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This article discusses various aspects of coaching lacrosse at different levels, including youth, middle school, and high school. It covers the importance of planning, setting goals, scheduling, pacing, and organizing players. The goal is to provide coaches with helpful insights and strategies to maximize their team's development and success.
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Coaching: BuildingThe BestPlayers, Practice Implementation and Skills
1. What level team are you? Youth? Middle School? High School? Youth: Youth coaches are the real money earners in the coaching profession. Your practices need to be the perfect combination of fun and instructional. The emphasis should be on skills—stickwork, groundball drills—and small-field games. Lacrosse is lacrosse no matter what size field you play on. NO LONGSTICKS UNTIL KIDS ARE AT LEAST 13. Middle School: This is where you begin to have serious lacrosse players. The conceptual side of the sport becomes more important. Skills have been mastered, now it’s time to think outside the helmet. High School: Coaching at the secondary school varsity level should be approached with the same organizational intensity as college coaching (if not more). You are preparing with winning games in mind, and you’re adjusting your plans depending on performance. At the JV level, you are trying to mirror what is done at the varsity level, while also understanding skill limitations.
2. Why Plan? Why not just wing it (my players do half the time anyway)? • You have no other choice: In some ways, practice, is all you have as a coach. By the time games roll around, it’s too late. Games are won during the week. • Order in the court, order on the field: Good teams are disciplined teams. Discipline comes from the coach and the coach’s preparation. A good practice plan establishes order and organization. Every team’s game-day performance is a referendum on their practice performance. • With knowledge comes confidence: Preparation breeds confidence. Luck is where opportunity meets preparation. • Efficiency…breeds efficiency. Don’t waste time in your practices! • Believe it or not: Players want, even crave, organization. Provide it for them.
3. What are your goals? For the day? For the week? How about the season? Building Blocks: A practice plan, like the team it represents, is a fluid, organic creature. Your last game, win or lose, will dictate your emphasis in your next practice. Be Goal Oriented: Identify macro and micro goals for your players (goals for a season, goals for a week, goals for a specific practice). 65% EMO/EMD, # Ground-balls per game, goals per game, etc… Be Progressional: Start small. Think from micro to macro, or if you think macro, start micro. Small sided, small field, small numbers. Each practice should generally have a specific goal in mind: All drills will be tailored towards that end. All drills need not be specifically related to this, but any time you’re addressing your team directly in a “concept” based talk, have it be related to your core goal.
4. Scheduling? How does this help/hurt me? What time does practice start? Is your start time close to the end of the school day? Is it late at night? Are players driving in? Busing in? Carpooling? Parents driving them? Recognize and consider your players “life” realities and plan for them (and how they’re going to effect what you try to do at practice). Assume…there’s almost always a fifteen-minute, post-school, post-day, post-arrival hangover. Recognize that your players are going to be sluggish at first and figure out how you want to deal with this so it doesn’t make you completely crazy. My advice: HIT ‘EM HARD EARLY!
5. Pacing…A lacrosse coach’s version of poetry—there is a mix of science, feel and rhythm to it. The Wave Concept: managing your action, intensity, instruction and play as a series of waves with highs and lows. Things to be aware of… When do you instruct? When do you up the pace? When do you sense attention waning? Balance…your high intensity, “fun” drills with your instructional segments. Make you instructional segments brief and manageable. Small units. A good way to manage pacing is: THE WAVE CONCEPT Don’t assume your players have attention spans beyond five minutes (at best). Make sure that your drills and instruction—and how the two are dispersed throughout your practice—take into account the fact that kids get bored, BORED, BORED. Pacing is the key to any good practice. For you AND your players.
6. How are you going to organize your players?How do you balance the desire to help beginners with wanting to push your team to develop. Strike a balance: You don’t want to hold back your skilled players, nor do you want to put your weaker players in positions where they are clearly behind in their skills. At the same time you want to make sure your weaker players are being pushed and your stronger players are understanding how “TEAM” means having to provide leadership and guidance to younger/weaker players. Use Stations/Groups Where Possible: Anytime you can divide the players into smaller groups where they’re working with like-skilled players. Assume the players know where they stand: If you know whether a kid is strong or weak, chances are they do as well. Remind these players that the goal is always to get better. Improvement. Improvement.
7. How much variation do my plans/drills need? • You need just enough variation to keep players on their toes • Some familiarity is good, you want consistency and to be able to move from drill to drill without too much explanation. Too much familiarity is bad. • Always be on the look-out for new stick-work drills (we have thousands) • Some methods feel old and routine because they work—there’s just no way around it! • Name ALL of your drills…so that your players know what drill is coming next and can get into it quickly. This will aid in overall efficiency and will allow your players to feel a greater sense of • personal accountability and involvement.
Some Final Thoughts On Your Practice Goals and Planning (The really important things!)
