Practice Plan: Ball Control & Escapes

Jump to a Section

Activity 1: Zombie Tag
Activity 2: 5 Player Line Drills w/ Groundballs
Activity 3: 42 Groundball Game
Activity 4: 3 Team Scoop to Score Game
Activity 5: Sharks and Minnows

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.

10 Minutes

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 (with the ball)Beginner Box Lacrosse Dodging & Escapes Game - Live Play Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

View Drill Page →

10 Minutes

Activity 2: 5 Player Line Drills w/ Groundballs

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

Tags

All Ball Control (with the ball)Beginner Ground Balls Guided - Token Opponent U10 U8

View Drill Page →

10 Minutes

Activity 3: 42 Groundball Game

Set Up

Put players in 4 lines on the sideline, and give each player/line a number. Coach rolls a ball out and it’s a live 1v1v1v1 groundball. Once a player wins it, coach will yell out a second number, and that player will now be a teammate to the player who won the ground ball. They will play 2v2 to the goal

Coaching Points and Principles

Groundballs – win the battle!
Recognition – think quickly if you are on offense or defense
2v2 game principles – Offense support teammate, move and give them space to dodge. DEFENSE , communicate and try to force player with ball away from goal.

Progressions

Add a 5th line, so it becomes a 3v2 unsettled
make a rule, that the defense must double team the ball!

Tags

Anticipation & Recognition Game - Live Play Ground Ball Battles Ground Balls Intermediate Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

View Drill Page →

10 Minutes

Activity 4: 3 Team Scoop to Score Game

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

All Ball Control (with the ball)Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Ground Balls Intermediate Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

View Drill Page →

Activity 5: Sharks and Minnows

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 (with the ball)Beginner Dodging & Escapes Game - Live Play Men’s Lacrosse Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

View Drill Page →