2013 Pittsburgh Clinics: Practice Implementation and Skill Building

First Questions, First

1. What level team are you? Youth? Middle School? High School?

Youth: Youth coaches are the real money earners in the coaching profession. Your practices need to be the perfect combination of fun and instructional. The emphasis should be on skills—stickwork, groundball drills—and small-field games. Lacrosse is lacrosse no matter what size field you play on. NO LONGSTICKS UNTIL KIDS ARE AT LEAST 13.

Middle School: This is where you begin to have serious lacrosse players. The conceptual side of the sport becomes more important. Skills have been mastered, now it’s time to think outside the helmet.

High School: Coaching at the secondary school varsity level should be approached with the same organizational intensity as college coaching (if not more). You are preparing with winning games in mind, and you’re adjusting your plans depending on performance. At the JV level, you are trying to mirror what is done at the varsity level, while also understanding skill limitations.

2. Why Plan? Why not just wing it (my players do half the time anyway)?

You have no other choice: In some ways, practice, is all you have as a coach. By the time games roll around, it’s too late. Games are won during the week. Order in the court, order on the field: Good teams are disciplined teams. Discipline comes from the coach and the coach’s preparation. A good practice plan establishes order and organization. Every team’s game-day performance is a referendum on their practice performance.

With knowledge comes confidence: Preparation breeds confidence. Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

Efficiency…breeds efficiency. Don’t waste time in your practices!

Believe it or not: Players want, even crave, organization. Provide it for them.

3. What are your goals? For the day? For the week? How about the season?

Building Blocks: A practice plan, like the team it represents, is a fluid, organic creature. Your last game, win or lose, will dictate your emphasis in your next practice. Be Goal Oriented: Identify macro and micro goals for your players (goals for a season, goals for a week, goals for a specific practice). 65% EMO/EMD, # Ground-balls per game, goals per game, etc… Be Progressional: Start small. Think from micro to macro, or if you think macro, start micro. Small sided, small field, small numbers.

Each practice should generally have a specific goal in mind: All drills will be tailored towards that end. All drills need not be specifically related to this, but any time you’re addressing your team directly in a “concept” based talk, have it be related to your core goal.

4. Scheduling? How does this help/hurt me?

What time does practice start? Is your start time close to the end of the school day? Is it late at night? Are players driving in? Busing in? Carpooling? Parents driving them? Recognize and consider your players “life” realities and plan for them (and how they’re going to effect what you try to do at practice). Assume…there’s almost always a fifteen-minute, post-school, post-day, post-arrival hangover. Recognize that your players are going to be sluggish at first and figure out how you want to deal with this so it doesn’t make you completely crazy. My advice: HIT ‘EM HARD EARLY!

5. Pacing…

A lacrosse coach’s version of poetry—there is a mix of science, feel and rhythm to it.

The Wave Concept: managing your action, intensity, instruction and play as a series of waves with highs and lows.

Things to be aware of… When do you instruct? When do you up the pace? When do you sense attention waning?

Balance…your high intensity, “fun” drills with your instructional segments. Make you instructional segments brief and manageable. Small units.

A good way to manage pacing is: THE WAVE CONCEPT Don’t assume your players have attention spans beyond five minutes (at best). Make sure that your drills and instruction—and how the two are dispersed throughout your practice—take into account the fact that kids get bored, BORED, BORED. Pacing is the key to any good practice. For you AND your players.

6. How are you going to organize your players? How do you balance the desire to help beginners with wanting to push your team to develop.

Strike a balance: You don’t want to hold back your skilled players, nor do you want to put your weaker players in positions where they are clearly behind in their skills. At the same time you want to make sure your weaker players are being pushed and your stronger players are understanding how “TEAM” means having to provide leadership and guidance to younger/weaker players.

Use Stations/Groups Where Possible: Anytime you can divide the players into smaller groups where they’re working with like-skilled players. Assume the players know where they stand: If you know whether a kid is strong or weak, chances are they do as well. Remind these players that the goal is always to get better. Improvement. Improvement.

7. How much variation do my plans/drills need?

• You need just enough variation to keep players on their toes • bad.

Some familiarity is good, you want consistency and to be able to move from drill to drill without too much explanation. Too much familiarity is • Always be on the look-out for new stick-work drills (we have thousands) • Some methods feel old and routine because they work—there’s just no way around it!

