Once you have completed the player recruitment form and paid your dues it's time to start thinking about getting ready for practice and games.  While during practice we will cover the basics while also teaching our team strategies it is imperative that you practice off the field as well.  This does not mean you will have to spend hours each day dedicated to Lacrosse however every little bit will help a new player and experienced player improve their game.  When you’re not practicing your stick skills you may decide to browse the web for tips, videos, stick stringing guides, etc.  There are hundreds of ways to improve your game but taking the time to improve it is something you have to do to be successful.  Below I will list a few ways you can improve your game for our next season.

Wall Ball – Staple of Lacrosse off the field practice.

There are hundreds of internet articles about wall ball and tons of variations on how to do it successfully.  While growing up in Connecticut I played wall ball, house ball, tree ball, basically I threw the ball at anything and everything.  Finding a perfect wall is never easy but the basic principal is to find a hard flat wall that you can throw the ball at and catch the ball once it bounces off the wall.  It is a good idea to find a sturdy wall with no windows since a lacrosse ball will break a window.  Try throwing the ball ten times with your right hand the ten times with your left.  Continue doing this until you can throw and catch without dropping the ball ten times.  Then increase the amount of times to 20, 30, etc…  Do this as long as you can and as often as you can and your muscles will quickly get used to the throwing motions.  Once you feel you have mastered this you can work on accuracy by throwing at a specific spot on the wall. 

If you cannot find a wall within walking distance to your house look for a large tree, brick chimney, or chain link fence. 

Scooping / Cradling

These are two key elements to master for a lacrosse player and often the most overlooked by new players.  Scooping is simply what we call picking up the ball but as you may soon find out scooping can go wrong if you do it incorrectly.  The basic idea behind scooping is to have both hands on your stick while lowering the head of the stick behind the ball 3-6 inches and lowering BOTH hands as close to the ground while slowly pushing forward under the ball then bringing your body and stick up to a normal level.  To practice this put a ball down on grass or a carpet and practice this over and over.  If the ball scoots forward you’re not getting under the ball fast enough of your back hand may be too high causing the head of the stick to push the ball.  Often on grass if you try scooping with your back hand not low enough to the ground the head of your stick will dig into the dirt and you will go nowhere.

Cradling

Cradling is easier to show then tell but the basic idea is to move the head of the stick in a cradling motion which causes the ball to stick to the bottom of the pocket.  This is especially important while running when the ball will easily bounce out if you are not cradling. 

MORE TO COME SOON.

Questions? 
Emails Coach Meyers unllax - at - gmail.com