Things you MUST have… BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. And more BALLS. Spend whatever money you have available to your program on balls. Don’t EVER buy rebounders. Kids can find brick walls. Use that money to buy BALLS. At the end of practice be an absolute tyrant about your BALL HUNTS. Every ball is not a ball it is an opportunity to get better. Whistles. Don’t ever come to practice without one. Keep extras in your car for your idiot coaches who always forget. Cones. Kids are attracted to orange cones. No one knows why, it’s a mystery of biology and science. Put cones down all over the place. STOP WATCH. I run all of my practices off a stop watch. I time passing drills, stick drills. A clock counting down creates a sense of urgency that keeps players focused. Did I mention BALLS?
Today’s Practice: Stickwork, Stickwork, and More Stickwork. Oh…and fun.
The Basic Components I have: • Dynamic Warm-up, Stick-work • Fun Game Segments: Ground-Balls Games, Relay Race • Concept Specific Drills (Offensively and Defensively) • Small Field Transition Games • 3v3s, 4v4s • Numbers Recognition Drills • Full Field Scrimmage/Game • 6v6 Half Field Drills
1. What arethe bestplayers? What are the components that go into makingthe bestplayers? Athleticism – No explanation necessary… Lacrosse specific skill – Includes (but is not limited to): the ability to throw and catch with both hands, the ability to shoot and pass accurately with both hands, the ability to pick up groundballs, the ability to play on-ball and off-ball defense, the ability to play on-ball and off-ball defense… Lacrosse Specific IQ – Includes (but is not limited to): having an intellectual and strategic understanding of the above mentioned skills on both a “micro” and “macro” level… General Sports IQ – Includes (but is not limited to): having a basic intellectual and strategic understanding of how sports—in general—work and function on a strategic basis. I.e. possessing the ability to understand that a 2v1 is a 2v1 is a 2v1… Character/Intangibles – See athleticism…
2. What is “micro” and “macro”? • The sports brain should be composed to two intertwined and equally important “sensibilities” the “micro” and the “macro”. • Micro – For simplicities sake we will define micro as an individual, player based awareness. A player’s micro sensibility refers to their ability to understand and grasp the nuances and functionalities of their own behavior… “As a player I am aware of my own dodges, my own passes, my own shots, and why (how) I do any one of these things…” More simply understood as a player’s unique and individual skill-set. Macro – Given our understand of a “micro” sensibility, we will thus define a “macro” sensibility as a players ability to understand how their micro sensibility interacts with greater lacrosse context of a team, a game, and a given play… “As a player I am aware of how my own dodges, passes and shots, function within the greater context of the team concept or whole…” More simply understood as a players ability to understand why a team does what it does and how the individual’s participation decisions to do it affects team play.
3. Lacrosse, as in any sports, offers a wide variety of definitions for whatthe bestis and can be… A player can bethe bestasset to a team for any number of reasons, be them positional—i.e. as a fogo, or LSM—or purely skill based—i.e. as a feeder, a shooter, a dodger… No one skill is that much more important—in the grand scheme of things—than any other, in that they all function together in order to succeed. Shooters need feeders, feeders need dodgers, dodgers need…face off guys... Part of being a good youth lacrosse coach is helping your players to develop as many of these skills sets as possible, while also—and at the same time—determining what skill set or role represents them best. Putting players in a position to succeed requires both.
1. TheBest“Offensive” Lacrosse Player* *At the youth lacrosse level (and even at the college to a certain extent), players simply play offense. Versatility is far and away the most valuable asset in a lacrosse player.
1. The skills of athe bestoffensive lacrosse player Athleticism – Speed, agility, balance, strength, coordination Lacrosse specific skill – Passing, Catching, Shooting, Scooping, Dodging Lacrosse Specific IQ – Understanding off-ball movement as it relates to on-ball movement, understanding balance and spacing as it relates to a team offense, understanding how the “micro” and “macro” interact (a.k.a.: why we do what we do when we do it.) Character/Intangibles – Intelligence, unselfishness, patience, composure, all-round dedication to being a PHD player (poor, hungry, driven).
Play…play…play…run…run…run… That’s it. • Make sure that you’re keeping your players and practices as active and up-tempo as possible. The more running the better. • Don’t be afraid to take your practices and your players outside of the traditional lacrosse concepts with your games and drills. • There’s Good, There’s Better and There’s BEST. Demand the player’s perform every drill, pass, dodge, cut, ect.. to the best of their ability. • Foster competition. Every drill has a winner and a loser (that’s ultimately why we play). • Demand, yes, DEMAND, that your player play other sports. Don’t be a sports-specific tyrant. • The rest is out of your control.
The most important skill we teach (no joke)… The fundamentals: • The feet (this is where it all starts): The feet should be perpendicular to the intended passing target. The front, or lead, shoulder should be pointed at the intended target. No hips. No “beach mentality!” • The hands: Top hand controls at all times. Stick sits in the finger tips of the top hand. Bottom hand on the butt. Top hand ten inches above (encourage players to use tape). • The “laser” pointer: The butt-end of a lacrosse stick serves as a laser pointer. Wherever that thing is pointed, that’s where a pass is going. • 180 Degrees: The stick must be flat and parallel to the ground at the start of a lacrosse throw. Too many younger players start between 180 and 90 and “push” their passes. At the end, the stick must cover then entire 180 degrees until it is pointed at its target. • The Wrist: The wrist snap, much as in throwing a baseball, is where the last “snap” of power on a lacrosse pass or shot is achieved. Lacrosse sticks are designed with this “snap” in mind. • Self-diagnosing skill: Teach your players to self-correct. • Target practice: DEMAND that players hit the target.
