8U Summer Skating School

The 8U Fundamentals Skating School is designed specifically for young, developing players who are new to hockey or still building confidence on their skates. This program blends the core elements of our Skating School and Puck Handler Intensive, scaled appropriately for the 8U level, with a strong emphasis on balance, coordination, and foundational puck skills.

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At this age, everything starts with balance and movement quality. Each session focuses on teaching players how to move efficiently on their skates through proper body position, edge awareness, starts and stops, and controlled directional changes. Rather than relying on speed or strength, players learn how to feel their edges and develop stability that will support their skating as they grow.

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Puck work is introduced in a simple, structured way that reinforces skating fundamentals. Players will work on basic puck control, skating with the puck, passing and receiving, and early puck protection skills — all while continuing to move their feet. The goal is to help young players become comfortable handling the puck without sacrificing balance or posture.

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Sessions are built around repetition, simple progressions, and positive reinforcement, creating an environment where players can learn at their own pace while building confidence. This class provides a strong technical foundation that prepares players for future skating and puck-handling development as the game becomes faster and more complex.

 

The Skating School at Kellian Hockey

Arguably, skating is the most important skill a player must possess.  From explosive starts, to efficient strides and technical, evasive maneuvers, we will be diving into it all.  The course is  and offered weekly to players aged 10yrs and up.   Each session, we will build on fundamental techniques by improving balance and refining higher technical skills with repetition and a focus on efficiency rather than on power.  As a player ages and gets stronger, the layering of strength needs to built on top of a strong sense of balance.  A player can be very strong, but can also be an very inefficient skater.  Balance and efficiency comes first.  Classes will be 50 minutes long, on Sundays from 9:30am - 10:20am at the Stowe Arena.

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What We’re Working On at Skating School

• Edge Work & Balance
  Building a strong foundation for control, stability, and confidence on the ice.

• Level-Based Skill Progressions
  Each player is challenged with exercises tailored to their individual skill level.

• Punch Turns
  Developing quick, explosive direction changes.

• Transitions
  Smooth and efficient forward-to-backward and backward-to-forward movement.

• Mohawks
  Improving mobility, edge control, and game-relevant positioning.

• Knee-Down Balance Work
  Enhancing edge awareness, recovery ability, and overall control.

• Power Crossovers (Major Focus)
  Generating speed and power through proper crossover mechanics.

• Linear Crossovers
  Applying crossover technique for straight-line speed and acceleration.

• Backward Skating (Defense Focus)
  Building strong, confident backward mobility essential for defensemen.

 

The Puck Handler Clinic at Kellian Hockey

Puck Handling comes in many forms.  We typically think about it as "Dangling" and fakes.  Although those skills are need to be developped, we also focus on other important topics; Making and Receiving passes, puck protection, shot prep and the reduction of the release time, evasive maneuvers and also simply skating with the puck at the highest possible speed.  At the Puck Handler Summer Clinic, we will focus on the fundamentals of puck handling as seen in all of the above topics offering tips and tricks, and exercise kids can do at some off-ice or with roller blades.

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What We’re Working On at the Puck Handler Clinic

• Puck Protection
  Learning how to keep the puck under pressure and maintain possession in traffic.

• Wide Legs & the “Corkscrew” maneuver
  Creating a strong, stable stance to control the puck while fending off opponents.

• Heel Turns
  Tight, controlled turns while maintaining puck control.

• Soft Drags
  Smooth lateral puck movement to evade defenders and create space.

• Reverse Soft Drags (Defense-Specific)
  Advanced puck control skills tailored for defensemen under pressure.

• Deception & Misdirection
  Teaching players how to disguise intentions and manipulate defenders.

• Cross-Body Fakes
  Creating separation and opening lanes through deceptive puck movement.

• Multi-Tasking with the Puck
  Handling the puck while engaing in strategic footwork patterns.

• Quick Hands Development
  Improving puck speed, touch, and control in tight spaces.

• Punch Turn Integration
  Combining puck control with explosive directional changes.

 

Note:

The skating school schedule is set up to take place just before the Puck Handler session so that a player can participate in both programs. To get the best and most thorough summer training regimen, a player can sign up for both the Skating School spot and Puck Handler spot at a reduced rate.