This is the first underwater hockey session for new players.
Your job is to keep it calm, safe, and fun.
- Audience. First time players.
- Total time. 90 minutes.
- Format. 30 minutes dry setup, 60 minutes in water.
- Main goal. Build confidence and safe participation.
- Coach tone. Calm, patient, observant.
Remember. You are not coaching performance, you are building confidence.
- Calm breathing.
- Short safe dives and relaxed surfacing.
- Simple movement on the bottom.
- First puck touch and basic passing.
- Small guided game.
- Players feel safe and want to return.
- Players surface calmly, no panic.
- Dives stay short and repeat often.
- Players follow the three core rules.
- The group stays calm and organised.
¶ 0 to 30, Dry Introduction and Gear Setup
¶ 0 to 5, Welcome and tone setting
- Gather the group.
- Introduce yourself, and your aquatic or coaching background.
- Set expectations, no pressure, surface any time.
Coach script.
Welcome everyone.
Today’s session is for people who have never played underwater hockey before.
You do not need experience with diving, breath holding, or hockey.
Our goal is simple, get comfortable underwater, learn something new, and have fun.
If you leave feeling more confident in the water than when you arrived, today has been a success.
- Played on the bottom of a swimming pool.
- Six players per team are in at a time, substitutes rotate regularly.
- Players use short sticks to push a puck along the pool floor toward the goal.
- Play uses short dives with regular surface breaths.
The sport focuses on.
- Awareness.
- Teamwork.
- Efficient movement.
-
Only the stick may contact the puck.
- Hands or gloves may not touch the puck.
-
Limited contact.
- No pushing, holding, or moving others using the free arm or body.
-
Short dives are encouraged.
- Most players stay underwater for about 10 to 12 seconds.
- This is not a breath holding competition, teamwork and passing matter.
¶ 15 to 30, Gear fitting and key checks
Mask.
- Ensure a proper seal against the face.
- Hair must be clear of the mask skirt.
- Use anti fog as needed.
- Watch for fogging, players may not notice.
Snorkel.
- Clearing takes practice.
- Encourage players to keep a small amount of air to blow water out on surfacing.
- Confirm mouthguards are secure, if used.
Fins.
- Secure but not painful.
- Socks are allowed for comfort.
Glove.
- Snug fit.
- Protects the hand from the pool and accidental stick contact.
Stick.
- Held in the dominant hand.
- Stick colour sets teams.
- One stick per player.
Puck.
- Heavy.
- Never drop it from the surface.
- Place it gently on the bottom.
- Pass it around on deck so players feel the weight.
¶ 30 to 40, Surface comfort and snorkel clearing
Goal. Calm breathing and reliable snorkel clearing.
- Form a circle in shallow water.
- Submerge briefly to fill the snorkel.
- Surface, blow to clear, then breathe.
- No hands to clear the snorkel.
- Rest often, slow breathing.
¶ 40 to 55, Short dives and calm returns
Goal. Confidence moving between bottom and surface.
- Short dives to touch the bottom, then surface and reset.
- Swim a short distance on the bottom without a puck.
- Repeat with a puck push, short distance only.
¶ 55 to 65, Body position and first passing
- Introduce cobra position, chest high, hips down, eyes forward.
- Partner passing, push passes only.
- Explain curl as turning to protect the puck while keeping control.
- Demo both directions.
- Short practice, one correction at a time.
Ask.
- How is your breathing feeling.
- Any equipment issues.
- Small playing area.
- Stop often to reinforce spacing and safety.
- Keep rotations frequent and rest generous.
- Praise calm surfacing and passing.
¶ 88 to 90, Cool down and positive finish
- Gather group at the wall.
Coach wrap up script.
Great work today.
You have learned the foundations of underwater hockey.
The first session is always the hardest, and you completed it.
We hope to see you at the next practice.
- Panic breathing.
- Players staying down too long.
- Mask fogging or flooding.
- Fin cramps or discomfort.
- Collisions from puck chasing.
- Hitting the puck instead of pushing it.
Pause immediately if you observe.
- Gasping or distressed breathing.
- Ear pain.
- Dizziness or disorientation.
- Repeated mask issues causing distress.
- Escalating collisions.
Safety overrides drill completion.
Do.
- Surface players early and often.
- Keep instructions short.
- Demonstrate visually.
- Give one correction at a time.
- Protect confidence and calm.
Do not.
- Run conditioning.
- Teach formations or tactics.
- Encourage long breath holds.
- Overload players with feedback.