The second most important skill… The fundamentals: • The grip: The stick should be in the fingers with soft hands and loose wrists. • The hands: The top hand should slide up to the plastic whenever a player is learning to catch. As they progress with the skill they can learn to slide that hand down. (Note: players should always relocate the top hand before throwing.) • No snapping or cradle catching: The most frequently seen mistake players make. Snapping leads to missed passes and the extension of hands out of the triple threat position. • Give with passes: It’s an egg. A water balloon. Pick your analogy, metaphor or simile. • Triple-threat/Box: Whatever you want to call it, teach your players the value of keeping their stick in the optimal position. Elite level players do things quickly—more quickly than everyone else—keeping the stick at the ear helps eliminate valuable seconds and wasted motion. BE EFFICIENT WITH YOUR MECHANICS.
Shooting*: *Shooting is essential as important as these. It’s nothing more than passing at a higher rate of speed.
The fundamentals: • The feet : The feet should be perpendicular to the intended passing target (at the start). The front, or lead, shoulder should be pointed at the intended target. • The fingers and hands: Top hand controls at all times. Stick sits in the finger tips of the top hand. Bottom hand on the butt. Top hand below where it would be for shooting. • The “laser” pointer: The butt-end of a lacrosse stick serves as a laser pointer. Wherever that thing is pointed, that’s where a pass is going. • The 180 (or more) Degrees: Just as with passing he stick must be flat and parallel to the ground at the start of a lacrosse shot. Unlike with passing, it can go beyond that depending on how strong a player’s wrists are (or how capable he is with using, and taking advantage of, his stick’s technology) • The Wrist: This is where it all comes into play, the stronger a player’s wrist the better a shooter he’s going to be. • Overhand (at the start): Teach your players the fundamentals of an overhand shot, but expect (know) they’re going to want more. So train it! • Hands up, arms back. Bite your shoulder. Step down • Don’t over coach: Some players (lefties) just get it.
The biggest hurdle we have as coaches are… 1) Teaching kids to properly handle their stick without losing our minds: We are trying to develop “two-handed” players, but we’re frustrated by their lack of facility with their weak hand. They can’t switch hands. They can’t execute dodges. They don’t know how to move. 2) Developing “good” muscle memory: The key to building perfect lacrosse players is reps, reps and more reps. Too many drills require us to stand around in lines while not getting repeated reps that will effectively develop our skills. 3) Keeping kids active busy: Idle hands are the devils…yeah, you get the idea, a kid standing around yawning is a kid not doing anything productive.
So how do we deal with these problems… Put kids in drills where they are repeating the same rep over and over and over Keep lines short Develop drills where players repeated multiple skills in every rep BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS.
Key Points/Things to Remember Make this fun: Keep a stop watch. Do this in short segments (two minutes). Do something else, come back to it. Don’t let the kids make it boring: Kids want to make this drill boring. It’s not. And shouldn’t be. Count passes: Get players in the habit of counting passes, setting goals for themselves, breaking records. This will help build those intangibles. Keep track of the victors: Reward the players who excel, but every once in a while… Force people to switch partners: You don’t want the same kids dominating each time, but you don’t want them to get bored or frustrated throwing with lesser talented kids (or vice versa for the weaker players). But every so often, doseydo (slide everyone one partner to their right.) Focus on the pass: This is (still) most important.
The Matrix One Handed: Right Two Handed: Right One Handed: Left Two Handed: Left Canadian: Catch Right/Backhand Throw Left – Catch Left/Backhand Throw Right Bad Pass: Throw Right to Leftside/Backhand Catch/Bring to Right and Throw – Throw Left to Rightside/Backhand Catch/Bring to left and Throw Back to Back: Catch Back Shoulder Right/Twist Throw To Back Shoulder Right – Catch Back Shoulder Left/Twist Throw to Back Shoulder Left Switch Passing: Catch Right/Face Dodge/Throw Left – Catch Left/Face Dodge/Throw Right Progression: Move on the Face and throw while on the run Roll Back: Catch Right/Roll Back/Throw Left – Catch Left/Roll Back/Throw Right Progression: Move on the Roll, protect the stick and throw on the run 2 Ball: Each Player Throws a ball at the same time to catch Quick Stick: No cradle, Catch and Release
Gladiator Groundballs The player who comes up with the ball and throws it back to the coach remains “Gladiator” and the other two return to the line and two new challengers step up. 4 consecutive wins = a Gladiator nickname (basically add “imus” or “aximus” to any regular name: Chrisimus…Mikesimus)
