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. IHS should always be used as a starting point and you can add/remove constraints to fit your team.
This Practice, is to lay the ground work for the foundation and principles we want our players to know and build on. Being comfortable handling the lacrosse stick, is one of the most important part of the game. The more you feel comfortable and confident, the easier it is for you to grow and develop.
During this session, continue to reinforce the coaching points and principles noted at each drill. It’s important to get across to the players, that no matter skill level they are, we can always get better at the basic principles of handling the stick. At the end of practice, it’s always good to ask the players questions, like “what do you learn today?” Or “what drill did you like and why?”
8 Minutes
Activity 1 - Trucks and Trailers
Summary
A fun drill that works on stick control and allows the kids to have some fun and creativity!
Put players in lines of 4 or 5, with the lead player with NO ball, they are the TRUCK. The 4 players behind them ar the Trailers and they all will be carrying a ball. The Truck will run in random patterns for 15-20 seconds, and the Trailers must run, and stay in line following the Truck! After the time is up, switch the roles until everyone has been a TRUCK!
Coaching Points and Principles
Truck – Try to make quick moves, change direction, create a pattern
Trailers – Keep your heads UP! cradling the ball under control. If you drop it, pick it up and continue
Progressions
Add less players so it goes quicker
Use Cones to make it easier to navigate for less experienced players
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
Set up cones in the shape of a diamond in the playing area. You can make it larger to force longer passes but the stand length should be about 8-10 yards away from each other. On the sideline, set up 3 lines of each team, depending on your group size. They should be alternating (dark, light, dark, light, etc..). Coach rolls a ball into the field (doesn’t have to be inside the diamond), and the team that picks up the ball is on offense. Another teammate from the winning team will join, giving them an advantage (4v3). At this point the game-play will move to the cones, and the defense has to stay inside the diamond while the offense needs to stay out. Play keep away until coach blows a second whistle, and then its live to the goal!
Coaching Points and Principles
Ground Balls
Offense – Make good passes, a teammate should be at an adjacent cone. If the player with the ball carries, the offense should move like a carousel maintaining their spacing. In transition to the goal, find the open teammate/advantage and get a good shot on cage
Defense – Communicate, who has ball! Need no play the ball, and have backside zone since we are playing with 1 less player. One the ball is passed, a new defender should slid to the ball, and the previous defender on ball needs to get back inside for backside supper and help
Progressions
Make the groups smaller (2 lines of each color) so it turns into a 3v2 for more spacing at younger ages
if you have more than 4 players (5v4) we can put an offensive players on the crease who can rotate in and out during the keep away play
From our team principles, we want to play fast to create uneven advantages offensively. This drill is designed to reinforce that as playing quick and finding advantages is a good team principle in transition!
Summary
A fun small sided game that will get the players competing and working through finding advantages!
Create a small plating area, inside the restraining box. Add 2 goals so you have a full field within the playing area. Split you group into 2 teams, and put each team in a single file line at their respected defensive end. Start the game by putting 4 offense and 3 defense in, giving a team a starting advantage. Play until a dead ball, the last player to touch the ball on the offense is out. The 3 defensive players stay in and transition to the offensive end with a new teammate joining. They will go play 4v3 on the opposite end, until a dead. Continue this for about 8-10 minutes and your players will get a lot of touches and gameplay!
Coaching Points and Principles
Offense – Fine the advantage (2v1). We want players to start seeking their open teammates in these transition scenarios so we get the best shot possible
Defense – Communicate, get into a zone type shape where you can play the ball and slide for help. Keep your sticks up in passing lanes making it hard for the offense to make easy passes!
Progressions
Play full field with older players (HS/College) for a more intense workout
We want to see players put together the parts of practice where they are winning ground balls, cradling and escaping pressure, and offensively finding the advantage!
Summary
A fast paced, half field drill to get your players competing.
Split the group into two teams, and put them in alternating lines at the midfield. On a Half field, we would have 4-6 lines of each color, being a full team drill. If working in smaller spaces like video, you can do 3-4 of each color. The drill starts with coach rolling a live ground ball into the play. The first player in each line will go try to win the ground ball. Which ever team wins the ball, gets the ball to the goalie and initiates a clear. If you don’t have a goalie, just have the players clear to a Coach up top. Once they successfully clear the ball, they will go back in on offense, and attack the goal. Coaches can manipulate the rules or constraints to make uneven situations or get players to explore other team concepts like picks, off ball play, etc..
Coaching Points and Principles
Ground balls – players should be working hard to win ground balls to start the drill
Clearing – Team is spread out and finding open spaces
Even & Uneven scenarios
Progressions
Add extra players in on offense to creat uneven looks
Number the lines up top, so only select players go into the drill (1,2,3,4 would be a 2v2 groundball play)
Shot Clock – Once on offense, create a shot clock to speed up play
