Ball Control & Tempo | Lacrosse Drive

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Pre-Practice - Optional
Activity 1: 3v2 Tempo Keep Away
Activity 2: Full Field Riding and Clearing
Activity 3: 2 Nets 4v3 Game
Activity 4: 6v6 - 2 Sides
Activity 7: Full Field Scrimmage

Please Note: The Practice is designed to bring value across multiple age levels. You can use this to build ideas to 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 and you can add/remove constraints to fit your team.

Theme Description:

This session challenges players to control the rhythm of the game, when to play fast, when to slow it down, and how to protect possession with purpose. Through tempo-based drills and situational reps, players learn to handle the ball under pressure, maintain poise in transition, and execute at game speed without sacrificing decision quality.

The emphasis is on efficiency with the ball, valuing every touch, keeping spacing clean, and ensuring tempo is player-driven rather than opponent-controlled. Every drill connects back to composure, timing, and precision within a fast, fluid style of play.

Session Objective:

By the end of this session, players will:

Develop greater control of game tempo, knowing when to accelerate or settle into possession.
Execute high-speed offense with clean stickwork and minimal turnovers.
Improve ability to retain and move the ball under defensive pressure.
Communicate effectively to maintain team rhythm and collective flow

8-10 Minutes

Pre-Practice - Optional

You can add a Pre-Practice Block (8–10 minutes) to sharpen positional skillsets before the full team session begins. This focused period allows players to get extra, high-quality touches in their specific roles while coaches move freely to give targeted feedback. These brief micro-sessions not only maximize total reps but also set the tone for precision and intensity once full practice starts.

Offensive players can work on quick-release shooting, dodging footwork, or feeding on the move
Defensive players can rep approach angles, stick positioning, and recovery steps
Goalies can take controlled warm-up shots emphasizing tracking and rebound control
Faceoff specialists can drill hand speed, clamp technique, and counter moves.

10 Minutes

Activity 1: 3v2 Tempo Keep Away

Set Up

Create a box using cones, about 5-8 yards away (Smaller the box, harder the drill for offense). Put 2 defensive players inside and 3 offensive players on the perimeter. The offense must play keep away from the defense and can’t hold on to the ball for more than 1 second. The defense must always be playing the ball, the game moves fast so its a great drill and workout for conditioning purposes too!

Coaching Points & Principles

Defense – Always play the ball and backside zone, constantly rotating
Offense – Move your feet to get and open passing lanes. Touch passes, cants cradle and run!

Progressions

Make the box smaller or larger depending on your skill level
Play 4v3

Activity 2: Full Field Riding and Clearing

Play a full field controlled scrimmage working on our ladder clear. We want to play live so we are working on clearing vs pressure

Set Up

Work on standard clear & riding principles
Add in 10-player ride alternative clear
Control the play – dead balls, faux shots, example to initiate clears in different situations

Activity 3: 2 Nets 4v3 Game

This is a great game to work on tempo around the goal in the wing area

Set Up

In the middle of the field, put 2 goals back to back, and create a playing area that is the restraining box area. The split will be split into two groups. Put 2 attack and 2 defenders on each side, with the midfielders on the sideline lined up in 2 lines of each color. The game starts with coach rolling the ball in for a live ground ball, and whatever team wins, try to score on their opponents goal. There will always be a 4v3 scenario so we want to move the ball quickly to find the best shot! On dead balls, or throw aways, coach can roll a new live GB in or give it to a team directly. In this scenario, there is 1 goalie playing for both teams, if you have 2 goalies that works well too!

Coaching Points and Principles

Groundballs – Winning ground balls and moving the ball fast!
Offense – Spread out and move into space to find the best shot
Defense – Play a zone like defense with 1 players on ball, and the back side playing zone.. think Triangle shape

Progressions

Play 4v4, 3v2, whatever scenario you want to work on
Use a shot clock to make the play faster!

Activity 4: 6v6 - 2 Sides

Set Up

A great way to increase reps and reinforce both sides of the game is by running 6v6 on two ends simultaneously. Split your team into two groups, one offense and one defense, each working on their own side of the field.

Offensively, you can focus on concepts like ball control and tempo, emphasizing patience in possession, quick ball movement, and recognizing when to push or pull the pace. Examples include adding in extra points for outcomes we want to see, or drills like initiating from behind the goal off a dead ball to control flow and spacing.

Defensively, work on composure under long possessions, rotating cleanly through slides and recoveries, staying disciplined on approaches, and communicating through tempo shifts rather than overreacting. For instance, defenders can practice maintaining shape during prolonged ball movement or executing clean clears under time pressure to simulate tempo changes.

As coaches, you can adjust the focus based on what the team needs, whether it’s faster decision-making, tighter spacing, or more structure in communication. After about 12 minutes, switch ends so every player experiences both offensive and defensive responsibilities. This approach keeps the pace high, gives players more touches, and builds collective understanding of how tempo control impacts both sides of the ball.

6v6 2 Sides Preview

20 Minutes

Activity 7: Full Field Scrimmage

Play a live full field scrimmage with modified constraints to allow the practice emphasis to come into play

Examples

Give an additional point to the team if they score in transition
Give an additional point to a team that defensively that gets the offense back to neutral during transition dominos