Fundamental Skills
A lacrosse beginner is considered to be anyone who has been playing the sport for less than two years. Some children will advance quicker than others due to athletic ability and the amount of time they practice on their own. Age is also a factor; a fifteen-year-old is likely to advance faster than an eight-year-old.
This section is a fundamental skills foundation for the beginning lacrosse player. It is an overview of the basic skills and concepts players need to know and provides drills and games that foster the growth of these fundamentals.
Shooting
If you want to shoot hard, you should grab a bag of balls and shoot until your arms fall off. While the mechanics of shooting are technical, I have simplified them into six major points. Shooting a lacrosse ball has elements of a batter’s swing, a golfer’s drive, and a pitcher’s throwing motion. I…
Drills & Games
The goals of a program for beginners are simple. All of the drills and games are meant to keep things flowing in practice and to ensure that the kids are having fun while learning to play. Also, there is a tremendous amount of stick work with an emphasis on multiple repetitions in all the practice…
Position Specific Concepts
In lacrosse, there are four different positions: attack, midfield, defense, and goalie. In a game, there are three attackmen, three midfielders, three defensemen, and one goalie on the field for each team. It is important for beginners to try out all positions to see which one they like the best…
Beginner Stick Work
Having good stick work in lacrosse or “having a good stick” is the single most important skill with which to measure a beginner’s progress. Lacrosse is a skill and finesse game. It is a game that gets more fun as one’s stick skills improve. We believe that when teaching beginners, coaches should fi…
Catching Basics
Lacrosse catching is a basic lacrosse skill that is not as easy as it is made to look by accomplished players. It is a skill that takes regular practice and is one of the fundamental stick-handling skills to master first.
