T-Drill
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Set 4 cones: one at start (A), one 10 yards ahead (B), one 5 yards left of B (C), one 5 yards right of B (D). Sprint from A to B. Touch the base of cone B with your right hand. Shuffle LEFT to cone C. Touch C with your left hand. Do NOT cross your feet. Shuffle RIGHT all the way to cone D (10 yards). Touch D with your right hand. Shuffle LEFT back to cone B. Touch B. Backpedal from B back to A. Stop the clock.
Why It Works
The T-drill measures and trains the combination of acceleration, deceleration, lateral quickness, and change of direction — the exact physical demands of forechecking, gap control, and defensive zone coverage. NHL combine scouts use the T-drill as one of five primary athletic tests. Sub-4.5 second T-drill times correlate strongly with elite agility ratings from coaches.
Hockey Transfer
Classic hockey agility test — trains multi-directional change of direction. Three drills, full recovery between. T-drill is a TEST, not conditioning.
Coaching Cues
- "Sprint"
- "Shuffle"
- "Backpedal — stay low throughout"
- "Touch cones"
Common Mistakes
Crossing feet on the shuffle — illegal and slower. Stay in shuffle mechanics. Not touching the cone base — requires a full hip drop, which is the athletic challenge. Decelerating too early before the cone — attack the cone, then redirect. Running a slow, lazy warm-up version — every rep should be timed and compete against your best.
Progression / Regression
Reactive T-drill — coach points direction at cone B instead of predetermined route.
Walk through the pattern first, then 50% speed, then full speed.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Alactic/ATP-PC
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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