Bloomington Youth Lacrosse Association

Welcome to Boys Lacrosse

Rob Graff BYLA Boys Coaching Director

March 2014

What we are about

•BYLA is an community-active, youth-focused sports organization that teaches lacrosse to boys and girls from kindergarten to 8th grade.

Let’s move on….Agenda

•General thoughts about lacrosse and connections with other sports•What we teach at each age group•Some tips for parents•Questions & Hopefully answers

General Concepts• Lacrosse is a sport whose focus

is to make a 3 inch diameter sphere enter your opponents 6 foot by 6 foot goal more times than your opponent throws the sphere in your goal. • You have 10 players allowed on

the field, certain sticks are longer or wider than others and a limited time period during which to score goals. • Can skills/experiences in other

sports translate to Lacrosse?• Parts of all sports translate.

A “Pull Move” in lacrosse? Yes!

Lacrosse isn’t Hockey/Basketball or Soccer – but it mixes all of them•Hockey without the ice? No. But many similarities

(small puck/use stick, face-offs/helmet/position specialization) force low angle shots, protect the middle area.• Important Differences – Lacrosse has more players

on the field, bigger field, bigger goals, no boards, use of either hand.•Most “hockey thoughts” regarding volume of shots

are irrelevant. Hockey thoughts re: all even offense (dump/chase) are irrelevant.

Well, then is it Soccer?• No, it's not. It has some Soccer elements - big field, spacing

issues, conditioning important, goalie can control transition, but there are IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES!!!• Examples - more control over ball in lacrosse, more physical,

more liberal substitution patterns, one on one defense is different because contact allowed, no space behind goal to use to make goalie turn. STICK CHECKS.• Soccer thoughts regarding defense not useful, because one

cannot transfer foot control of ball to "holding" ball in stick, more control over ball when shooting. Lax need to score goals to win - not many 2-1 games. Almost impossible to get lead and then stall, as in soccer

Then it’s Basketball

•Almost…Like Basketball, in lacrosse you can have lots of control over ball, both have lots of scoring, and there is no value to mere “volume” of shots.•Differences: physical, sticks v. hands, face-offs allow

for back to back to back possessions, goalie v. no goalie, and shot velocity is important in lacrosse not in basketball.•Many transferable skills – individual defense, shot

selection, multiple defense systems, transition offense.

Field of Play

What does this mean?

•Understand that Lacrosse is different than other sports.•Know that some skills

taught in lacrosse will help in other sports.•Know that some skills

taught in other sports will not transfer to lacrosse, although many will transfer.

Good feet important in all sports

What are we teaching?

•Different skills to different levels.•Skills build upon what was learned previously•Much of what we teach focuses on two things – fundamentals and decision-making.

Head Up, Control Goalie, Finish!

Positions•Attack•Midfield•Defense•Goalie

•Face off•Long stick Midfield

Positions - Attack

•The attack man's responsibility is to score goals and control the offense.• The attack man generally restricts his play to the

offensive end of the field.• A good attack man demonstrates excellent stick

work with both hands and a strong understanding of what is happening in the team offense.• Each team should have three attack men on the

field during play.

Positions - Attack

Positions – Midfield

•The midfielder's responsibility is to cover the entire field, playing both offense and defense. (Key emphasis now)•The midfielder is a key to the transition game, and is

often called upon to clear the ball from defense to offense. •A good midfielder demonstrates good stick work

including throwing, catching and scooping. Speed and stamina are essential. •Each team should have three midfielders on the field.

Positions - Midfield

Positions - Defense

•The defenseman's responsibility is to defend the goal. The defenseman generally restricts his play to the defensive end of the field.• A good defenseman should be able to react quickly in game situations. Agility and aggressiveness are necessary.• Each team should have three defensemen on the field.

Position - Goal

•The goalie's responsibility is to protect the goal and stop the opposing team from scoring. •A good goalie also leads the defense by reading the

situation and directing the defensemen to react. •A good goalie should have excellent hand/eye

coordination and a strong voice. Quickness, agility, confidence and the ability to concentrate are also essential. •Each team has one goalie in the goal during play.

Positions – Defense/Goalie

Positions - All

U9Introduce the Game•Love the game and have fun!•How to hold the stick•Scooping, catching and throwing mechanics on the run•Spacing & How to help our friends•Defensive foot movement (stay between ball and goal, “spidering in”•Trashcan Lacrosse

Helmet fitting is Important

U11 Fundamental skills & love for game •Learn and develop proper scooping/

throwing/catching mechanics. •Learn and develop proper ideas of passing to

moving target, catching on move, and keeping head up while moving. •Learn and develop proper ideas regarding

moving feet on defense, and forcing to outside. Learn and develop proper poke check/lift check.

U11

• Install ideas regarding keeping the ball moving.

•Teach mechanics of shooting, and begin to teach ideas about where to shoot

•Work on finding space, creating space and exploiting advantage situations.

•Do so in a fun-focused way with positive reinforcement and teaching.

U13Develop basic team/game concepts •Refine and continue to

develop above fundamentals, but at faster speed with more challenging drills - Do it Faster!

Nice Jump Shot Form!

U13•Learn how to recognize and react to more complex unsettled situations •Work on 2 man game concepts off ball as well as on-ball•Learn basic team defense concepts – when do I slide, how do I slide •Refine offensive dodging - defensive 1-1 concepts•Work with F/O men

U15Integrate and Accelerate

Lax at the Big House • The focus during these years is to refine ones stick skills, while making the right DECISION! And doing it FAST.

•Situation specific drills to drive acceleration in thinking and stick work

U15• Conditioning focus

• Continue to refine stick skills - force repetition, force speed

•More teaching in game-related situations - double teams, moving ball 2x to shot, early slide defenses, counters to those defenses. Expectations rise for stick skills.

• Refining offensive and defensive skills - setting up dodge, dodging off pass, movement off ball to facilitate same, 2 man game. Defensively - when to check, more work on holds, really emphasize defensive talk as an expectation.

• Learn to play with pace- advantage of slow v. fast pace.

• Clearing/Riding become big focus here.

Practical Tips for ParentsHe needs the $125 head, your U13

probably doesn’t…I. . If you come away with nothing

else from this paper/talk, please note this point. At this level, the type of head that the player uses is pretty irrelevant – most are not skilled enough to take advantage of the expensive “pinched” heads. But the pocket is another matter. There is nothing more important to the youth player/coach than having each player with a pocket that is NEITHER a “tennis racquet” NOR a “bag”.

Practical Tips

II. Kids need to practice throwing and catching away from practice. Tennis balls can be used to lessen potential damage…

III. Provide viewing opportunities for your players to watch better lacrosse than they play. ESPNU and YouTube.

10,000 Hours…

Practical Tips IV. Enjoy Watching and learning a new sport. Most studies of lacrosse

indicate that one significant reason players love it is because their parents have not played it, and thus cannot correct them.

Practical TipsV. Lacrosse Camps. There are

numerous opportunities. Like all other sports, different camps for different players.

Legendary Joe Cuozzo

Bloomington Youth Lacrosse Association

Great Organization.

Great Coaches.

Great Experience for our children. 2012 7/8A State Champions