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With the preseason just around the corner for many college programs, it’s important for athletes to be in the best shape they can be when the season arrives. Therefore, this week’s conditioning feature places an emphasis on the body’s core muscles and follows five easy workouts specifically geared toward lacrosse players. If followed correctly and incorporated into a regular training routine, players can reap some major benefits from these effective exercises.
The workouts focus on five key areas: regular abdominals, transverse abdominals (the abdominals that twist you), obliques (side bend), the lower back and glutes, plus hip flexors. Players that hit all five of these areas on a consistent basis will find greater core strength, posture and flexibility, all of which will hopefully lead towards better health, improvement and success on the field.
The drills — which can be done with or without lacrosse sticks — can easily be implemented into any of your upcoming practices, can be used at any level and will also be beneficial at any time of the year. Athletes can add a med ball to make the workouts more advanced, too.
1.) Sit-ups
Perform 20 standard sit-ups. Keeps arms straight in the air. Do not rest your shoulders. Keep feet flat on the floor. Make movements slow and controlled. Always look toward the ceiling.
2.) Alternating Pike
In this exercise, bring your chest up from the floor and at the same time, bring one leg straight up and have your hands meet your feet. Do 10 reps on each side. Keeps arms straight and legs straight. Upper and lower body should meet at the top. Be sure to keep your abs tight and make slow and controlled movements.
3.) Russian Twist
Start out sitting down with your feet off the floor and legs bent. Next, twist to the right and touch the floor and then twist over and touch the floor to the left. Do 20 reps on each side. Start slow and methodical before picking up the pace. Abs and low back should be tight. Add a med ball or stick and use it to touch the floor. Follow your stick/ball with your eyes. Chest should be up and core tight. Eyes should follow hands during rotation.
4.) Leg Raise
This is a great exercise for the hip flexors. Do 20 raises. Sit with your full body and black on the floor. Toes should be pointed and hands and arms should be on the ground as well. Next, lift your legs up 60 degrees and hold them there. Then move your legs up and down with toes pointed but never touching the ground. Push your hands hard into the ground. Legs should be straight and breathe out on exertion. Keep your lower back on the floor and keep movements slow and controlled.
5.) Superman Drill
Lay on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you. Also, lift your legs off the ground but keep them straight. At the same time, left your arms off the ground but straight, similar to a “Superman” pose. Go up and down like this for 20 reps. Always keep your arms and legs straight as your upper and lower body raises off the ground at the same time. Add med balls or lacrosse sticks to your hands for an advanced movement.
This core workout can be found on the Championship Productions DVD “Complete Conditioning for Lacrosse” featuring Rob Rose. To see similar workout and conditioning videos, click here.
It’s essential that coaches and players understand the importance of captains and leaders on a team and the vital roles they play. They have the unique ability to shape the personality of a team, inspire and motivate teammates and make a lasting impact on a program for years to come, among many other things.
By learning these six tips designed by renowned sports psychologist Greg Dale, coaches and players will be able to implement them within their own program and discover exactly why an effective leader is the glue that holds together a successful team.
1.) Embrace the role of being a captain
Remember, being a captain is not a right, it’s a privilege. It’s a serious position and should be treated like one. It’s also not a popularity contest and the team leaders should realize this from the very onset.
2.) Recognize the responsibility of being a a captain
Captains have the responsibility to learn how they can become the best leader they can be. They owe it to the coaches, their teammates and themselves. Leaders also have a higher level of expectations placed upon them as the team looks to them for guidance.
3.) Act as an extension of the coaching staff
Leaders serve as another “coach” on and off the field and can communicate certain aspects of the game to fellow teammates effectively. At times, a leader will also have to make unpopular decisions but understand that it’s part of his/her job.
4.) Be a voice for the team
Leaders are looked up to by their teammates and have the ability to influence the team culture and overall legacy. They can lead their program to where they want it to be and have a great impact on the team in a variety of ways.
5.) Work with other captains to build a team of leaders
Captains should figure out how to complement each other so they can be the best captains and leaders they can possibly be. Leaders will work together to continuously motivate their teammates, be open with them and earn their trust.
