Goalie Skating Drill – The Box – Hockey Resource

This is one of the first drills that a goaltender should learn. It is a great warmup drill for goaltenders and can even be done during play stoppages to keep focused. It can also be used to practice skating (T-push and shuffle) and the hybrid slide. 

The goaltender starts on one of the posts and pushes to the top of the box (this can be done in a single T-push, a single shuffle or multiple shuffles depending on goaltender strength). The goaltender then pushes across the crease and finally pushes back to their post. The drill is then repeated in the reverse direction.

Full drill path:

Drill focus points

• Make sure the goaltender keeps their stick on the ice during movements. The body and sick should stay square (ie, keep facing forward when moving side to side, face to the side when moving to/from post)
• ideally only the legs are in movement, the arms and torso should remain aligned without movement

• Legs should come back to position quickly after/during the movement
• build on goalie completing the drill quicker each time.

Drill variations/options:

• Shots can be fired when the goaltender reaches the top of the box
• The goaltender can be instructed to fall into a butterfly at each corner of the box and get back up quickly before pushing to the next location. (Shots can be fired when going into the butterfly at the top corners)
• The drill can be run with the goaltender always in a butterfly (using the hybrid slide to move)

Back to list of Goalie drills