Championship Productions Blog

Archives by Tag 'Stick Handling'

An Effective Wall Ball Workout Perfect for the Offseason

By adam.warner - Last updated: Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Don’t have access to a lacrosse field this summer? Well don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Wall ball workouts provide a number of ways to improve your lacrosse skills, from catching and throwing, to playing on the move, to developing your wrists, and to making you a more explosive player overall.

The great thing is that you can find a wall just about anywhere, whether its at the gym or school. So find a wall, grab a handful of lacrosse balls, and bring your gloves along with a partner. Remember to go into your wall ball workouts with a purpose. As you will quickly discover, the benefits are tremendous.

Wall Ball Workout

One Cradle: 10 Right, 10 Left

Sometimes players will use their arms to throw the ball or they might hold their stick too tight. Focus on your wrists. You want explosive hands to be a good player.

Look to maintain a good base, keep your hands up at your chin, and your feet should be shoulder width apart. Your bottom hand should be a little higher than your top hand. Next, get a little cradle going and get comfortable with the stick in your hands. This really trains the wrists to be explosive.

Quick Sticks: 10 Right, 10 Left

There is no cradle here. This drill is similar to pepper, but without the cradle. Get a good base, stand five yards from the wall and look to establish a decent pace off the wall.

Focus on that triple threat position with your hands up by your chin and maintain a staggered stance. Keep that opposite foot forward and try to snap that ball off the wall. Use soft hands but don’t go reaching for the ball. The ball should be in and out of your stick quickly.

One Hand, One Cradle

This really helps to develop your feeding/passing and shooting. It’s also a great way to develop a stronger stick. For this one, take the bottom hand off your stick. Snap your wrist with each throw. Catch the ball deep and use soft hands in and out.

Catch and Switch: 10 Right, 10 Left

This drill is similar to a crossover in basketball and is ideal for working on exchanges typically seen during a game. You need to be comfortable moving the stick from hand to hand. Your feet are always working underneath. They are not waiting for the ball. Remember the progression “Ear, Chin, Ear.” This will help you maintain proper form throughout the drill. Also, don’t abandon those fundamentals for speed. If your fundamentals suffer a bit, just slow things down.

Grounders: 5 Right, 5 Left

With this one, play the ball off the bounce. Get the ball off the ground, right to your ear and snap it out of your stick quickly.

Shovels

Here, you will be catching the ball across your body. This is also an effective drill for defenders and works on game-like situations. Basically, you’re going to work on a cross-body shovel. Catch the ball, give a face dodge, and then shovel it away.

Cross-Hand Catch and Throw

This is an ideal exercise for those moments when you have to catch the ball on your opposite side and then have to throw it from that side, too.

Backhand: 5 Right, 5 Left

This drill is a little more advanced, but it involves taking a normal pass, making a half cradle and then throwing the ball over your shoulder. Take your time with this one to make sure you maintain proper form and get the ball in and out of your stick cleanly.

Wall Ball Test

Once you’ve practiced the wall ball drills for a while, it’s then time to proceed with the wall ball test. Here, we will incorporate the following techniques: One Cradle, Quick Sticks, One Hand-One Cradle, Catch and Switch, and Shovels.

The wall ball test will make your workouts more competitive and also allows you to shoot for goals every time. Eventually, look to do 110 reps under two minutes. Grab a partner to feed you balls as well. Then, start five yards from the wall. Once you get comfortable, take a stopwatch and time yourself and look to improve your time on each occasion.

Watch the video below of a few Ohio State lacrosse players going through their wall ball test:

The entire wall ball workout can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Explosive Skills & Drills for Offensive Lacrosse” featuring Nick Myers. To check out additional lacrosse videos, visit our lacrosse catalog by clicking here.

Filed in Lacrosse • Tags: Drills, Inside the Crease, Nick Myers, Practice Organization for Lacrosse, Shooting, Skill Development, Stick Handling

Girls Lacrosse: Shooting Tips and Key Concepts

By adam.warner - Last updated: Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Kelly Amonte Hiller and the powerhouse Northwestern women’s lacrosse program place a major emphasis on practicing basic lacrosse skills every day. It’s not only key to a team’s progress, but it’s especially important for young players so they develop and continue to get better.

One of those fundamental areas that needs repeated practice is shooting. With Hiller as your guide, check out these dynamic shooting tips and learn about the three types of shots that can pay major dividends for your team.

Overview
When it comes to shooting, there are six key areas to focus on and remember: Be sure to keep an angle on the stick, remember to drop the top hand, keep the head of the stick facing your target, have a loose grip but not too loose, wrists should be relaxed and flexible, and arms should always be away from your body. A dynamic player and shooter must also learn to play with both hands. This will help you become a double threat out on the field.

