Skill Development
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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: Skill Development
Skill Development is designed to give players a strong foundation in the core techniques that allow them to grow confidently in the sport. The objective of this plan is to build essential abilities—such as cradling, passing, catching, ground balls, footwork, and shooting—through fun, high-repetition drills that reinforce proper form and good habits. Players learn how to control their stick, move their feet, and handle common game situations with increasing comfort. This approach ensures steady, well-rounded progress and helps young athletes develop the skills they need to enjoy the game and succeed as they continue to advance.
Activity 1: Inside Outside Passing
Activity 2: Tampa Clearing
Activity 3 - Offense Shooting
Activity 3 Defense: 4Way Approaches
Activity 4 Offense: Shallow Cut Shooting with Decisions
Activity 4 Defense: Corner Doubles Drill
Activity 5: 4 Corner 1v1
Activity 5: 6v6 Build Up w/ Bumps
Set Up
Put 4 offensive lines around the high and low wings. You will add a defensive line at x behind the cage, and another line at the point. Give the defenders numbers, and make sure the point and x lines are opposite. For example, the point Lines will have players 1,3,5,etc.. the line at X will have 2,4,6,etc..
On the whistle, coach will throw a ball in to an offensive line and call a defender number out. If they call “One”, that player will sprint and approach the offensive player receiving the ball from coach. They will play 1v1 until the play ends by a shot, turnover, or defensive takeaway. Coach will then add in the next defender, say “Two”. That player would be coming from X and coach will throw a new ball in to another offensive player and they play 2v2. Continue until you reach 6V6.
Coaching Points and Principles
- Defensive – Approaches, focus on approach angles and keeping the offensive players away from center of field.
- Defensive – Communication: When the new defender is called in, they may be too far away from the new offensive player. In these situations, the new defender can bump a closer teammate to the ball, as you may do duing a recovery situation
- Offensive – Be a good dodger and attack the space or find ways to create the space you want. In the 2v2 + scenarios, you can work on picks and or on and off ball action
Progressions
- Add in constraints to focus on a particular situation. For example, if the team needs to work on off ball offense, tell them on every rep that is 2v2+, off ball players must do some form of action like a V-Cut, Screen, etc..