Stickhandling drills at home

Updated October 17, 2026

You don't need ice to get better hands. Fifteen minutes in a garage, a basement or a driveway, a few times a week, adds up. Here's what to use, how to hold the stick, twelve drills in order from easy to hard, a 15-minute routine, and how to make it harder week by week.

What you need

• A ball or a puck. A golf ball is small and fast, so it trains quick, soft hands. A street hockey ball is bigger and slower, which makes it a good place to start. A regular puck needs a smooth surface to slide on. You can also get an off-ice training puck made to glide on hard floors.
• A smooth surface. A plastic stickhandling or shooting tile feels the most like ice. A smooth garage or basement floor works well with a ball. Keep pucks off bare wood and tile floors.
• An old stick. Pick one close to your game stick's length and curve, so your hands learn the right distances. Concrete wears blades down fast, so tape the blade and save your good stick for the rink. The stick taping guide shows how.
• A few obstacles. Cones, water bottles, shoes, or an old stick laid across two shoes.
• Room to move. A clear space about two big steps wide in every direction, with nothing breakable at stick height.

A phone helps too. Prop it up and film 30 seconds of yourself once a week. You'll see right away if your head is down or your knees are straight.

Grip and soft hands

Good stickhandling starts with how you hold the stick. Hockey Canada's coaching manual teaches it like this:

1. Top hand right at the end of the stick.
2. Bottom hand about 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches) down the shaft, with the V between your thumb and first finger pointing up the shaft.
3. Blade flat on the floor, with the puck in the middle of the blade.
4. Roll your wrists. Turn the toe of the blade in, then back the other way, so the blade cups over the puck on your forehand and your backhand. That cupping keeps the puck from sliding off.
5. Relax your arms and keep them out in front of you, not pinned to your sides.

Hold the stick in your fingers, not deep in your palms, and only as tight as you need to. Stand the way you would on the ice: feet about shoulder-width apart, knees bent, back fairly straight. Soft hands are quiet hands. Hockey Canada describes good puck control as smooth, rhythmical and quiet. If you hear a loud clack on every touch, you're slapping at the puck instead of moving it.

Heads-up habits

When you're new, it's fine to look down. Hockey Canada's manual says younger players should be allowed to look at and feel the puck. Over time, the goal is to keep your head up and see the puck at the bottom of your vision, with quick glances down only when you need them.

• Pick a spot on the wall at eye level and look at it during the easy drills.
• Stick numbered notes around the wall and read them out loud while you stickhandle.
• Ask someone to hold up fingers and call out the number before they change it.
• Each week, keep your eyes up a little longer in every drill.

12 drills, from easy to hard

Do each drill for 30 to 45 seconds, then rest for 15. Go slowly until the puck stays quiet and in the middle of the blade, then speed up.

1. Narrow dribble. Puck in front of you. Move it side to side about a blade's width, forehand to backhand, with quick, small touches.
2. Wide dribble. The same move, as wide as you can reach while still controlling it, from outside one foot to outside the other. Bend your knees more and let your arms reach.
3. Narrow-wide mix. Four narrow touches, then one wide one. Changing the rhythm is what fools defenders later.
4. Front to back, forehand. On your forehand side, pull the puck from out in front of you back past your toes, then push it forward again, with the blade cupped over it.
5. Front to back, backhand. The same on your backhand. It will feel worse. That's why you do it.
6. Figure 8. Set two shoes or cones about a stick-length apart and carry the puck in a figure 8 around them, using your forehand and your backhand.
7. Toe drags. Reach the puck out wide, turn the blade so the toe is over the puck, and pull it back toward your body. Push it out and do it again. Do one side, then the other.
8. Around obstacles. Line up four or five bottles or cones about 60 cm (2 feet) apart. Weave the puck through them while you walk or shuffle, then come back the other way.
9. Pull under. Lay an old stick across two shoes so there's a gap underneath. Pull the puck under it while you lift your blade over the top, from side to side.
10. Top hand only. Let go with your bottom hand and stickhandle in front of you with just your top hand. It builds wrist strength and the one-handed carry used in open ice. Keep it short, 20 to 30 seconds.
11. Eyes up. Do the narrow dribble, the wide dribble and the figure 8 while you read numbers off the wall or call out a partner's fingers.
12. The combo run. Put it all together: weave through the cones, toe drag around the last one, pull under the stick, and come back, at a steady pace with your head up as much as you can.

Once these feel smooth, your hands are ready for moves. The deke guide covers the forehand-backhand, the toe drag deke and more, and how to use them on a defender or a goalie. Soft hands are also the first step toward the Michigan.

A 15-minute routine

Before you start, roll your wrists and shoulders for a minute. Three or four short sessions a week will help you more than one long one. If your hands get sloppy, stop early. Sloppy reps teach sloppy habits.

How to progress, week by week

Use the routine above, but only with the drills for your week. Give the spare minutes to the drills you already have.

• Week 1: drills 1 to 6, slowly. Looking down is fine. Write down how many clean narrow touches you make in 30 seconds.
• Week 2: add toe drags, obstacles and the pull under. Same drills, a little faster.
• Week 3: keep your eyes up for the second half of every drill. Add top hand only.
• Week 4: add the eyes-up drill and the combo run. Swap the puck for a golf ball for a few minutes. Count your 30-second touches again and compare.
• After that: change one thing each week. Go faster, move the obstacles closer together, switch between a ball and a puck, or keep your eyes up longer. When it all feels easy, finish the combo run with a deke.

Common mistakes

• Death grip. Tight hands make the puck bounce off the blade. Loosen up, especially the bottom hand.
• Standing straight up. Bend your knees like you're on the ice. You'll reach farther and protect the puck better.
• Slapping, not cupping. Roll your wrists so the blade covers the puck on every touch.
• Puck on the toe or the heel. Keep it in the middle of the blade.
• Only wide, slow sweeps. Games need quick, small touches too.
• Only your favorite side. Give your backhand and your weakest drills the same time.
• Too fast, too soon. If the puck keeps getting away, slow down until it's clean.
• Head down forever. Looking down is fine for a beginner, but push your eyes up a little more every week.

If a drill still feels wrong after a couple of weeks, ask your coach to watch you for a minute. A coach can spot a grip or stance problem quickly. If your stick seems too long or too short, the stick guide explains how to size one.

Be kind to floors and neighbors

• Protect the floor. A puck and a stick blade will scratch wood, tile and laminate. Use a training tile or a rubber mat, or practice in the garage.
• Keep the noise down. Stick taps travel through floors. A rug or mat under your tile helps, and a ball is quieter than a puck. Practice in the daytime, not late at night or early in the morning.
• Talk to your neighbors. If you live in an apartment, ask the people below what time works for them.
• Keep it low. Stickhandling stays on the floor. No shooting or lifting the puck indoors, and move lamps, picture frames and anything glass out of range.
• Mind the driveway. Watch for cars and stay out of the street.
• Listen to your wrists. If your wrists or forearms ache, take a day off. If the pain doesn't go away, tell a parent and see a doctor or athletic trainer.

When your 15 minutes are up and you'd rather play than practice, Brudvig Hockey 2027 is a free 3-on-3 arcade hockey game that runs in a web browser, with no download and no account.