• Name ALL of your drills… so that your players know what drill is coming next and can get into it quickly. This will aid in overall efficiency and will allow your players to feel a greater sense of personal accountability and involvement.

Some Final Thoughts On Your Practice Goals and Planning (The really important things!)

Things you MUST have…

1) BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. BALLS. And more BALLS. Spend whatever money you have available to your program on balls. Don’t EVER buy rebounders. Kids can find brick walls. Use that money to buy BALLS. At the end of practice be an absolute tyrant about your BALL HUNTS. Every ball is not a ball it is an opportunity to get better. 2) Whistles. Don’t ever come to practice without one. Keep extras in your car for your idiot coaches who always forget.

3) Cones. Kids are attracted to orange cones. No one knows why, it’s a mystery of biology and science. Put cones down all over the place.

4) STOP WATCH. I run all of my practices off a stop watch. I time passing drills, stick drills. A clock counting down creates a sense of urgency that keeps players focused. 5) Did I mention BALLS?

Last but certainly not least…

The Practice Template…

Today’s Practice: Stickwork, Stickwork, and More Stickwork. Oh…and fun.

The Basic Components I have:

• • • • • • • • Dynamic Warm-up, Stick-work Fun Game Segments: Ground-Balls Games, Relay Race Concept Specific Drills (Offensively and Defensively) Small Field Transition Games 3v3s, 4v4s Numbers Recognition Drills Full Field Scrimmage/Game 6v6 Half Field Drills

The Plan:

The Drills:

1. Midfield R&R Drill (Rollback & Re-Dodge)

Set Up

Midfield R&R Drill: (Rollback & Re-dodge)

Execution

Midfield R&R Drill: (Rollback & Re-dodge)

2. Gladiator Ground Balls

Set Up

Gladiator Groundballs

Execution

The player who comes up with the ball and throws it back to the coach remains “Gladiator” and the other two return to the line and two new challengers step up. 4 consecutive wins = a Gladiator nickname (basically add “imus” or “aximus” to any regular name: Chrisimus…Mikesimus)

Gladiator Groundballs

3. 3-2-1 Groundballs

Set Up

3-2-1 Groundballs

Execution

3-2-1 Groundballs

4. Moves From X

Set Up

Attack Moves From X

Execution

This drill is set up for a right to left split (at the first cone), into a roll-dodge (at the second), into a right-handed attack-dodge. At the island, coaches can determine what sort of move they want attackers to use: hard topside, inside roll, ? Dodge, rocker, etcetera.

Attack Moves From X

5. “5 on a Die” Shooting

5 on a Die Shooting: Set Up

•

Set-up

This is a great drill for teaching middies how to shoot on the run. There are a number of variations that can be used in the same drill set up (with slight adjustments). We will use 2 of them here. A split shooting drill and a split/roll-back (Sproll) shooting drill. 1)Set up five cones in the shape of 5 on your basic set of dice. Two up top, two low, one in the middle. 2)A line of players starts at each top cone. 3)A set of balls is placed at each cone.

“5 on a Die” Set Up #1: Alley Shooting

5 on a Die Shooting: Set Up #1

5 on a Die Shooting: Execution

•

Execution

1) This drill is designed to get two players two shots simultaneously. A player from the front of each line picks up a ball and places his stick to his inside hand. He then dodges at the cone in the center and splits (switching to his outside hand). 2) At the next cone the player should shoot using the proper overhand technique. Hands and arms back, overhand, hips swiveling through the shot, finishing in the hip pocket. 3) After the player has shot he returns to the back of the next line. Players should switch lines. 4) The goal is to get as many reps as possible, so as soon as the first two shooters are splitting, the next shooters should be starting their dodge.

**If you have a goalie in the cage only one shooter can shoot at a time.

Again, this drill is about reps. Don’t have too much space, don’t lag. Go, go, go. Stay on them. Switch lines after every shot. Middies must be threats righty and lefty.

5 on a Die Shooting: Set Up #1

“5 on a Die” Set Up #2: Split Roll (Sprolls)

5 on a Die Shooting: Set Up

•

Set-up

1) Set up for this version of the drill is exactly the same except the base cones are set up a little wider.

2) The assumption here is that the defense has done a good job pushing the middie into the alley but has over committed to the front of the dodger, allowing a roll back to the center of the field for a time and room shot.

Note the wider set up on the base cones.

