Championship Productions Blog

All Access Lacrosse Practice: Inside the Locker Room with Stony Brook

In the latest edition of All Access, we take you back to Stony Brook, New York for a behind-the-scenes look at a Stony Brook University men’s lacrosse practice. Watch as former head coach Rick Sowell (currently the head coach at Navy) leads his squad through a pre-practice locker room discussion and a number of team drills in preparation for the season opener – which is just days away at the time.

This All Access session presents a terrific opportunity for coaches and players to see how a top-ranked college lacrosse program prepares during the week. In this particular example, Coach Sowell talks with his team in the locker room before reviewing game film from a previous scrimmage. Once the film session is over, the players head out to the field and participate in a number of half-field and man down drills that focus on game-like situations and quick repetitions.

Locker Room Discussion and Film Review

First, on the heels of a two-day rest period, Coach Sowell meets with his squad and talks about effort, intensity, and recent accomplishments. Later on, defensive concepts and key preparation tactics are also discussed. Says Sowell, “Practice like you play so you will play great in big games.”

Coach Sowell then breaks down game film, starting with offensive strategies and making sure players know about their options and what to expect from the defense.

Half-Field Drills

Next, the players take to the field for half-field drills. The team breaks up into two halves of the field, separating the offense and defense. On one side, the offensive players work on catching and shooting in tight spaces around the crease. On the other side of the field, the defense works on clearing under pressure. For instance, there’s a loose ball and the defense must play to space and clear the ball up field while the pressure is on from the riding unit.

The offense then moves into catching, dodging, and shooting on the run about 15 yards from the cage. The drills uses both the right and left sides of the field and goes at game speed. Eventually, the drill moves into catching and firing immediate shots and using a wind-up technique to fire hard on the cage.

Man Down Simulations

Finally, the squad moves into man down drills that focus on back and forth action in a full-field setting. To begin, the offense is in a continual man-up situation. Eventually, the drill moves into 5-on-5 action starting with a transition break and trailer.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “All Access Stony Brook Lacrosse Practice with Rick Sowell.” To check out more videos in our All Access catalog, click here. 

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