passing drill blues
Line drill or not to line drill...that is the question.
Getting some coaches to give them up is like trying to get someone to stop eating big mac's.
They think they are good, but in reality they have 540 calories and 39 grams of fat.
Line drills clog up your teams arteries and do not prepare them for game like situations.
With all the great information out there, you tube, DVD'd, coaching clinics, etc., surely we can find some alternatives to two lines of 12 kids facing each other and trudging through a drill ina situation they may never see on the field.
Think about it, how many times are you jogging half speed towards a guy 20 yards away and catching a ball?
Youth kids lose interest in what, 14 seconds? Why have 8 kids waiting to catch a pass, that may be over thrown, creating another 45 second wait. Unless you like breaking up sword fights, it may be time to shelf the classic drill for good.
A lacrosse game is chaotic, players are cutting, feeding, trying to catch a ball in traffic, running full speed, and V cutting to get open for passes. When we catch a pass, someone is usually hammering them with poke checks. Defenses rarely "get in the hub" and let guys swing around with out any pressure as in the good old days.
Here are a few tips to break the line drill addiction:
1/ Simulate game situations. Star passing drills, 4 corner break outs, even triangles are more game like. Find drills that focus on a ton of touches in game situations.
2/ Plan your touches. They need reps at the youth level and a ton of them. I talked to a coach one time that had success converting baseball and football players to lacrosse as late at the varsity level. He basically figured out how many touches his experienced players had in their life time and came up with an approximate number. If a kid has been playing lax since 5th grade, it is safe to say he's had 15,000 touches. His plan - get the new guys to "catch up".
30 sessions of wall ball with 500 touches = 15,000. If you start a player indoor in Novemeber with only 2 sessions a week he will have 15,000 by March 1st. If he gets 3 sessions in a week with 500 touches a day that's 24,000 touches. 500 touches can be done in a relatively short time.
3/Drill catching and throwing full speed. Teach them to catch while breaking away, over the shoulder, cutting of a cone to get a look, cutting to the cage ,etc.
Slow static drills = slow static game play.
4/Make the drills fun. Add multiple balls, split up groups and have competitions. Time how many completed passes can happen in 30 seconds, 60 seconds, etc. Losers do push ups. Introduce a "money ball". Throw a ball of a strange color and yell "MONEY BALL". If they drop it or throw it away the player has to run a lap or do crunches, etc. It put some pressure on the players, and is a fun addition to a daily drill.
5/ BALLS, BALLS, and MORE BALLS. Show up with 60 -120 daily. Don't make players chase balls. Have coaches, assistants, parents, or injured players constantly feeding balls that are dropped or overthrown. Make sure there are piles of balls by each line. Keep it up tempo. Keep them moving.
6/ Make sure youth players see a lot on long passes in drills. Use cones to enforce distance and deter cheaters. Players who master 30 yard passes, can easily hit a 20 or 10 yard pass in a game. Players who practice only 10 yard passes will struggle with a 20 yard look in a game.
see you next time...
Getting some coaches to give them up is like trying to get someone to stop eating big mac's.
They think they are good, but in reality they have 540 calories and 39 grams of fat.
Line drills clog up your teams arteries and do not prepare them for game like situations.
With all the great information out there, you tube, DVD'd, coaching clinics, etc., surely we can find some alternatives to two lines of 12 kids facing each other and trudging through a drill ina situation they may never see on the field.
Think about it, how many times are you jogging half speed towards a guy 20 yards away and catching a ball?
Youth kids lose interest in what, 14 seconds? Why have 8 kids waiting to catch a pass, that may be over thrown, creating another 45 second wait. Unless you like breaking up sword fights, it may be time to shelf the classic drill for good.
A lacrosse game is chaotic, players are cutting, feeding, trying to catch a ball in traffic, running full speed, and V cutting to get open for passes. When we catch a pass, someone is usually hammering them with poke checks. Defenses rarely "get in the hub" and let guys swing around with out any pressure as in the good old days.
Here are a few tips to break the line drill addiction:
1/ Simulate game situations. Star passing drills, 4 corner break outs, even triangles are more game like. Find drills that focus on a ton of touches in game situations.
2/ Plan your touches. They need reps at the youth level and a ton of them. I talked to a coach one time that had success converting baseball and football players to lacrosse as late at the varsity level. He basically figured out how many touches his experienced players had in their life time and came up with an approximate number. If a kid has been playing lax since 5th grade, it is safe to say he's had 15,000 touches. His plan - get the new guys to "catch up".
30 sessions of wall ball with 500 touches = 15,000. If you start a player indoor in Novemeber with only 2 sessions a week he will have 15,000 by March 1st. If he gets 3 sessions in a week with 500 touches a day that's 24,000 touches. 500 touches can be done in a relatively short time.
3/Drill catching and throwing full speed. Teach them to catch while breaking away, over the shoulder, cutting of a cone to get a look, cutting to the cage ,etc.
Slow static drills = slow static game play.
4/Make the drills fun. Add multiple balls, split up groups and have competitions. Time how many completed passes can happen in 30 seconds, 60 seconds, etc. Losers do push ups. Introduce a "money ball". Throw a ball of a strange color and yell "MONEY BALL". If they drop it or throw it away the player has to run a lap or do crunches, etc. It put some pressure on the players, and is a fun addition to a daily drill.
5/ BALLS, BALLS, and MORE BALLS. Show up with 60 -120 daily. Don't make players chase balls. Have coaches, assistants, parents, or injured players constantly feeding balls that are dropped or overthrown. Make sure there are piles of balls by each line. Keep it up tempo. Keep them moving.
6/ Make sure youth players see a lot on long passes in drills. Use cones to enforce distance and deter cheaters. Players who master 30 yard passes, can easily hit a 20 or 10 yard pass in a game. Players who practice only 10 yard passes will struggle with a 20 yard look in a game.
see you next time...
posted by 313 LACROSSE at
10:42 AM
