Wall ball for long poles
A lacrosse long stick defenseman should play wall ball to hone their stick skills, develop muscle memory, and improve their overall proficiency with the long pole. Wall ball practice allows defenders to refine their passing accuracy, catching ability, and defensive maneuvers in a controlled environment, leading to increased confidence and effectiveness on the field. By regularly practicing wall ball, long stick defensemen can enhance their defensive capabilities, contribute more effectively to their team's transition game, and ultimately become more versatile and impactful players in all aspects of the game..
Ground ball, Pass, Shot warm up drill
This is a very simple warm up drill that works the fundamentals of ground balls, passing and shooting. Highly recommend this.
Out and up clearing drill
This is a great drill to work on stick skills and/or as a warm up before your team gets going. Much better for defensive players stick work than conventional line drills.
Pass, Pick, Slip shooting drill
I discovered this video of a drill on the Championship Productions YouTube channel that will greatly benefit those concentrating on the 2-man game. This video is especially effective for refining skills in setting picks, executing on-the-run shots, and delivering precise passes to the player who set the pick, often referred to as the "slip pick."
123 Box Slide Drill
As coaches we often work hard on a defined slide package, or multiple slide packages in our lacrosse drills. Maybe you are a crease slide guy, or a coma slide guy, or even an adjacent slide guy. In addition to working on the slide, this lacrosse drill really emphasizes the slide and the recovery.
Inside out 5v4 drill
Fun and competitive drill that works on ground balls, getting open, passing, shooting.
4 man 2 ball
A great stick work drill to start every practice or warm up before games where players get into small groups of 4 and get a lot of touches. I really like this drill as it is an alternative to the old school line drills as the kids get many more touches.
Up and Over Clearing Drill
A great drill to work on the long passes there are so crucial to clearing. It is a common practice for a good riding team to force the long pass because this is the most commonly dropped pass in the game, especially at the younger levels. Having your least skilled players (long sticks) making the most difficult pass is typically a recipe for disaster.
Beat the Clock
This is a great way to build stick skills while reinforcing the principles of your offensive scheme.
Full Field Zig Zag Passing drill
What a great stick skill drill to have players catch and pick up ground balls at different angles and at different distances. This is also a great drill for when you are vastly outnumbered as a coach as you can have many balls going at once.
Box Triangle Stick Skill Drill
This drill is also commonly used in hockey and soccer. For lacrosse this not only works on the stick skills of the offensive player but also teaches the defense how to slide and recover as well as handle Man Down or unsettled situations.
5 minute 2v1 drill
This fast drill encourages a tremendous amount of hustle from the players, the drill offers up a fast 2V1 to 2V2, it is really a shooting drill, encourages players to quickly recognize and ‘make plays’ as well as defenders learning to handle the ball in close quarters close to the cage, as well as attack players playing defense. High pace, high energy will add passion to your practice and get the kids moving and engaged.
Man up Man down skill builder
This is a great drill to test who should be on man and man down as it forces fast ball movement under pressure. It also forces the defense to work as a unit and rotate to the ball.
Backside Box Backside Exchange Stickwork Drill
This drill works on a very specific and underappreciated skill, the exchange pass to the backside. The quickness and accuracy of an exchange pass to the backside often determines whether the defense has enough time to recover the backside. This skill is important for all offenses, but particularly offenses that rely heavily on the dodge-pass-pass-dodge/shoot concept like this 2-3-1 motion offense fade play.
Backside Pop Backside Exchange Stickwork Dril
This drill works on a very specific and under appreciated skill, the exchange pass to the backside. The quickness and accuracy of an exchange pass to the backside often determines whether the defense has enough time to recover the backside. This skill is important for all offenses, but particularly offenses that rely heavily on the dodge-pass-pass-dodge/shoot concept like this 2-3-1 motion offense pop play.
Sideways 3v2 Rapid Zone and EMO Drill
This drill is perfect for getting rapid fire reps that will improve your players’ ability and understanding of how to beat a zone. Many zone and man up plays utilize the idea of overloading one side to create a 3v2 or 4v3 against one side of the zone. In this drill we start our offensive players in that overload and instead of walking slowly through how to play against a zone, we give them the opportunity to play it out many times in a short segment
Break out and clear long passing drill
The idea is to use more of the field to make the passes longer while throwing to players breaking up the field much like in real games.