Essex Youth Hockey Association

EYHA Spring Advanced Skills 

EYHA is excited to offer Spring 2024 Advanced Skills sessions for EYHA skaters and goaltenders this year. These sessions will be led by Joe Baird, EYHA Director of Player Development and will include EYHA coaches along with former Professional, College, and Junior Hockey players and coaches. These sessions align with USA Hockey and Hockey Canada's off-season recommendations as well as the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. We are offering these sessions at an affordable price because we are community oriented and motivated by the development of our players.

The purpose of these sessions is to help expand the “skill toolbox” of EYHA players to provide our players with new “solutions” they can take with them into gameplay next year. Each week’s session will have different themes designed for exposure and repetition of newly acquired skills. 

The 12-session curriculum for skaters includes:

- Inside & outside edge proprioception

- Starts & stride work

- Problem-solving for offensive and defensive players in 1:1 scenarios 

- Problem-solving for offensive and defensive players in 2:1 and 3:1 scenarios

- Competitive contact & angling

- Stickhandling tips and tactics 

- Problem-solving within crowded/tight spaces

- Advanced shooting instruction

- Explicit technical passing instruction

- Dekes & Dangles for 1:1 scenarios

- Dekes & Dangles for scoring scenarios

All boys and girls WHO PLAYED for EYHA in the 2023/2024 season and were born in 2009-2017 birth years are eligible. The cost is $150 for 12 weekly sessions for skaters (starts March 9th). Goaltenders are invited to weekly goalie-specific sessions led by local goalie coaches on a rotating basis. Goalies may attend these advanced skill sessions for free (but still need to be registered for Spring Advanced Skills).

The whole-group schedule is below. Note - Groups will be broken down into smaller time segments (see calendar via our webpage or SportsEngine App for your assigned group):