Advanced Skills
Whether you are a beginner looking to improve your fundamentals or an advanced player seeking to refine your technique, access to quality training resources is essential for success on the field.
Our advanced lacrosse skills section is a comprehensive collection of tips, drills, and strategies designed to help players of all levels take their game to the next level. With expert guidance from experienced coaches and players, this section provides a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their skills and knowledge of the game.
Goalie Saves
The most important job for the goalie is to save the ball. The first thing that a coach has to do is get his goalie to see the ball. Many young goalies move too soon. As a coach, you can distinguish many of your goalies’ bad habits by faking shots at them during warm-ups.
Attack – Two Man Games
Another position-specific concept for attackmen at the intermediate level is two-man games. Two-man games are moves that two attackmen can use to beat two defensemen.
Position-Specific Drills
Just as with any other sport or skill, in lacrosse, you can always work hard and keep getting better. The lacrosse tips and drills in this section are for players looking to take their game to the next level.
Goalie Stance
Goalie is the one position that coaches struggle to teach because they have never played before. Some coaches try to make the goalie position more complicated than it really is. They turn it into a complex set of rules, like a golf pro teaching the perfect swing. The bottom line for goalies at any level […]
Goalie Positioning
There are many conflicting theories on where a goalie should stand in the goal to be most effective. It is our position that goalies should play an extremely shallow arc or very close to the goal line. The lacrosse goal is six feet by six feet and lacrosse goalies do not wear many pads. Therefore, […]
Goalie Communication
One of the most important jobs of a goalie is to communicate with his defense. There are some basic calls that a goalie should know and his defense should understand at the intermediate level. When making these calls, the goalie needs to be loud and commanding as he is the quarterback or captain of the […]
Midfield
At the intermediate level, the best athletes should be used at the midfield. The key qualities of good midfielders are the abilities to run up and down the field, to pick up groundballs, to shoot from the outside, and to play strong man-to-man defense. The athlete that plays midfield is strong, fast, and has good […]
Attack – Dodging
At the intermediate level, the best three or four scorers and ball handlers should be put at the attack position. Attackmen need to be able to control the tempo of the game offensively and take care of the ball. Players who want to play attack at this level should be good cradlers, should be able […]
On-Ball Defense
As discussed before, on-ball play is when a defender is covering the man with the ball. Playing one-on-one for a defender is much like playing one-on-one for a midfielder. The main goal is to prevent the ball carrier from getting to the top side, or to the middle of the field.
Off-Ball Defense
Off-ball defense or covering a man who does not have the ball, is one of the least understood aspects in youth lacrosse. Youth defensemen either stay right on their man and pay no attention to team defense or they stare at the ball and pay no attention to the man that they are covering. They […]
Defense
Beyond knowing basic footwork and obeying rules, it is unnecessary for a youth player to learn defense until he has reached this intermediate stage. It is important for youth players to be able to catch, throw, scoop, and cradle with a short stick before they move up to using a long stick on defense.
Stickwork Drills
Intermediate-level players should continue to work on the stickwork drills that they learned as beginners. There is really no limit to how good a lacrosse player can become with his stick. Even the best players in the world work on their sticks every day for better ball handling, passing, catching, and shooting.
Coaches Insider
- LB Pass Blitz: Attacking the RB with Maurice Crum – Southern Methodist Univ. February 18, 2025 Nike Coach of the Year Clinics
- Defensive Rebounding Toughness Drill with Kim Barnes Arico – Univ. of Michigan February 18, 2025 Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan
- Four Around One Space Drill with Dedrique Taylor – California State Univ., Fullerton February 18, 2025 Championship Productions
- Leaders Must be Great Communicators with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA) February 18, 2025 Women's Basketball Coaches Insider
- 10 Qualities of a Good Player and The 10 Don’ts with Aaron Marshall – Brother Rice High School (MI) February 18, 2025 Football Coaches Insider
- Leaders Must be Great Communicators with Robert Grasso – La Jolla Country Day School (CA) February 18, 2025 Men's Basketball Coaches Insider
- Coaching Yourself: Controlling Your Anger February 18, 2025 Human Kinetics
- Coaching Yourself: Controlling Your Anger February 18, 2025 Human Kinetics
- Coaching Yourself: Controlling Your Anger February 18, 2025 Human Kinetics
- Rapid-Fire Goalie Drill with Jake DeCola and TJ Thomas – Albion College February 12, 2025 Intercollegiate Mens Lacrosse Coaches Association
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