Ladder drills...

Ladder agility drills are an excellent way to improve foot speed, agility, coordination and overall quickness. The drills can aid you in improving your first stride quickness on the ice allowing you to break away from your opponents. They can also aid in improving overall agility, allowing you to manoeuvre around your opponents avoiding getting hit, taking you out of the play

Speed ladder drills are about quality and form rather than producing overload. The drills are not meant to leave you fatigued or breathless in the way that shuttle runs might, for example.
It is better to perform these drills at the start of a session after the warm up. Your muscles should be fresh to ensure good quality of movement. This allows you to use them as a warm-up prior to a game or on-ice training session, the use of ladders will get your feet and whole body used to move quickly mimicking on-ice movements.

 

Luke's top tips for ladder drills drills below:
·  Push off from the balls of your feet (not the toes)
·  Pump your hands from shoulder height to hips
·  Keep your elbows at 90 degrees at all times
·  Keep your arms, shoulders and hands relaxed
·  Try to keep your head still as much as possible