Developing a Dynamic Team Practice: Team Skills & Conditioning Drills

with Kathy Taylor,
Colgate University Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
former LeMoyne College Head Coach;
2018 Division II NCAA National Champions;
2018 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II National Coach of the Year;
former Cortland University Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
2x University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament champions;
former Fayetteville-Manlius (N.Y.) High School Head Coach; 2x New York State Class A Champions

2018 NCAA D-II National Championship coach Kathy Taylor provides an in-depth look to an up-tempo and competitive practice that emphasizes all aspects of the game.

Coach Taylor introduces dynamic stretching and short individual conditioning drills that change into full field and half field drills, sharpening fundamental stick work and keeping athletes conditioned. She and her staff demonstrate multiple transition drills on the offensive and defensive side of the ball and late-game situations designed to win close games.

During an extensive look inside the many things that make LeMoyne Lacrosse successful, Coach Taylor and her team demonstrate a commitment to details of every aspect of the sport.

Conditioning and Agility

Starting on the whiteboard, Coach Taylor explains how she likes to incorporate movement into team warm-ups and how conditioning is a vital part of every practice. She outlines three conditioning drills and how she tapers team conditioning as the season progresses to start including sticks. Coach Taylor then takes you to the practice field and walks you through these conditioning drills that will prepare your athletes for the physical demands of the full-field game.

Coach Taylor explains the importance of making agilities an integral part of your program. She demonstrates four agility drills to work the foot skills required for the game. You'll be able to watch her team execute these drills and see how they benefit lacrosse footwork.

Small Sided Drills

The key to success at LeMoyne is the development of personnel into elite players. Using individual and small-sided drills, Coach Taylor emphasizes both outstanding stick-work and game-sense as she develops her players. Concepts include:

• Stick-work drills designed to emphasize fast-pace and high repetition.
• Drills that incorporate competitive ground balls into stick-work and 1-on-1 play.
• 1-on-1 and small sided drills that are game-like in both intensity and execution.

Through a series of three non-pressure team drills, you'll see how Coach Taylor works the stick while executing game-like movements. These drills emphasize that stickwork should always involve movement and touches. Through a series of three additional drills, pressure is added and the concepts of ball protection and ball management are introduced.

Full Field and Settled Practice PlansM

Using a combination of whiteboard and practice field, Coach Taylor walks you through a series of full field and "cage" drills that build on the station-drills already taught. By emphasizing outstanding off-ball play as well as quick decisions with the ball, Taylor provides you with a blueprint to better move the ball and take it to the cage. See how 1v1, 3v2, and 4v3 scenarios are used to build into full 7v7 situations.

Coach Taylor also demonstrates two offensive sets: a dodging set and an off-ball feeding set. You will learn the concepts that make these sets successful and how you can add them to your plans today. Practice ends with the Eight Minute Drill, which works game-end scenarios. Watch as Taylor sets up the scenario and explains the importance of practicing how to close out a game.

300 minutes. (2 videos). 2017.