Ball Control and Escapes

Ball Control and Escapes
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	Activities Zombie Tag 5 Player Line Drills – Ground Balls Shoot to Score Relay Game Sharks and Minnows Game
Zombie Tag - Link to Drill - 8 Minutes	Set Up	Focus Points
A fun game to play with you players early at practice, or make it a station when working on skill development! 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 Progressions Make field smaller so its more challenging or larges for less experienced players		Ball Control and Awareness – Keep your head up, stay away from zombies, and don’t run out of bounds! Communicate – Help unfreeze your teammates
5 Player Line Drills – Ground Balls - Link to Drill - 10 Minutes	Set Up	Focus Points
A foundational ground ball drill for early learning! Set Up Put players in groups of 5 (or 4 or 6 depending on your team size) on the sideline area. This drill is for ALL players so you can have 4-5 groups on the sideline spread out. Put a cone about 10 yards away, and another cone 10 yards away. Use a coach about 5 yards away, have them stand with a stick straight out with ball underneath. Player must run UNDER the stick, get a ground ball, carry around cone 10 yards out, and carry back to their line Coaching Points and Principles Progressions Add a stick over ball		Ground Balls – Get low and Accelerate through the ball Handle ball as you carry around cone and back to line Work on both hands
Shoot to Score Relay Game - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A fun game that works on ground balls, shooting, and teamwork! Set Up Put players into 2 teams on the wings. Put balls in the middle of the field between the 2 teams, and then add a cone about 8 yards from the goal. The first player in line, must go scoop a ground ball, get to the 8 yard cone, and shoot. Once they shoot, their next teammate can go, like a relay race. The team with the most goals after a 1 minute session, wins Coaching Points and Principles Progressions Make scoring area smaller and more difficult Players must spring back to line before teammate can go		Get clean ground balls, for speed and efficiency Take good shots, us a proper to make it harder to score like a net Hustle! need to work hard to win
Sharks and Minnows Game - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A fun game to work on cradling and ball control! Set Up Put the players on one sideline, and creating a small playing area. Coaches are inside the playing area as sharks! Players must cradle and run with a ball to the other sideline, without dropping to losing the ball. Coaches should try to force players outside the playing area or check sticks. Keep repeating end to end, until you have 1 clear winner! Coaching Points & Principles Progressions Turn the minnows into Sharks!		Cradling – Players should cradle to secure the ball Escapes – Maneuver around coaches protecting their sticks Spacing – Find and attack the open space!

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Zombie Tag
5 Player Line Drills – Ground Balls
Shoot to Score Relay Game
Sharks and Minnows Game

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 & Escapes

Team Principles & Actions:

This practice is designed to help players build confidence with the ball by developing strong ball control and simple escape skills in fun, game-like situations. Through small-area games and movement-based activities, players will learn how to protect the ball, move away from pressure, and make quick decisions while staying in control. The focus is on learning through play—encouraging creativity, effort, and confidence—so players feel comfortable handling the ball and finding space in real game scenarios.

8 Minutes

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

5 Player Line Drills – Ground Balls

Set Up

Put players in groups of 5 (or 4 or 6 depending on your team size) on the sideline area. This drill is for ALL players so you can have 4-5 groups on the sideline spread out. Put a cone about 10 yards away, and another cone 10 yards away. Use a coach about 5 yards away, have them stand with a stick straight out with ball underneath. Player must run UNDER the stick, get a ground ball, carry around cone 10 yards out, and carry back to their line

Coaching Points and Principles

Ground Balls – Get low and Accelerate through the ball
Handle ball as you carry around cone and back to line
Work on both hands

Progressions

Add a stick over ball

Shoot to Score Relay Game

A fun game that works on ground balls, shooting, and teamwork!

Set Up

Put players into 2 teams on the wings. Put balls in the middle of the field between the 2 teams, and then add a cone about 8 yards from the goal. The first player in line, must go scoop a ground ball, get to the 8 yard cone, and shoot. Once they shoot, their next teammate can go, like a relay race. The team with the most goals after a 1 minute session, wins

Coaching Points and Principles

Get clean ground balls, for speed and efficiency
Take good shots, us a proper to make it harder to score like a net
Hustle! need to work hard to win

Progressions

Make scoring area smaller and more difficult
Players must spring back to line before teammate can go

Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Foundational Skills Ground Balls Intermediate Shooting Shooting on the Run Small Area Games Small Area Games Step Down Shooting U10 U12 U14 U8 Women’s Lacrosse

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Sharks and Minnows Game

A fun game to work on cradling and ball control!

Set Up

Put the players on one sideline, and creating a small playing area. Coaches are inside the playing area as sharks! Players must cradle and run with a ball to the other sideline, without dropping to losing the ball. Coaches should try to force players outside the playing area or check sticks. Keep repeating end to end, until you have 1 clear winner!

Coaching Points & Principles

Cradling – Players should cradle to secure the ball
Escapes – Maneuver around coaches protecting their sticks
Spacing – Find and attack the open space!

Progressions

Turn the minnows into Sharks!

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

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