7 Shooting Drills to Elevate your Game

Every great shooter is built on a strong foundation. Before focusing on drills, it’s essential to master the skillset of shooting. Proper body position, balanced footwork, weight transfer, hand placement, stick position, and a smooth shooting motion all contribute to making a player an efficient goal scorer. In this video, we break down the key mechanics that create consistency, accuracy, and power, giving players the foundation they need to become confident, dynamic shooters. We always note, that every shooter will have slightly different mechanics, like a golf swing. That’s why we work from a principles based approach, vs a strict technical set of rules

1. Body Position – we want to aim our shoulders and hips towards the target
2. Hands – Your hands should be about 10″-12″ apart with your anchor hand at the bottom of the shaft. This will put your control (top) hand right below the middle of the shaft
3. Stick Position – Your Stick and hands should be separated away from your body, in a comfortable place. The stick itself should be pointing slightly on and angle to the sky, we don’t want it to be flat (horizontal) to the ground or pointing to the ground. An easy way to find a comfort zone: push your hands away from your body, then pull back and up
4. Weight – We want to start with the weight on our back leg and then transition to the front leg through the shot
5. Pull and Release – As we drive through the shot, our anchor hand pulls the stick forward and our control hand snaps over the top to release the ball. I like to think about driving my control hand knuckles into the ground to get the full release

The best shooters don’t just rely on power, they make life difficult for goalies by being deceptive. As you work through the drills below, focus on 3 Principles

1. Your release point instead of always shooting from the same angle
2. Changing planes by mixing high-to-low and low-to-high shots (Start High to Low!)
3. Placing the ball where the goalie is least likely to make a save. Attack the off-stick side, shoot through the hips, target the ankles, and force the goalie to move.
   1. *If your not shooting on a goalie, just pretend what hand the imaginary goalie is and focus on that.

The more unpredictable your release, angle, and placement become, the more dangerous you’ll be as a scorer in game situations.

The goal of this drill is to emphasize working on our shot. We recognize that all players will have different form (similar to a golf swing or basketball shot), and we want to work on our foundational skill. You will get high volume reps and will start getting more comfortable with your lacrosse stick!

Set Up

Use the back of a goal, or you can set up in front of a back up net that may be around the field. You want to get in your stationary shooting position, which includes your lead shoulder and hips facing your target. Get your hand in a comfortable position, and work on driving your weight from back to front. Releasing the ball with your top hand will add that zip to the shot, I like to think about driving my knuckles into ground, or thinking about rolling your top hand over. You can get hundreds of reps in just a few minutes

Coaching Points

1. Make sure the player has their hands in proper positioning. You want the head of the stick pointing slightly to the sky, we won’t want a flat stick or one that points to the ground behind you.
2. Transfer weight
3. Release the top hand
4. Do reps for both he strong and weak hand

 

Set Up

Put players in a 45 degree about 5 yards away from the goal and have them face the midline. Hold the stick straight out, and pivot off your inside foot, turn and release the shot!

Coaching Points

1. Keep your hands/arms separated from your body as you turn through the shot
2. Drive to the goal, don’t finish in same place (Think like a baseball pitcher)
3. Aim – Focus on hitting the far low side of the goal
4. Shoot with Power – We are generating that feeling of getting our legs, hips, core, shoulders, and arms through the shot

 

A shooting drill to work on getting loaded with power on our step down shots

Set Up

Put players ate the restraining box with balls. Every progression will finish with the giddy up and shot

1. Giddy up entire way, until you take a 10 yard shot
2. Run 10 ten yards, giddy up and shoot
3. Hitch, Run 10 yards, giddy up and shoot

Coaching Points & Principles

• Getting loaded with the Giddy up – shoulders and turned and we are loaded with that shuffle to emphasize driving off our back leg
• Shooting – Good overhand shots
• Have players work on driving far side and low or nearside and high

Shooting on the Run

Shooting on the run is most effective when the player works back downhill toward the goal. As the dodger attacks, they should focus on regaining a downhill angle, which keeps the hips and shoulders aligned toward the cage and increases accuracy and power. Staying downhill also limits the goalie’s angle and creates higher-quality shooting opportunities.

As the shot develops, the player maintains balance with controlled footwork, keeping the stick protected and hands relaxed. Players should drive off their outside foot to initiate the shote. The release should be compact, using wrist snap and core rotation rather than a full wind-up. By keeping the motion efficient, the player can shoot without breaking stride.

Good shooting on the run combines speed, balance, and angle. By getting back downhill before releasing the ball, players can shoot with control, disguise, and consistency, even while moving at full speed.

This drill focuses on the last 3 steps of our shot on the run, finishing toward the cage. It is designed to teach how to shoot on the run with proper mechanics, balance, and timing. Shooting while moving is one of the most difficult skills in lacrosse because it requires footwork, hand speed, and body alignment to work together at full speed. This drill isolates the final steps of the shooting motion so players learn how to generate power, accuracy, and consistency when shooting on the run rather than relying on arm strength alone

Set Up

The focus of this drill is the last three steps of the shooting sequence, which are critical for learning how to shoot efficiently while moving toward the goal. Place a cone roughly 8 yards from the cage. Players start square to the goal in an athletic stance with knees bent, shoulders level, and the stick flat across the waist.

On the whistle, the player initiates the shot by popping the hands away from the body to get the stick loaded early. At the same time, they drive aggressively off the inside foot to begin their approach. The goal is to transition smoothly from a balanced setup into a downhill shooting motion. Players should be loaded to shoot before their feet stop, allowing them to release the ball by the third step.

Emphasize finishing downhill toward the cage, not drifting sideways. This teaches players how to shoot with forward momentum, which increases both velocity and accuracy.

Principles and Coaching Points

1. Start Square to the cage
2. First move we want to drive our hands away and up to get loaded, while planting off the inside foot.
3. Drive back downhill to cage and shoot by the time we get our third step
4. Focus on overhand shots

Progressions

• Start in off hand, and first move is a split
• Start with one hand on stick already loaded to make it a little easier
• Do on all areas around the goal for various shots

This drill is especially effective because it breaks down how to shoot on the run into repeatable movements that translate directly to game situations. By emphasizing footwork, hand placement, and timing, players develop a reliable shooting technique they can use at full speed.

Set Up

A player starts about 5-8 yards away from the goal, with a ball. They will stand in an athletic position square to the goal, and stick on hips. When ready, or on coaches whistle, they will open up their hips, take 3 steps away, get loaded and step back to the goal for a shot

Coaching Points & Principles

• Focus on body control
• Get Loaded as you take those 3 steps away
• Step TO the Goal when you shoot, don’t fade or fall off balance

A great drill to work on your shot on the run, getting back down hill!

Set Up

About 8-10 yards away from goal, set up 2 cones about 5 yards apart, 45 degrees from goal. Players will dodge towards the top cone, and start to get loaded. They will then run over the second cone, getting back down hill running toward the cage!

Coaching Points & Principles

• Keep your feet moving, make sure players don’t stop their feet and they run through the second cone
• Work on shooting overhand, as this will help with momentum getting back toward the

This drill works on creating separation from a defender, and re-attacking the space

Set Up

Put 2 cones from areas on the field where you would dodge. Start squared up, and we want to bounce to 2nd cone protecting our stick, and then re-attack new space

• Add in a defender, and have them shade high or low, so the player has to read the space given