How to Play Lacrosse
These are skills that even the best players in the world work on, day in and day out. The thing about lacrosse is, the better you get at it, the more fun it becomes to play. If you can give yourself a strong foundation in all these basic fundamentals, then you will be well on your way to becoming a great player!
Success Demands Six Things
Success is never an accident — it is the outcome of deliberate effort, resilience, and an unshakable belief in one’s goals. While many search for shortcuts, the reality is that achievement comes from mastering a few timeless principles. Success demands six things that, when practiced consistently…
Finding Space: Part II
If this concept of this finding space is to move to the next level, players must now formally execute it as they run their offense. We introduced the concept of motion offense at Adelphi University to teach the concept of finding space to our players (Lacrosse Magazine, February 1986). Richie Spec…
10 Important Boys’ Lacrosse Rules
Safety is a big part of coaching lacrosse. The sport involves a lot of contact, so youth coaches must not only stress skill development but also explain lacrosse rules to youngsters to promote safe play.
It’s especially important to coach beginners about the proper way to handle their lacrosse…
Three Rules of Defense
This is the basic tenet of defense whenever the other team has the ball. So many times our players play adjacent to or in front of the man they are covering. Other times they are just plain out of position. The most basic fundamental of defense is that they should be positioned between the man the…
Finding Space
You have now succeeded in teaching your youth players the fundamentals and basic skills of lacrosse. You can only marvel at your players’ ability to switch hands, roll dodge, and pass and catch with both hands with proficiency. Thanks to Gary Gait, some of your players can now pass behind their ba…
Transition Defense
Learning to play transition defense is the key to understanding general defensive concepts. It is vital to a team’s success to learn to play defense as a unit, as well as individually. Defense is one aspect of lacrosse where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Transition drills and…
Clearing
Clearing the ball means getting the ball from the defense or the goalie upfield past the midline. The in-bounds clearing is when the goalie makes a save or the defense steals the ball and has to get it upfield to the midfielders. Out-of-bounds clearing is when the offense throws the ball out of bo…
Riding
Riding is pressuring the other team’s defense when they are trying to clear the ball in-bounds or out-of-bounds. At this level, there is really no need to set up a complicated riding package. For both in-bounds and out-of-bounds riding, the most important aspect is to make sure that the midfielders…
