Practice Plan: Ball Control & Escape Station Work

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Activity 1: Zombie Tag
Station 1: Trucks & Trailers
Station 2: Dodging to Space
Station 3: Tight 1v1
Activity 5: Relay race

Please Note:The practice is designed to bring value across multiple age levels. You can use this as a foundation to build and develop your own practice. With that being said, we highly encourage you to adjust the drills based on your team’s age and skill levels. Lacrosse Drive should always be used as a starting point — you can make drills easier or harder by changing the constraints.

To make a drill easier, you might Increase the playing area, reduce the number of defenders or rules, add time or space to make decisions

To make a drill harder, you might: Shrink the field or add boundaries, add defenders or touch restrictions (e.g., “one-pass before shooting”), or Limit time or space to force faster decisions

Small adjustments to field size, player numbers, and rules can significantly change the challenge level while maintaining the same core learning goal.

Theme Description & Objected: Ball Control and Escape work

Activity 1: Zombie Tag

Set Up

Create a small area using cones or lines on the field for boundaries. Every player will have a ball and there will be a coach(s) inside the play area as the zombies. On the whistle, the players will start running with their ball in the play are and coaches will walk around like zombies. if a player gets tagged by a coach or runs outside the playing area, they will freeze in place. Their teammates can unfreeze them, but rolling a ball through their legs, and scooping a ground ball. Continue for 5-10 minutes, and the kids will have a great run!

Coaching Points and Principles

Ball Control and Awareness – Keep your head up, stay away from zombies, and don’t run out of bounds!
Communicate – Help unfreeze your teammates

Progressions

Make field smaller so its more challenging or larges for less experienced players

Tags

Anticipation & Recognition Ball Control & Cradling Beginner Box Lacrosse Dodging & Escapes Game - Live Play Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

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Station 1: Trucks & Trailers

Set Up

Put players in lines of 4 or 5, with the lead player with NO ball, they are the TRUCK. The 4 players behind them ar the Trailers and they all will be carrying a ball. The Truck will run in random patterns for 15-20 seconds, and the Trailers must run, and stay in line following the Truck! After the time is up, switch the roles until everyone has been a TRUCK!

Coaching Points and Principles

Truck – Try to make quick moves, change direction, create a pattern
Trailers – Keep your heads UP! cradling the ball under control. If you drop it, pick it up and continue

Progressions

Add less players so it goes quicker
Use Cones to make it easier to navigate for less experienced players

Tags

Anticipation & Recognition Attack Ball Control & Cradling Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Box Lacrosse Defense Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Midfield U10 U8

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Station 2: Dodging to Space

Set Up

Put players on the wing with balls, and a coach about a stick length away. The player will start with a ball, and facing away from the goal/coach. When Coach says “go” or blow whistle, the player will flip their hips, and during that time, coach will shade high or low. The player will then attack the space, given and get a shot off to the goal

Coaching Points and Principles

Quick reactions! Try to attack the space quickly
If attacking a space that forces your weak hand, you can either protect and stay strong with your dominant hand or switch to improve your weak hand.

Progressions

Add a double dodge
Create more constraints for the players

Tags

Anticipation & Recognition Attack Beginner Decision Making Dodging & Escapes Foundational Skills Guided - Token Opponent Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Midfield Shooting Shooting on the Run U10 U12 U14 U8

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Station 3: Tight 1v1

Set Up

Put an offense and defense player in play. They start with the offense shielding stick with body, leaning into the defender. The defense leans back with hands/stick on hip on opponent. On whistle, the offense player attacks the goal, and does so by feeling the weight/positon of the defender, and attacking the opposite.

Coaching Points & Principles

Stick Protection!
Use Body to feel the pressure angle from defender.. roll dodges and top side drives will work but find the natural escape
Defense work on recovery angles
Do this drill from all areas of the field

Progressions

Have players start with small separation, so the defense must approach.

Tags

Attack Ball Control & Cradling Beginner Box Lacrosse Defense Dodging & Escapes Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Midfield Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

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Activity 5: Relay race

Set Up

Put your players into 3 teams, smaller group drills so 2-4 players per team. You can use goals or cones as your scoring point. Coach will put a bag of balls In the middle of the playing area, and on the whistle, 1 player from each team must go get a ball, and bring it back to their scoring area. They can shoot on a goal or carry through a gate using cones as shown in this video. The next teammate in line can go get a ball, once they get back to line, acting like a relay race. The team with the most balls after a 1 minute session wins

Coach Points and Principles

Ground balls – finding a loose ball and accelerating through
Ball Control – carry the ball confidently back to your scoring area
Shooting – if using Goals, add in shooting constraints (must finish on a bounce shot, as an example)
Teamwork! Make sure players are rooting each other on

Progressions

Make field larger so they have to run more / smaller for less experienced players
add more teams (4,5,6)

Tags

Ball Control & Cradling Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Ground Balls Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

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