Championship Productions Blog

A Trio of Game-Speed Shooting Drills That Deliver Results

Robert Morris head lacrosse coach Kenneth Davis firmly believes that performing shooting drills at game-speed is an effective way to replicate game situations, makes players more comfortable within the offense, keeps players loose and working on all aspects of their shot, plus gets the most out of players overall.

With Davis leading you through whiteboard discussion and on-field simulations, you’ll have the opportunity to read about each drill before watching them in action to see how they are carried out. Each drill is fit for players at nearly every level and easy to implement at your own practice with just a few adjustments. Hopefully, with a little practice, these speedy and effective drills will deliver results in practice and come game-time.

Cross-Crease Finishing

This drill has players starting out rather close to the cage. We’ll start with two opposing lines off to the right and left sides of the crease area. Only two players at a time will run the drill together. On one side, the role of the first player will be feeder, and he’ll start with the ball. On the opposite side we’ll have the shooter. The shooter will make a quick “V” cut and then sprint towards the front of the crease area before receiving a pass and then firing a quick shot on net.

As soon as the sequence is finished, the next two players step up quickly and then perform the drill like before: Feed, cut, and shoot. Coaches, be sure to pick a spot on cage and tell the players where you want them to specifically shoot. Always create a target.

Four Corners Shooting

This drill is optimal for small group work. Set things up with four lines around the perimeter plus one “inside” man. The inside man is always cutting. His job is to always get his shoulders square to the feeder, come to the ball and make curl moves and quick cuts to get open in the middle of the field. One at a time, get the players (or feeders) on the perimeter to pass to the inside man as he’s making his curl moves and cuts. The inside man will look to get off quick shots on goal before making another move and receiving the next pass.

Teams can get a lot of work and shots out of this drill. Plus, it really works players hard on the inside, gets them communicating, and has them changing planes on every shot. After the full sequence is over, get one guy on the perimeter to replace the inside man and continue the drill like before.

Triangle Rotation Shooting Drill

This drill fits many different offenses and can be tweaked to go with your own personal set. Three players at a time will run a single simulation of the drill. We’ll start with a line of players up top (facing the crease), plus one player to his left (middle guy) and one player out in front and slightly to the right. The player up top starts the drill with a quick dodge toward the cage. The middle guy will trail that player and the bottom player will move up a bit as well.

There are a lot of different options from here. The top guy can then curl back and throw it to the middle guy or make a pull-pass to the middle guy across the way. Or the middle guy could then pass it to the bottom guy just off the crease for a close-range shot. After the drill sequence is finished, the top player can replace the bottom guy and the bottom guy can replace the middle guy, making for the “Triangle Rotation.”

Teams can get a lot of repetitions and common game-situation looks. Remember, be sure that your stick drills always incorporate your own personal offense.

The previous shooting drills can be seen in Championship Productions’ DVD “25 Game-Speed Shooting Drills For Lacrosse” with Kenneth Davis. Check out more shooting drills right here.