Early-Season Passing, Stickwork & Conditioning Exercises

with John Sung,
Virginia Tech Head Women's Coach;
led VT to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018;
former Winthrop University Head Women's Coach;
2x Big South regular season and Tournament champions ('15, '16);
2x Big South Coach of the Year ('15, '16);
former NCAA Division I Lacrosse Committee chair;
member of the U.S. Lacrosse Convention Education Committee

If your players are unable to keep up with a conditioned team or a team that is comfortable possessing the ball, you won't win many games!

The drills included in this video from Virginia Tech's John Sung show you various ways to condition your team. You'll also get exercises that will improve your goalies' hand-eye coordination and footwork, your athletes' shooting abilities, the stick work skills of all of your players and defensive footwork reps to keep your team engaged and interested.

Conditioning & Skill Drills

The 'Manchester Run' helps stress the importance of pacing yourself as a player and actively recovering when you are fatigued. This will allow your athletes to make good decisions even if they are tired and also allows them to perform late in games when that extra burst of speed/energy is needed to secure a win.

Coach Sung shows a shooting progression drill that emphasizes good technique, body control, hand placement and shot placement without the extra added pressure of having a player on defense. If a player is comfortable shooting, it becomes muscle memory and will allow them to perform under pressure when facing an active defense. Finally, when the shooting progression moves to bump contact shooting, your players will get comfortable with feeling contact and pressure from defenders while still being able to get off a successful move/shot.

Next, you'll see the Army Line drill, which is a passing exercise that encourages quick feet with explosive cutting and footwork. Additionally, the drill calls for communication, quick hands, quick releases and efficiency of movement. Establishing these basics will help your team move the ball efficiently up the field, as well as in and around the goal circle.

What You'll Get

Sung and his assistants offer feedback to their players throughout the video, which is helpful because you'll observe areas of improvement that are needed for each player and how the staff approaches teaching them. A total of 22 drills are included, covering:

• Conditioning
• Goalie work
• Stick skills
• Shooting
• Defensive basics

Coach Sung provides several drills that work on the building blocks of individual and full field play. His drills help show how to keep players engaged at practice while stressing the use of great technique and skill execution. Coaches at all levels of play would benefit from watching this video.

74 minutes. 2020.