sure fire youth practice

coaching is 90 % preparation, or so i have been told. i am nuts about having smooth running practices. it is important to get players lots of touches, to disguise conditioning as lacrosse drills, and to build skills.

my typical middle school practice runs 1 1/2 hours. here are some key pointers which may help you run a productive session:

its important map out a seasonal practice grid at the beginning of the year. i try to introduce new concepts weekly. its easier when you bring in the following concepts in stages:

week 1 & 2 - conditioning, fundamentals, offense, defense
week 3 & 4 - rides, clears, EMO, MDD
week 5 & 6 - 2 man down, wing play, set plays

once i introduce a concept , i will continue to schedule drills for it and do it for the remainder of the season. i skip certain things on certain days, except conditioning and fundamentals which should be done every practice. i always abort any drills which are they cannot grasp or are having difficulty running.

here is a typical practice i will run on a given day:

5 min- team talk / practice preview / game recap

10 min- stretches / conditioning

15 min- fundamentals - passing and catching/ shooting / ground balls

20 min - individual skills- middies go to east goal / attack and long sticks go to west goal

work on 1v1's / 2v1's / 2v2's / 3v2's / and 3v3's / work on dodging / 2 man game/ finding space/ D footwork and slides/picks and screens

5 min - water break/ split team/ black vs gold

10 min - EMO vs MDD every practice! don't forget 2 man down

20 min- TEAM transition 4 v 3 / 5 v4 / 6 v 5 / full field drills / scrimmage

5 min - Cool down practice re-cap / daily awards for effort

90 minutes total.

obviously i can't work every scenario listed in one day, so i will rotate the drills daily to include as much as i can from the plan in a week. i.e. i will do 4 v 3 and full field drills on monday, 5 v4 and a scrimmage on tuesday, 6 v5 and another full field drill on wednesday, etc.

here are some pointers to keep a practice running smoothly:

1. time all drills, stick to the program. make comments short and save the details and lectures for the cool down.

2. tons of balls- bring 120 to practice. don't spend time chasing balls or doing ball hunts during practice. make the slackers or the disrupter's do the hunt after practice.

NEVER make a shooter chase a ball - i want to die when i see coaches do this - it teaches them to shoot in the middle of the cage so they don't have to chase balls. use extra goalies, assistant coaches, players, and parents for shot chasers. train shooters to "pick corners", not "don't miss the cage"

3. find what i call "coachable moments" when a player get frustrated or is struggling with a skill, pull them aside, compliment the effort and assist them 1 on 1. have assistants or captains work to improve new or inexperienced player

more specific stuff later....

coaching middle school level players

the first group that i ever personally coached was a grade 7 travel squad of 27 kids. at that time it seemed to me that every level above middle school was the more difficult to coach, and that pro or college coaches had the hardest jobs by far.

at the varsity and college level coaches must teach many offensive sets, numerous plays, multiple slide packages, several rides and clears., etc. there is no denying that it does take the most knowledgeable people in the game. all that being said, the middle school level coach is not the "cake walk" some may expect. challenges exist at this level which can rival any age group. i have coached every level , and found that grades 6, 7, & 8 can present some unique problems as a coach.

the middle school player does not have strong stick skills. they have a short attention span. they want to horseplay continuously. they forget helmets, gloves, sticks, cups, and pads it seems like every practice. i had an 8th grade goalie show up for a game with no stick or helmet once!
they can get out of control quickly and disrupt practices and games- if you let them.

in my day if we strayed from the program, coach just ran us until we collapsed. that doesn't work with todays crafty bunch, it may be effective occasionally, but cannot be the only weapon in the arsenal.

i have several tips to aid the MS coach that may come in handy when dealing with this crowd

1. be more familiar than friendly. being "buddies" with kids at this level tends to have an adverse effect on discipline. give them and inch they will take a mile. you don't have to be a drill Sargent, but it is important to be firm and in control of games and practices. use a whistle and blow it loud. i have seen plenty of coaches spending way too much time yelling "stop, stop,stop" or "quiet please!" a strong loud whistle means both.

