Before I get into my observations I want to give a hearty congratulations to all of our players, parents, and coaches! We had a wonderful start Tuesday evening to the first of many practices for the spring season. The players shook off some rust from the offseason, and the coaches taught their players well. I am very pleased with how the first day of practice went for our U11 and U13 age divisions. As I told the coaches, I will be ...
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Every coach hears the question, “Can we scrimmage today?” Here is your answer: “No, we have a practice plan to follow.” Helpful hint: actually have a practice plan on paper or on your phone that you can refer to during practice.
If I’ve learned one thing coaching lacrosse it is that kids do not like being told no. They also forget that you said no very quickly if you get them moving into some sort of drill. Then they’re more focused ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
This is a repost of an earlier article I wrote entitled, “How To Have A Good Tryout.”
Rule #1 – Hustle Everywhere
Posted by: Gordon
“Planned obsolescence is a business strategy in which the obsolescence (the process of becoming obsolete—that is, unfashionable or no longer usable) of a product is planned and built into it from its conception. This is done so that in future the consumer feels a need to purchase new products and services that the manufacturer brings out as replacements for the old ones” (http://www.economist.com/node/13354332).”
Have you planned obsolescence into your lacrosse game? Are you practicing ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
Easily one of the most fundamental skills of lacrosse is how to properly pick up a ground ball. In youth games especially, the ball is on the ground quite often, so knowing how to pick up a ground ball (or GB) is paramount in youth lacrosse. However, there is more to picking up a ground ball than just bending over and scooping through. Players should also shout out “ball” to let their teammates know to get out of the way. ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
I’m torn on this particular topic. Oddly, some of my fondest memories are the endless sprints that I ran with my teammates while our coach yelled at us. It created a great “us” versus “him” mentality, bringing the team together. That being said, I am personally against punishment running at the youth level.
For me the youth level ends at the Junior Varisty or U15 travel teams. I think the players at these levels can respond to punishment running for two ...
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Many youth players act like Ben Stiller’s character Derek Zoolander when they first start out because they absolutely cannot go left. They are afraid that they will drop the ball, miss a catch, or take a bad shot with their off-hand. This fear eventually turns into a phobia, and they do not even bother rolling left when it is the best option available to them. Once a player starts habitually going to their strong-hand over and over again, they become ...
Continue Reading →Posted by: Gordon
Ah, the delightfully fun game of Marco-Polo. For those unfamiliar with this favorite game go to your local pool before it closes for the summer. If enough kids are around a game of Marco-Polo will eventually get started in the shallow end.
How Marco-Polo went from renowned explorer of Asia to namesake of a children’s pool game, I will never know. Regardless of how the game got its name, I want to focus on what Marco-Polo removes: sight.
Lacrosse is a game ...
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