Practice Drills for Building Solid Fundamentals

with Jan Mueller and Florian Kraus, 2014 German National Team coaching staff

Coach Jack Kaley and the coaching staff of the 2014 German National Team give a comprehensive training presentation of lacrosse fundamentals. Using an on-field format, Coach Kaley shares basic line drills as well as specific offensive formations and the best defensive strategies to use against them. These are the same practice drills that Team Germany used to prepare for the 2014 World Games.

Beginning with "the most important 10 minutes of practice," Coach Kaley shares several basic drills in the line drill format. Multiple line drills covering catching and throwing on the run as well as recovering ground balls are covered. The key concepts of these drills, including important coaching tips to reinforce their correct execution, are reviewed.

Offensive instruction begins with Bow Tie drills, which are intended to standardize and encourage off ball movement in concert with the player carrying the ball. This drill improves the timing of the offense around the crease and prepares the offense to penetrate the defense.

The presentation continues with Coach Kaley covering various offensive formations. The lessons of the Bow Tie drills are skillfully applied to the various formations presented. Utilizing the Bow Tie drills as a fundamental offensive strategy allows a seamless transition when changing offensive formations.

Defensive strategies begin with covering fast breaks and sliding packages. Using a box drill and half field exercises, Coach Kaley presents a sound foundation for a strong defense. Concentrating on defensive communication, denying easy access to passing lanes and always being mindful of where the next slide comes from are core concepts to building a dynamic defensive unit.

The defense is trained in tandem with the offense. The defense learns how to react to the offensive formations presented and learns key responsibilities to work as an effective unit. By applying the drills and concepts learned earlier, these same basic exercises are shown to be universally effective against multiple offensive formations.

Careful review of this presentation will improve your knowledge of the game. Even experienced players and coaches will discover new drills and tactics to strengthen your team.

54 minutes. 2014.