Practice Plan: Station Practice

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Activity 1: Open Field Space Cradling with Escapes
Station 1: 3 Way Shooting
Station 2: Rondo Groundballs
Station 3: Double Escapes
Activity 5: Hot Potato 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: Stickwork & Shooting

Stations – Small Area Games is designed to build creativity, competitiveness, and decision-making in U8 and U10 players through fast, fun, and highly active mini-games. The objective of this plan is to help young athletes learn essential concepts—like spacing, teamwork, ball movement, and defensive positioning—by playing in tight, controlled areas where touches and decisions happen quickly. Each station offers a different small-sided challenge that keeps players engaged, accelerates learning, and reinforces fundamentals in a game-like environment. This approach develops instinct, confidence, and game IQ while keeping practice fun and energetic.

10 Minutes

Activity 1: Open Field Space Cradling with Escapes

Set Up

Use a designated area on the field or use cones to create one, that the players must stay inside of. Every player has a ball, and on coaches whistle, they will start running around 50% speed. They must keep their head up and make an escape dodge every time they meet another player inside the circle. If you want to make it a game, players will leave the are if they drop the ball, or run out of bounds. The last player standing wins! Add a coach in for light defense to make it more challenging

Coaching Points and Principles

Cradling and Ball Control! Keep the stick protected
HEAD UP! See where you are running, don’t run into another teammate
Use both strong and weak hands

Progressions

Use more constraints, specific dodging styles
Add in defenders and coaches for light pressure
Make field smaller to make it more challenging or larger to make it easier

Tags

Anticipation & Recognition Attack Ball Control (with the ball)Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Box Lacrosse Defense Dodging & Escapes Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Midfield U10 U8 Women’s Lacrosse

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10 Minutes

Station 1: 3 Way Shooting

Set Up

Place 3 cones on the field, in a triangle. Players start at one of the lower cones. The first shot is a “goose” or hockey shot where they occasionally might find a loose ball on the crease. Here we are adding a little fun and building hand/eye coordination. The second shot is just a quick shot after a groundball on the crease, and the 3rd shot is a step down from the point. 3 different shot types here all in 1 drill

Coaching Points and Pricniples

Each shot should try to be executed in a quick release motion.
Emphasize finishing locations and concepts like High to Low and Far Pipe

Progressions

Add other shot locations and types
use constraints like weak-hand only

Tags

All Attack Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Foundational Skills Inside Finishing & Goal Scoring Midfield Shooting Step Down Shooting U10 U8

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10 Minutes

Station 2: Rondo Groundballs

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 rolling the ball to a teammate, and then moving to open space in the circle. The player who scoops the ground ball, will look run, roll the ball to a new teammate, and then move into space. Continue this for 1-2 minutes

Coaching Points and Principles

Ground Balls – Accelerate through
Head UP! find a teammate to roll the ball to
Find Space – emphasize motion and finding space after you move the ball

Progressions

Use 2 balls, more reps
Have them pass, not ground ball

Tags

All Beginner Block - On Air (no opponent)Ground Balls Intermediate Offense Spacing Principles U10 U8

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10 Minutes

Station 3: Double Escapes

Set Up

Put a line of players with balls on the sideline. Put a coach 5 yards away and a cone 10 yards away. The player will start with a ball and dodge past coach. We want them to read the stick of the defender to execute the right movement. Once they get past coach, they will run to the 10 yard cone, throw the ball to coach, and coach will leave a ground ball just ahead. We want to make sure we place the ball close to coach, because we want them escaping right out of the ground ball. They will get past coach, and give to next player in line

Coaching Points and Principles

Initial Dodge – read coaches body/stick. At the youth level, we like to teach that if the defenders stick is pointed at you, roll dodge. If the defenders stick is flat on their hips, split or jab step
Second escape – This is a quick escape, players but read and react quickly once they get the ball

Progressions

Put more pressure on the dodges
Make space smaller so its more difficult

Tags

Anticipation & Recognition Attack Ball Control (with the ball)Beginner Box Lacrosse Defense Dodging & Escapes Guided - Token Opponent Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Midfield U10 U8

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10 Minutes

Activity 5: Hot Potato Game

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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