Hockey Shooting Practice Plan for 7 and 8 Year Olds
At 7 and 8, shooting practice is the SWEEP: the puck (or ball) pulled back beside the back foot and swept forward along the ground, blade cupping then FLICKING at the end, the wrist shot's seed planted as one flowing motion. Big targets, short distances, and the sport's best sound: whatever passes for a goal celebration in your driveway.
Thirty minutes with a stick, balls or light pucks (a shooting pad helps the sweep glide but smooth concrete works), and a net or taped garage target. Slap shots do not exist at this age and nobody misses them: the sweep-flick builds the release everything later grows from, and it scores plenty on day one, which is the whole recruitment strategy.
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.
Does my kid need a shooting pad and real pucks?
A shooting pad makes the sweep glide like ice and protects the stick blade, so it is the one accessory genuinely worth it; balls or light training pucks are fine to start. Real pucks on bare concrete eat blades, so pad-plus-pucks or concrete-plus-balls are the sensible pairings.
When do slap shots get learned?
Years from now, and they matter less than television suggests: the wrist shot and its quick-release descendants score most goals at every youth level. The sweep-flick being built at 7 is the foundation of all of them; the slapper is a special-occasion tool for later.
How many shots per driveway session?
Thirty to fifty relaxed ones inside games suits this age: enough for the pattern, few enough that the flick stays fresh and fun. Daily small doses beat weekend marathons for building a release, and ending mid-roar guarantees tomorrow's session gets requested.