Training SOS - gameplay drills for small numbers
I love my league. But being a single-team league, with lax attendance requirements, in the off-season.....it makes training, um, challenging. So I am always on the lookout for great drills that work on gameplay skills that can be done with comically low numbers of participants. Yes, individual skill help is great but if your numbers are short for months (as I think ours will be), your training will suffer without gameplay work.
A few we have hit upon (and would love more):
So you have 6-8 scrimmage cleared skaters?
You will need 2 start covers, whistle, and stopwatch.
Two skaters become jammers, the rest the pack (subject to all game rules such as legal contact, cutting, and proximity). At the first whistle, one jammer does a hot lap on the outside while the second jammer fights through the pack (decide in advance whether a jammer who has cleared the engagement zone cuts is short or skates in bounds to re-engage). After one minute, the whistle signals the jammers to switch places. Repeat twice, then pass off to a new st of jammers.
Non-scrimmageable skaters can act as "pacecars", skating on the inside and letting the pack know when they are racing. This is also a re-friendly drill.
Then practice your pretty, pretty dynamic walls til the cows come home. 3 D blockers, 1 Jammer, 1 O (optional). Don't forget to start "out of formation" (scattered or in a solid wall) so everyone can learn how to set based on who has "the touch on the jammer".
So you have any number (well, at least 2) contact eligible skaters. (What the actual fuck, guys?) I like the following drills, they also make good warm-up drills.
Note: For all drills where skaters pair up, I like a combo of "like with like" and "different levels". Skaters should be ENCOURAGED to talk about the drill, both during and after. Learning is a thing.
Skaters pair up. On the first whistle, transition 360 degrees as a pair where you are on the same team and may touch your partner in any way you may touch a teammate. Make sure to work the weak sides. On the second whistle, continue to transition 360 degrees around your partner, but you may only touch her how you may legally touch an opponent (avoiding illegal zones, stop blocks, etc.).
Divide into groups of 3 (ideally) 2 (if necessary). If you have a third skater in a group, she goes to the inside of the track. On the whistle, skaters fight for position (pushing their opponent down, out of bounds, or by establishing a tight, sticky front). Any skaters on the inside watch for racing. On the whistle, skate in proximity for 30 seconds to rest. Rotate the third skater in if necessary. Repeat. Note: this drill is EXHAUSTING. Having at least one person (ref, skate, or off-skates trainer) to watch for racing is imperative; if this means you only have one group, that is fine.
Endless "jammer circle" laps are good for cardio fitness and not much else, and most skaters who can't do 27 in 5 should NEVER has been passed on crossovers (if your league has a rash of skaters who can't pass this test but got check marks everywhere else, you have a giant training/testing problem). Concentrate skill work on confident transitions, sharp cuts, crisp stops, and poppy starts.
