STAY STRONG. KEEP PLAYING.™ Play Through Contact with balance, awareness, and control. Coach Jane™ teaches girls to see pressure early, use legal body position, and continue the play even when space becomes crowded.
Play Through Contact With Control
Play Through Contact by staying on your edges and keeping your next Hockey action available. Meanwhile, know the exact contact rules for your league and age group.
COACH JANE™ BY AGE
U5-U7 • U8-U10 • U11-U14 • U15-U18 • Junior
U5-U7 + U8-U10 — Stay Balanced
Bend your knees, keep your feet moving, and stay on your edges when another Player is close. Therefore, learning to Play Through Contact starts with strong skating balance.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
What helps most when contact happens?
U11-U14 — Expect Legal Contact
When racing for a puck or protecting space, be ready for legal shoulder-to-shoulder or body-position contact allowed by your league. Keep your head up and your feet moving.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
What should you do before contact arrives?
U15-U18 + Junior — Compete for Space
Use legal body position to win lanes, protect the puck, and hold net-front space. However, Play Through Contact without turning legal pressure into an illegal check.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
What is the goal of legal contact?
Play Through Contact: What It Means in Hockey
Players battle for lanes, pucks, and net-front position. Therefore, even leagues without body checking still require balance, awareness, and legal body positioning.
Girls Hockey Focus
This is one area where rules can genuinely differ across Girls Hockey. Body checking may be restricted, but that does not mean the game has no contact. Therefore, Players should learn their league’s exact rules, understand legal body positioning, and compete confidently within them.
Head Up and Feet Moving
Good awareness reduces surprise contact. Keep scanning, maintain your skating base, and avoid turning into pressure at the last second. Meanwhile, seeing a defender early gives you time to protect the puck or change your route. In Girls Hockey, that combination of awareness and balance helps Players compete through legal contact without losing control.
Official Hockey Development Resource
For additional age-appropriate drills and skill progressions, use USA Hockey Training & Practice Materials. Then bring one contact-control habit into your next practice.
5 Smart Ways to Play Through Contact in Hockey
Play Through Contact with balance, awareness, and control. The objective is not to look for collisions. It is to stay effective when space becomes crowded and legal body contact or physical pressure becomes part of the play.
1. See Pressure Before You Play Through Contact
First, Players handle contact better when they know where it is coming from. Scan early, keep the head up, and avoid receiving the puck without any picture of nearby pressure.
2. Stay Low and Balanced
Next, bent knees and a strong skating base help a Player absorb pressure without losing the puck or falling out of the play. As a result, balance becomes the foundation of every contact skill.
3. Play Through Contact With Moving Feet
A stationary Player is easier to contain. Therefore, Play Through Contact by continuing to skate, adjust edges, and move into the next useful space instead of freezing after the first bump.
4. Protect the Puck Legally
Meanwhile, use body position to shield possession while respecting the contact rules for the Player’s age, league, and competition. Good technique should improve control, not create unnecessary risk.
5. Make the Next Play
Finally, contact is not the end of the sequence. Recover balance and immediately look for the next pass, shot, carry, or support option.
Practice Play Through Contact With Control
Begin with light, predictable pressure in a small area. Teach Players to maintain balance, keep their head up, and continue the play. Increase pressure only as skill and confidence improve.
Continue with Protect the Puck With Body Position and Keep Playing After a Mistake. For more player-development resources, visit USA Hockey training materials.
Coach Jane’s Takeaway
Ultimately, Play Through Contact means staying balanced, protecting the puck, and keeping the next Hockey decision available. Do not confuse legal contact with losing control. STAY STRONG. KEEP PLAYING.™
Keep Learning With Coach Jane
Continue with Use Your Voice on the Ice and Protect the Puck With Body Position. Each lesson gives girls one skill to try at their next practice.
Coach Jane™ 10-Second Hockey Lesson™
Presenter script: “Hi, Coach Jane here. Stay balanced when space gets crowded: bend your knees, keep your eyes up, and stay in control of your next move.”
STAY STRONG. KEEP PLAYING.™
ONE LESSON. ONE INSTRUCTION. ONE TAKEAWAY.™
Part of Coach Jane™ 10-Second Hockey Lessons™. Presented by The Hockey Resource™.
As always, thank you for being part of The Hockey Resource Community.
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