Hockey Passing Practice Plan for 7 and 8 Year Olds
At 7 and 8, passing is playing catch with sticks: the SWEEP pass (the puck pushed along the ground with the same sweeping motion as the young wrist shot, blade following to the target) and the soft CATCH: the blade giving backward a little as the puck arrives, like catching an egg. A parent with any old stick is the perfect first teammate.
Thirty minutes with a ball or light puck, two sticks, and ten feet of driveway. The catching gets equal billing from the start (most kids only ever practice sending), and both skills get the same picture: gifts. Passes arrive as gifts (flat, reachable), and catches receive them gently. Streak games make the gift economy fun.
This plan was written for every 7 and 8 year old. ParentEdge writes one for yours.
Built around their game, their goals, and what they’re working on.
What surface and gear does driveway passing need?
Smooth concrete with a ball works immediately; a shooting pad or two and a puck upgrade the glide and realism. A cheap rebounder (or a board angled against a wall) becomes the tireless teammate soon, but at 7 and 8 a parent with any stick is genuinely the best equipment.
Why does catching get equal practice time?
Because games are received more than sent, and the soft catch (blade giving, puck dying on the tape) is the rarer skill: most kids only ever practice passing at walls that catch for them. The whisper-catch habit built now is what one-touch play stands on later.
When do saucer passes get learned?
Around 11 and 12, once flat passes are tape-to-tape reliable: the saucer is a precision tool with real technique (the puck sliding off the toe, spinning flat), and learning it early usually just breeds bouncing flip passes. Flat, firm, and caught soft is the complete curriculum for now.