How to Become a Better Lacrosse Player Away from the Field

How to Become a Better Lacrosse Player Away from the Field

1.  Play wall ball.  Go to the nearest school and pass and catch against the wall. 

2.  If there is an outdoor field or goal nearby – use it!

3.  Play catch at the park or in the backyard with a teammate, friend, parent, or sibling.  If they do not have a stick, have them use a baseball glove and tennis ball.

4.  Place an obstacle in your backyard (pylon, lawn chair, garbage can, etc) and work on your one-on-one moves.  For example, head fakes, shoulder fakes, stick fakes, change of pace, roll dodges, face dodges, bull dodges and split dodges.

5.  Practice cradling in your bedroom, in front of the TV, walking around the house, walking down the street...anywhere!  Practice with you non-dominant hand a equal amount.  Work on stick tricks to improve your feel for the ball and stick skills.

6.  Run around the block while cradling the ball.  If you have a treadmill, jump on the treadmill and practice cradling while running a mile or two on the treadmill and getting a workout in at the same time.  Just start slow so you don’t get shot off the back of the treadmill and injured.

7.  Work on loose balls in your backyard.  Being good at ground balls can make the difference between a first teamer and someone riding the pine.  Practice your groundballs!

8.  Put a piece of tape on a chainlink fence and, using a tennis ball, shoot at it.

9.  Improve your footwork - Improving footwork is an underrated way to improve as a player. So much of what lacrosse players do on the field relies on having quick feet and proper footwork.  A great way to improve footwork is to lay down a training or agility ladder and go through a few routines repetitively. Another excellent way to improve footwork and lower body coordination is with a jump rope. Jump ropes are inexpensive and they don’t take up a whole lot of space. Dedicating 20 minutes per day to a jump rope routine can very quickly improve a player’s footwork and foot speed.

10.  Get in Shape - Having the stamina to play an entire game and make it through all those grueling practices the coach likes to run is crucial. Stamina is mostly built through distance running and cardio work. Doing something as simple as running around five or six miles per week for the two months prior to the season should be pretty adequate in getting a player the stamina he needs. Start off by doing a mile at a time, maybe three to four times per week. Once this distance becomes easy, try stepping up to two miles at a time. About two to three months of distance training should be adequate enough for gaining the stamina a player needs.

Weightlifting can help a player improve his overall strength, but heavy lifting is not      recommended for younger players who have yet to fully physically mature.  The goal of weight training is not to get hugely buff, but rather to improve core strength and tone the muscles most vital to a lacrosse player