Team Building Activities for a Hockey Team

Team building activities can be an important component to creating a successful ice hockey team. Players need to learn how to work together and trust one another before they will be able to control the ice and starting generating wins. By employing a variety of team-based activities on and off the ice, the players' bonds will become much stronger and make for a better team overall. Stronger bonds and good teamwork makes for a unified team--whether the team is on a winning streak or needs a boost to its morale after losing a few in a row.

  1. Team Dinners

    • One of the best and most popular activities that can be used to bring a hockey team together is holding team dinners. Once a week, have all of the players get together to share a meal. This will allow everyone on the team to relax together and bond, which is beneficial for team unity. Preferably, the weekly meals should taken place the evening before a game, as it will prevent players from participating in other activities that could be detrimental to their play the next day.

    Out-of-Town Tournaments

    • Out-of-town tournaments that occur early in the season can be an excellent team building activity for hockey players. The team should travel together by bus and stay in the same location upon arrival. This will help the players get to know one another and begin to act more like a team. The participation of the coaches throughout the travel activity is also important, as they need to be seen as the leaders of the team and a necessary part of the whole unit.

    Off-Ice Conditioning

    • Off-ice conditioning and training is another useful team building tool. Typically, ice hockey teams practice for only an hour or two, often no more than a few days each week. This minimal on-ice team time may not give the players a chance to learn to work together. By creating a training schedule for conditioning off the ice, the team will continue to unify and will better understand how to work together when it comes time for a competitive game.