3 Key Things to Remember about Shooting

1) Think about where your target is

Most players think that they should aim for the corners of the net, but we need to add more to it in order to maximize the chances of scoring. When shooting for the corners, there’s a higher margin of error as many shots will go outside of the net. Instead, pick a spot 6-8 inches inside the net. This is still out of the goalie’s range and now the margin of error is still inside the net. Pick a target and drive the ball there. Remember, if you miss the net, you definitely won’t score.

2) Know your opposing goalie

This makes a big difference in terms of where you place your shots. Are they a righty or a lefty? If a righty, it’s best to place shots on the offside hip where the goalie has to carry her stick all the way around to make a tough save. Or consider going offside low. Remember to pick a spot and focus on it. Drive the ball right to it and follow through.

3) Make it count

You may only get one, two or three shots in a game, so make them count. Be deceptive each time that you step up to the net.

3 Types of Shots

1) Inside Shot

An inside shot is difficult because of the limited room available to execute. Plus, there’s added pressure from the defense and goalie. Instead of taking a big torso twist to wind up, take more of a snap shot with just the wrists while keeping the stick close to the body. Sometimes, we recommend that shooters choke up with the bottom hands to provide maximum protection.

Remember that most goalies are taught to step out on these shots. Often, you will see players come around the crease and try to fire it by, but the goalie will make that save 9 out of 10 times. Therefore, with an inside shot, it’s key to remember to make a fake and move the goalie. Then, you can fake high and drive the ball low.

It’s common for players to rush and shoot quickly because of defensive pressure. But be sure to take an extra second to give a quick fake and drive it home. Head fakes and stick fakes will work frequently, but remember to keep the stick between your shoulders and you’ll know the ball will be protected.

2) Outside Shot

With an outside shot, it’s important to have some power, but not too much power or else you’ll lose control. Find that balance to have a controlled shot on net but with enough power to get it by the goalie.

Start with your feet to the side and your arms away from the body. Take a shuffle step, create torque by turning the hips first and then have the arms follow through. Drive the shot down. Your body will often naturally rise up, and so does the goalie. Therefore, drop your shoulders and drive the ball into the corner. If you’re missing the net a lot, check your form and make sure to take some steam off your shots so the ball goes in the net.

3) Shooting on the move

This is probably the easiest shot because deception is built in. But it’s the most difficult to be accurate and get on net. Here, your body movement is naturally deceptive for the goalie. The goalie must move with the shooter to take away the angle of the net. It’s helpful here to throw a stick fake to throw off the goalie’s body movement. Then place the ball on the offside of the body. The faster you move your feet, the faster the goalie must make an adjustment in the net. Here, you are using speed as your deception.

The following shooting tips can be seen on the Championship Productions’ video “Kelly Amonte Hiller’s Skills of a Champion: The Basics.” To check out our exclusive girls’ lacrosse catalog, click here.

Filed in Lacrosse • Tags: Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern Lacrosse, Skill Development, Stick Handling, Women's Lacrosse

Two Dodging Drills Incorporating the Speed Ladder with Nick Myers

By adam.warner - Last updated: Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The dodge is one of lacrosse’s most fundamental aspects. This is an offensive attempt to elude the defense, protect the ball and set up your next move (whether it be a shot or pass). Because so many aspects of the game incorporate dodging, it’s a critical skill to learn. Plus, successful dodging enables your team to score goals. And while speed is a key element to a successful dodge, players also need to be explosive, quick and physical.

With Ohio State men’s lacrosse head coach Nick Myers leading the way, check out the following dodging drills that incorporate the speed ladder. See how you can implement the key tips with your squad this season so they can improve their dodging skills and overall explosiveness.

Speed Ladder Ground Ball Drill
One at a time, players will sprint through a ladder positioned on the field. Then, as the players approach the end of the ladder, the coach will roll a ground ball somewhere in the vicinity. The players must explode out of the ladder and scoop the ground ball and continue with a dodging move.

Each time through the ladder, the players should vary their footwork. This is a great way to work on ground ball repetitions as well, in addition to footwork, speed and quickness. For the ladder, anything from cariocas to quick feet or high knees will ensure variety and the use of different movements.

Speed Ladder w/ Ball Drill
In this drill, we’re really working on footwork, coordination and agility. Players will now start with the ball in their stick. When the players come out of the ladder, they will explode, address a cone, square their shoulders to the cone, and finish by putting a hard dodge on the cone.

Really try to focus on exploding out of the ladder and to the cone. Remember, an effective dodger is always explosive at the point of contact. Also, work on keeping your head up at all times. Adding full gear and a ball allows the players to get better reps when using the ladder, as well.

Don’t forget to vary your footwork within the ladder in these drills. For beginners, focus more on form than speed when utilizing the ladder. You can always speed things up when the players become more comfortable overall.

The following drills can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Explosive Skills and Drills for Offensive Lacrosse” with Nick Myers. To check out more offensive videos from our extensive collection, click here.