Sep 30, 2026 · 6 min · 5 segments
**One of the biggest defensive mistakes young players make is staring at the puck. Today we talk about how to keep track of both the puck and your opponent, so you don't get caught watching the…
Greg SowersHost
All right, so one of the biggest defensive mistakes I see in a lot of young players is staring at the puck.
And in this episode, we're going to talk about how to keep track both of the puck and your opponent so you don't get caught watching the play with your feet standing still.
When you start looking and you stop, you start staring, your feet stop moving, right? And if your feet aren't moving and you're looking at the puck, the odds are that the guy you're supposed to be covering or the player you're supposed to be covering has moved into an area that you're not paying attention to.
And I know it's a hard habit to break, you know, as you are moving up through the game from a, you know, a mite to a squirt, but As you get older, these defensive responsibilities become more and more important and you can't just be puck watching and doing the mini-mite thing of everyone trying to go to the puck just to get it back.
Someone might be sneaking in behind you or if you're that winger of the defensive zone.
If you're a defenseman, someone might be standing in the high slot in a dangerous area.
Where did my guy go? And now I'm fully aware that I'm out of position because I've been puck watching.
When you're defending, you have to have the ability and try to keep track both of the puck and your player.
All right, so one of the biggest defensive mistakes I see in a lot of young players is staring at the puck.
And in this episode, we're going to talk about how to keep track both of the puck and your opponent so you don't get caught watching the play with your feet standing still.
When you start looking and you stop, you start staring, your feet stop moving, right? And if your feet aren't moving and you're looking at the puck, the odds are that the guy you're supposed to be covering or the player you're supposed to be covering has moved into an area that you're not paying attention to.
And I know it's a hard habit to break, you know, as you are moving up through the game from a, you know, a mite to a squirt, but As you get older, these defensive responsibilities become more and more important and you can't just be puck watching and doing the mini-mite thing of everyone trying to go to the puck just to get it back.
Someone might be sneaking in behind you or if you're that winger of the defensive zone.
If you're a defenseman, someone might be standing in the high slot in a dangerous area.
Where did my guy go? And now I'm fully aware that I'm out of position because I've been puck watching.
When you're defending, you have to have the ability and try to keep track both of the puck and your player.
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