Practice Plan: Early IQ & Playing w/ Advantages

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Activity 1: Chaos Keep Away
Activity 2: 2v1 Shooting Recognition
Activity 2: B2B2B to 2v1
Activity 4: Hot Potato Game
Activity 5: 1 Ball with 3 nets

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: Early IQ – Playing w/Advantages

Playing With Advantages – Early IQ is designed to teach young players how to recognize and use simple numbers advantages to make smarter decisions on the field. The objective of this plan is to help young athletes understand concepts like “open player,” “extra pass,” and “attack space” through fun, small-sided games. By learning to see when they have more players than the defense and how to move the ball or themselves to create scoring chances, players begin building early lacrosse IQ. These activities develop awareness, teamwork, and confidence—laying the groundwork for strong decision-making as they grow in the sport.

10 Minutes

Activity 1: Chaos Keep Away

Start practice with this fun and engaging game to work on stick work!

Set Up

Create a small area playing field and split players into 2 teams. Both teams at opposite end of the fields, and lacrosse balls to the middle of the field. I usually like to you 1/2 balls to players.. so if there are 20 total players, use 10 balls. On the whistle, the players will run in trying to get a ball. Once they gain possession, they must run away and escape the defenders staying in the playing area. The team with the most balls at the end of 1 minute wins that round

Rules

Players can pass to teammates to escape pressure and maintain possession
If they go out of bounds with a ball, turnover to defending player
Players without the ball, can pressure to take away and flip a possession
The team who possesses the most balls after 1 minute, wins

Coaching Points & Principles

Groundballs! Winn the ground ball battles
Stick control & cradling with the ball vs pressure
Teamwork, don’t be afraid to pass to open teammates to maintain possessions

Tags

Ball Control (with the ball)Beginner Game - Live Play Ground Ball Battles Ground Balls Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U12 U14 U8

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10 Minutes

Activity 2: 2v1 Shooting Recognition

Put players in 2 groups to run this on two different goals

Set Up

Put 2 lines up to about 5 yards apart. Add a coach in the middle as the defender. We are starting this drill with a ground ball, you can start with a pass as well. The players will criss cross attacking the goal. The player clearing through, is cutting under their teammate which we want to emphasize. As the ball carrier attacks the goal, the coach will either slide to the ball, or slide to teammate without the ball. Players must recognize the slide and react to it!

Coaching Points and Principle

Spacing – Clearing space under your teammate, not above
Read the defense – when a slide comes to you, we want to move the ball. When you have free space, we want you to take it and shoot it
Shooting – shot placement and finishing the ball on cage
Passing – making great passes to your teammates

Progressions

Make it a 3v2
Set up on the wings for a different look
Use constraints like off-hand only

Tags

2v1 All Anticipation & Recognition Attack Beginner Communication Decision Making Foundational Skills Guided - Token Opponent Inside Finishing & Goal Scoring Intermediate Midfield Shooting U10 U12 U8

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10 Minutes

Activity 2: B2B2B to 2v1

Put players in 2 groups to run this on two different goals

Set Up

Put 3 players back to back to back, with a ball on the ground in the middle. Give each player a number (1,2,3)Players must start with their stick on their shoulders and heads up, no cheating! On the whistle, it’s a live groundball. Who ever wins the ball, coach will yell out a number, that player is on defense and the 3rd player can now play 2v1 with the teammate who has the ball. You can make it a keep away game, or have them attack a goal.

Principles and Coaching Points

Ground balls
use body to box out and feet to kick ball loose
Play under pressure
Game recognition, either play defense or offense.

Tags

2v1 Ball Control (with the ball)Beginner Box Lacrosse Game - Live Play Ground Ball Battles Men’s Lacrosse Passing Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U8

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10 Minutes

Activity 4: Hot Potato Game

Keep players in the groups and run this to re-engage their alertness!

Set Up

Use cones or lines on the field, to create a circle. Put the players around the circle, with 1 ball in play. It starts with a player passing or rolling a ground ball to a teammate. The player who scoops the ground ball, will look run, pass the ball to a new teammate. Continue this for 1-2 minutes. Player should replace or find open space in the circle after they roll the ball. Coach will give a clock count down, and when it ends, the player with the ball last will be removed from the game. Continue until there is 1 player left as the winner!

Coaching Points and Principles

Ground Balls– Emphasize accelerating through the ground ball
If Passing, focus on Catching – Show a target – get your stick up so the stick is points to the sky – DONT point your stick to teammate
Awareness – know the clock, and have composure to get the ball and move it without dropping!

Progressions

Have them pass, then cut into new space

Tags

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

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10 Minutes

Activity 5: 1 Ball with 3 nets

If you don’t have 3 goals, you can use cones to create gates for the kids too score points!

Set Up

In a small area, place 3 small goals all facing each other, like the shape of a triangle. If you don’t have goals, use cones as Gates. The game is a live 1v1v1 and USE TENNIS BALLS! Each player will defend their goal/gate and starts with a live ground ball. Players must score on either goal, and risk playing goalie, or trying to take ball away. If the player with ball shoots and misses, the player defending that goal/gate will start a new ball. Keep score, play for 1-2 minutes, then change the players! if you are using GATES/CONES, the ball carrier must run through a gate, with the defender trying to stop them.

Coaching Points and Principles

Groundballs – win the battle to get possession
Risk/reward – Know when to try and leave your goal to get the ball or play defense
Use deception – try to make fake on both offense and defense to succeed

Progressions

Use a shot clock (5 seconds)

Tags

All Beginner Game - Live Play Ground Ball Battles Ground Balls Intermediate Small Area Games Small Area Games U10 U12 U14 U8

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