6.) Know yourself and be true to yourself
Don’t try to be someone else. What are you good at? What do you struggle with? What’s your personality type? Play to your strengths. If you’re unsure, take a simple personality test to see for yourself.
When you realize who you are, put yourself in situations that take advantage of your strengths. Similar to high-percentage shooting on net or playing man-down defense, leaders have to continuously work on how they can improve in that specific role. It’s not a “learn once and be done with it” role. The coaching staff should always be working with team leaders on this throughout the season.
The six tips featured in this article can be seen in the Championship Productions DVD “The Team Captains Guide to Great Leadership” featuring Greg Dale. For more leadership and player development videos, click here.
A lacrosse team will hold a major advantage if they can shut down opposing offenses from operating effectively behind the goal. In this week’s player development feature, Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala — one of lacrosse’s most respected and knowledgeable defensive minds — walks you through the “Address Drill,” an influential and useful defensive drill that teaches players about proper technique, stick positioning, communication and strategy, all designed to give you an edge against your opponent behind the net.
According to Pietramala, it’s very important on defense for players to address the ball the appropriate way. How a defender addresses a ball carrier could be the difference in a goal or even the outcome of an entire game.
Dictating to the Offense
The first key is to constantly dictate to the offense where we want them to go. Don’t let the offense dictate to you, and it starts with practicing individual technique on how to address the ball carrier.
Most players are right-handed, so defenders should overplay their opponents’ strong-hand side. It’s important to always force the dodger back behind the goal because he can’t score from there, he can only feed. If you force the offensive player to the outside, now he has the chance to feed AND score a goal.
Proper Form is Critical
Defenders can take away the outside part of the field by a specific foot technique. The outside foot should be positioned out in front and the inside foot should be back, also known as “heel to toe.” If a dodger is right-handed, this technique will force him to have his left foot forward and should hedge him further behind the goal.
Meanwhile, the defender is balanced with knees bent, but not bent at the waist. The defender is also relaxed with legs shoulder-width apart. Altogether, the defender is in a comfortable, athletic position.
Stick Positioning
In terms of stick positioning, a defender’s stick should be out in front and pointed forward at the offensive player. The stick is considered our margin of error and provides a six-foot cushion to make a mistake. A defender is now fully able to handle an initial move of the offensive player.
Far too often, defenders will play with their stick at the hip, and this is a problem. The extra space this creates gives a dodger the ability to make his initial move closer to the defender, which in turn, gives him a greater chance of succeeding.
The first segment of this drill starts with two defenders. One will act as the offensive player and the other player will act as the defensive on-ball player, simulating 1-on-1 defense. Players should be about seven yards apart and facing each other like in a game situation, but the defender should start out in a help-defense position. The defensive player will pretend the ball is on the opposite side of the field and at the sound of the whistle, will simply sprint up to the offensive player and address him using proper technique, stickwork and footwork as if his man now has possession. The drill stops at the next sound of the whistle and players rotate through.
Note: It’s important for short sticks to practice this drill, too. When addressing the ball with a short stick, the stick should be pointed to the outside of the field to take away the “top side” and funnel the dodger back behind the goal. Long sticks will not switch hands in this scenario, but short-sticks will so the body and stick are taking away the top side route to the goal.
In this segment, we’ll put two defenders in with two offensive players to simulate moving the ball back and forth behind the net and addressing the ball carrier on both sides of the goal. The drill begins with the ball on one side with one of the offensive players. The on-ball defender will begin by addressing his man with the ball before dropping into team defense positioning when the ball is moved to the other side of the field.
The drill continues as the two offensive players pass the ball back and forth to each other and the defensive players keep switching from on-ball defense to off-ball team defense.
Keys to remember about on-ball defense
*Teams do not need any offensive players to execute this drill. By having four defensive players run the drill, you’re getting more players involved at the same time.
*Teams need just one coach to run these drills.
*Move the ball quickly to really work the defense and move at game speeds.
*Stress constant communication between players. This area is critical in order for defenses to be successful. No matter the situation, there’s always a place for communication in lacrosse.
Click here to see more on-ball defensive drills from the Championship Productions DVD “Developing On-Ball Defenders Behind the Net.” Check out more exclusive Championship Production videos featuring Dave Pietramala and effective defensive drills here.
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