2. remember the "R.E.F" system

respect, effort, focus- we explain this in detail before and during the season

i stress teaching players all ages these 3 important values

respect teammates, coaches, and parents of your team and the opposition's. unconditional respect of referees is a must at all times - regardless of questionable calls.
as a coach your must lead by example, abide by your own rules

effort- less than 100% is not tolerated. i reward effort, never talent. make a point that we we need to see effort in drills, scrimmages, and games. make sure players are rewarded for hustle

focus- players that come to practice or a game, must focus on lacrosse.
i do not allow cell phones to be on, sword fights, talking during coaches demonstrations, or any other distractive conduct. if you have a habitual violator, sit him at the face off X and have the entire team run full field suicides while he watches. i guarantee this will fix the problem, the whole team becomes your watch dogs

3. introduce concepts a day before you actually explain and demonstrate

i use this one religiously . lets say you want to work on rides and clearing. at the end of the practice have a meeting to let everyone know, " at the next practice we will be working on rides and clears". ask the players to research the topic and be ready to ask questions or share what they have learned. you will be pleasantly surprised on the info you will get at the next practice. kids at this age tend to do well at getting information quickly with the internet and so many web sites out there

they will be much better prepared when you start showing the skills and demonstrating the next day, and quicker to grasp and learn a new skill.

more later...

developing youth goalies

coaches and parents always ask me "how do you get kids to play goalie"

my experience has taught me there are some dos and donts when it comes to "manufacturing" goalies. i was taught first hand when my oldest son who is 17 now was hit by a shot in the neck in practice when he was in grade 5, never to return to the cage again.

here are some of the things i do to find first time goalies, train them, and keep them safe at the same time.

first I always use the "flinch drill" with the youngest players and first time players

line them up with their helmets on and slow toss a ball at their face masks. it seems the ones who don't flinch or laugh at the ball hitting them qualify for a shot at keeper. kids who duck or cower in fear seem to be less apt to step in.

here are key points i use when training new kids to play goal for the first time, it goes with out saying they must have a cup, chest protector and throat guard - no exceptions. i dont like arm pads on youth goalies because it slows their movement, but it's ok if the parent insists.

1. teach them the proper stance and to how to hold the stick properly. make sure it is high and away from the body. show them what an athletic or "ready" stance is, and remind them continuously to keep the stick up. teach to have the thumb at eye level or "eye, thumb, ball."

2 . start out with tennis balls. i get bags of "dead" balls from my local tennis clubs, they are glad to give them away for the most part. i have the goalies tell me when they are ready for a real ball.
this lets you take plenty of shots with out any "stingers". it builds confidence and technique

3. teach them the "arc" and to "step" in to every shot. start by hand tossing shots. use a lot of balls, don't have them waisting time retrieving balls from the cage. i ignore when they miss saves and remind them "forget that one" "get ready" "stance" and i call "shot" on every toss
take the balls out when the cage is full for a short break.

4. i believe youth players need shin guards, make sure they are in the coaches bags. they simply don't have the mechanics to stop low and hard shots. the thin soccer type are fine.also, wearing sweats takes the sting out of shots and can hide shin guards for the older kids who complain about being embarrassed to wear them.

5. set up cones players must stay behind when doing shooting drills. start out far enough where the goalies can make easy saves and only agree to move them in when the goalie says he is ready for closer looks. quick stick drills and close in shots should be done with no goalie. i like to put them behind the cage making "saves" by trying to react where the ball is going.

more goalie stuff later...

youth leagues tips

I run a youth program in spring and fall in my community. Lacrosse is growing at an alarming speed in our community with 90 - 100 boys showing up to play each season. Grades 2 through 8 play in fall, in spring we run 2nd - 6th.
We have been lucky enough to have the High School JV and Varsity players come out (along with many adult volunteers) and help teach the youth players. Finding qualified coaches at the youth level is certainly a challenge. I want the instruction to get better but have to resign to the fact it will take time for that to evolve.
To get parents involved, I have found teaching each "newbie" parent 1 skill set at a time is the easiest way to work them in. Teach a partent one on one to work on ground balls, another passing and catching skills, and maybe a third dodging or finding space. When faced with just 1 task to learn, they normally catch on quickly and are not overwhelmed with a sport they do not know well.As they master teaching a skill, rotate them to learn the next. In time they can run a group of boys unassisted.