Breakout: up the boards

Setup

1. Full equipment for everyone: certified helmet with full cage, mouthguard, neck guard, gloves, elbow and shoulder pads, pants and shin guards. G in full goalie gear.
2. Units of five (LD, RD, LW, C, RW) wait outside the defensive blue line. G in the left net; the coach stands near the red line with the pucks.
3. Wingers start in the neutral zone so they have to skate back into their spots.
4. This is one common breakout shape. Teams vary who supports where, so fit it to your own system.

How it runs

1. The coach dumps a puck into a corner. The defender on that side (LD here) skates back on an angle to retrieve it, checking over the shoulder on the way.
2. The other defender (RD) goes to the net front and calls the option: 'wall', 'reverse' or 'wheel'.
3. The strong-side winger (LW) stops on the wall at the hash marks, back to the boards and open to the middle. The far winger holds the far wall a little higher.
4. C swings low through the strong side as a second option.
5. LD passes up the wall to LW, who bumps it to C in stride or chips it off the boards into the neutral zone. All five leave the zone together.
6. The unit carries it over the red line, then the next unit goes. Alternate corners. Each rep is a 30–40 second shift, with water and rest between turns.

Coaching points

• D: look before the puck arrives. Know where your outlets and any pressure are before you touch it.
• Winger on the wall: stop at the hash marks, stick blade on the ice as a target, body open to the middle so you can see C and the D.
• Pass firm and flat along the ice. A soft pass up the wall is the classic breakout turnover.
• If the puck bobbles on the wall, get it out and deep rather than forcing a pass through the middle.
• C: low enough to be a real option, and with speed so the bump arrives in stride.
• Talk early. The net-front D's call tells the puck carrier what is open.

Common mistakes

• The winger drifts towards the blue line hoping to leave early, so there is no one on the wall.
• The D retrieves with their head down and is surprised by pressure.
• A pass across the slot inside your own zone: an interception there is a chance against.
• C swings too deep and too slowly to take the bump.