5 on a Die Shooting: Split Rolls (Sprolls)

5 on a Die Shooting: Set Up

•

Execution

1) Execution here is identical to the first version except when the players reach the shooting cones, they will stop, plant hard as if executing a roll-dodge. 2) On the roll dodge players should switch hands. ALWAYS lead with the stick out of the dodge (watch for trail checks). If players fail to do this, coaches can step into the drill and throw trail checks to reinforce good habits. 3) After executing the roll dodge, players should either use a jump stop to set their feet in order to execute a time and room shot, or shoot on the run.

**If players opt to shoot on the run, they shouldn’t run all the way through the center of the defense. The shot should be taken with in one or two steps of the roll in order to avoid additional slides.

The “Sproll” is a split-roll, combination dodge. The assumption here is that the middie has been flushed into the alley (by good defense) and must now try to roll back. This can be either a time and room shot, or a shot on the run, depending on the situation.

5 on a Die Shooting: Split Rolls (Sprolls)

6. 3v3 Build Up Drill

Explanation:

This is the most strategically demanding drill in our practice plan in terms of what it teaches. The 3-man game is the functional building block of the basic lacrosse offense. Skills such as “cutting through” to create space, setting on and off ball picks, and understanding balance and spacing are developed here. It is essential that we emphasize to players what is available to them in each iteration of the drill. In the 1v1 we are looking for players to “go” to the goal with one aggressive move. In the 2v2 the off ball player should either set and “on-ball” screen and work a two-man game, or go to the crease and “mirror” the ball carrier. In the 3-man scenario we want to spread out in our triangles and prepare to read and react the scenario. Defensively we must stay “tight” or “compact” and organize (and recognize) where and when to slide.

Set Up

3v3 Build Up Drill

Note: Although the offensive players are situated in the corners of the field, remind players continuously that they do not have to initiation their dodge or stay confined to these spots. If the ball carrier decides to move to an alternative location from which to dodge, the other players should read this and react accordingly.

Execution

3v3 Build Up Drill

7. Small Field 3v2 Drill

Explanation:

This is a small field (full-field) up tempo transition drill, sometimes known as the “West Genny” Drill. The purpose of this drill is to get players comfortable executing transition concepts in a small, compact field. This is a continuous drill that—once started—will provide opportunities for players to play in and out of position. Defensemen will be handling the ball on offense, and offensive players will have to learn defensive concepts.

The keys to this drill from a coaching standpoint are 1) making sure the point man on the break stay “high” forming the point of the offensive triangle, 2) making sure you clearly identify which two lines will be recovering each round on defense (use the outer two lines), and 3) making sure the defense recovers, sets up in an “I” formation and COMMUNICATES!

Set Up

Small Field 3v2s (West Genny Drill)

Execution

Small Field 3v2s (West Genny Drill)

8. 4 Corner 4v4 Drill (aka The 444 Drill)

Explanation:

This is a small field (full-field) up tempo 4v4 game that is designed to get players moving and competing. Teams are split into two colors and dispersed around the four corners of the field. The coach starts by rolling a ball in from the sideline, then we are live. The two teams play to a goal or until the coach decides to reset with a new ball. The key is to get players understanding how to play positional lacrosse. Each team must have someone protecting “the heart” and each team will want to send a player up field in transition immediately. The speed of transitions from goal to offense should be emphasize.

Set Up

The 444 Drill

Execution

The 444 Drill

MS Practices Final Thoughts

•

Time to get serious…

The middle school level is where fun and strategic development coincide. It is imperative to continue developing skills and an appreciation/love of the game, while simultaneously increasing the functional knowledge of the middle school lacrosse player. At this age players begin to play “official” positions. A lot of the drills here are designed to put players in different situations, but the goal for this is to develop stick skills and “all around” knowledge from lacrosse players. Everyone plays D, everyone plays O—regardless of position. Higher level concepts such as the “two-man” game and general offensive positioning and slides should also be further explored at this age level.

Additional Information…

The Locker Room: This is a portion of our Trilogy website that is loaded with additional coaching resources, including a full slate of webinars, man up plays, nutritional information, and other lacrosse based concepts.

www.trilogylacrosse.com/locker-room

Summer Camps: Trilogy Lacrosse runs the best Overnight Summer Camps by utilizing Curriculum like this to build out a week full of learning and fun for players in grades 1-11.

www.trilogylacrosse.com/camps2013

Pittsburgh PA Overnight: June 17-21 Pittsburgh Youth Day Camp: June 18-21