Great shooters don’t just perform when their feet are set, they learn to create power, accuracy, and deception while moving at game speed. This Saturday Skill Session is built around Shooting on the Run, helping players develop the athletic foundation and shooting mechanics needed to finish effectively on the move. The session begins with a focused strength and speed workout designed to improve explosiveness, balance, and the ability to generate power through the ground.
Once the body is primed, we take those movements directly to the field with a Shooting on the Run workout. Players will work through a progression of reps emphasizing footwork, getting the hands loaded, changing angles, generating power without slowing down, and finishing accurately at speed. The goal is to connect athletic development with lacrosse skill, train the movement, then apply it to the game.
🥍 👇 Get dialed in and crush this workout!
Knee Drive Push Ups
Reps: 15
Sets: 3
Knee Drive Push-Ups are a great full-body movement that helps lacrosse players develop core stability, upper-body strength, and explosive coordination. From a push-up position, players perform a push-up, quickly pop their feet underneath them to stand, and immediately drive one knee up explosively as if accelerating into a sprint. This movement trains the body to transition from the ground to an athletic position quickly—similar to reacting after a loose ball or getting up into a dodge or defensive pursuit.
Chain Sprinting
Reps: 50 Yards
Sets: 5 with chain, or 10 Without Chain
Chain sprints are an excellent way for lacrosse players to develop repeated acceleration and conditioning that closely mirrors the stop-and-go demands of a game
Instead of one single sprint, players link multiple short bursts together with quick changes of direction or movement patterns. This trains athletes to accelerate, decelerate, and re-accelerate while fatigued, similar to riding, cutting to space, or reacting in unsettled situations.
Swat the Fly Shooting
Reps: 20 Per Hand (40 Total)
Sets: 2
Set Up
Players balance on their lead leg and use only their control hand to bring the stick into a loaded position. From there, they rotate the hips and upper body, drive the arm through the shooting motion, and release the stick forward with one hand, similar to the motion of swatting a fly.
Coaching Points & Principles
- The drill challenges players to stay balanced while learning to create an efficient release without relying heavily on their legs or bottom hand.
- Players should focus on getting loaded, initiating the movement through the hips, allowing the upper body to follow, and accelerating the stick through the release.
- This helps build a better feel for sequencing, control-hand involvement, and finishing the shot.
Progressions
- Younger Player Adjustment: Keep the same balance challenge by having players stay on their lead leg, but allow them to shoot two-handed. This maintains the focus on balance, rotation, and body control while making the shooting motion easier to manage.
3 Step Shooting
Reps: 25 Per Hand (50 Total)
Sets: 2
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
- Start Square to the cage
- First move we want to drive our hands away and up to get loaded, while planting off the inside foot.
- Drive back downhill to cage and shoot by the time we get our third step
- 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.
Rollback Shooting Drill
Reps: 25 Per Hand (50 Total)
Sets: 2
Set Up
Stand about 8-10 yards away from the cage, in the middle of the field. Use cones if needed to create a small box that you will work with. The player starts with a squared athletic stance facing the goal. The stick will stay flat, and on a coaches whistle, the player will punch their stcisk/hands to the side while taking 2 quick steps. We drop our inside hip and leg to plant and explode back the other direction for a shot
Coaching Points & Principles
- Stick protection – We don’t want our stick to hang behind us, try to keep your body in between the defender and the stick
- Get loaded – on the roll back, we want to get loaded by extending our arms, while leading us.
- Get downhill – Once the roll back is executed, the outside foot should plant and drive us back to the goal for a shot on the run
Progressions
- Set up on the wings or other parts of the field where you may get the most of your shots.
2 Cone Shooting Drill
Reps: 25 Per Hand (50 Total)
Sets: 2
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 goal