
having technically “worked hard” — yet months later, their games look exactly the same. The issue isn’t ice time, coaching, or effort. It’s how that time is used.
Mistake #1: Confusing Movement With Improvement
A fast-paced practice looks productive. Lines are moving, drills are flowing, players are sweating. But speed alone doesn’t equal development.
Many players rush through reps without intention:
Stickhandling without looking up
Shooting without aiming
Skating without focusing on edge control or body position
If the goal is just to get through the drill, the brain never engages. Real improvement requires slow thinking before fast execution. Otherwise, players are simply reinforcing bad habits at game speed.
Mistake #2: No Clear Purpose for Each Rep
Ask a player mid-drill, “What are you working on right now?”Most won’t have an answer.
Too often, drills are treated as tasks instead of opportunities. Every rep should have a specific focus:
Weight transfer on a shot
Shoulder checks before receiving a pass
Deception before attacking a defender
Without a purpose, reps become empty calories — they fill time but don’t build skill.
Mistake #3: Letting the Drill Do the Thinking
Many youth players rely on drills to guide them instead of making decisions themselves. Cones don’t pressure you. Passing patterns don’t fight back.
In games, hockey is chaotic. If practices don’t force players to read, react, and adapt, they won’t transfer to game situations. Players end up great at drills and average in games — a classic sign of wasted practice time.
Mistake #4: Too Much Standing, Watching, and Waiting
Long lines kill development.
Standing still:
Lowers intensity
Breaks focus
Turns practices into spectator events
Even worse, players start judging practice by “ice time” instead of learning time. Shorter lines, stations, and small-area games create more touches, more decisions, and more growth in the same hour.
Mistake #5: No Accountability for Focus
Youth players naturally drift if focus isn’t demanded.
When missed passes, lazy routes, or half-speed reps go uncorrected, players learn that attention isn’t required. Over time, practice becomes autopilot. The players who improve fastest are usually the ones who self-correct — or are coached to do so.
What High-Level Players Do Differently
Elite players don’t just participate in practice — they attack it.
They:
Treat every rep like a game situation
Know exactly what skill they’re sharpening
Reset mentally after mistakes
Compete in small moments, not just scrimmages
They understand that practice is where games are won long before the puck drops.
The Bottom Line
Most youth hockey players don’t waste practice time intentionally. They waste it unknowingly.
Improvement doesn’t come from more ice time — it comes from better reps, sharper focus, and purposeful training. When players learn how to practice, everything changes: confidence, consistency, and performance under pressure.
The best players aren’t practicing more than everyone else.They’re just practicing better.