Monday, October 8, 2007

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.