Scott Marr's Practice Drills 2-Pack

with Scott Marr,
University at Albany Head Coach;
6x America East Coach of the Year ('02, '07, '13, '14, '16, '18); 2007 USILA Coach of the Year;
10x NCAA Tournament appearances; 9x America East Tournament titles;
2018 Iroquois Nationals Assistant Coach - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Bronze medal);
2006 US National Team Assistant Coach - 2006 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Silver medal):
coached the first-ever back-to-back male recipient of the Tewaaraton Trophy (Lyle Thompson);
played for collegiately for Johns Hopkins (1987 NCAA Champions)

University at Albany's Scott Marr has put together a video including some of the best team drills to build your lacrosse team's offensive and defensive approach. Marr and his coaching staff cover a total of 13 practice drills, as well as full field action, that lay out full transition opportunities using skills covered in the exercises throughout the video. Every drill is explained with white board diagramming before being demonstrated on the field to give you a full sense of how to run the drills with your own team.

Practice Drills

Coach Marr showcases drills that stress the importance of tempo, toughness in unsettled situations, off-ball movement, defensive rotations, clearing, riding and communication. There are a number of exercises that simulate game situations and include multiple variations so you can keep raising the bar on what you expect from your athletes.

You'll begin with a partner passing progression that Coach Marr utilizes to promote crisp passes and clean receptions. Players complete the drill and focus on activating their wrists in order to snap the ball to the target. Next, Marr and his team showcase an individual drill on the field that helps build muscle memory when retrieving ground balls.

The signature drill in this video is Marr's "Scrappin' Drill", which is designed to start off a practice session with high energy.

"Scrappin' Drill" trains:

• Team toughness in the crease area
• Tight space stickwork
• Team communication
• Defensive work while outnumbered

Film Review

Perhaps the finest part of this video is the film review segment provided by Coach Marr. In it, you'll see drills explained from both an offensive and defensive coach's perspective. This technique of listing out key points on what coaches on each side of the ball want from the drill is rare in instructional videos.

This video from Coach Marr will give you a complete tutorial for how he uses practice drills at the University at Albany. Many of Marr's exercises can be adapted to any level of play and are sure to boost your team's performance on game day!

74 minutes. 2019.

with Scott Marr,
University at Albany Head Coach;
6x America East Coach of the Year ('02, '07, '13, '14, '16, '18); 2007 USILA Coach of the Year;
10x NCAA Tournament appearances; 9x America East Tournament titles;
2018 Iroquois Nationals Assistant Coach - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Bronze medal);
2006 US National Team Assistant Coach - 2006 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Silver medal):
coached the first-ever back-to-back male recipient of the Tewaaraton Trophy (Lyle Thompson);
played for collegiately for Johns Hopkins (1987 NCAA Champions)

Scott Marr has experienced plenty of success leading the Albany lacrosse team, having racked up 10 NCAA Tournament appearances since taking over as head coach in 2001. In this video, you'll be granted a peek behind the curtain to see some of the preferred full field practice drills that Marr and his staff have used to produce great results year after year.

Drill Work

You'll get an in-depth explanation, including white board diagrams, of the Swarm Drill before seeing it live in practice. The Swarm Drill is an excellent warm-up exercise due to its requirement for high energy play through moving the ball on offense and taking away adjacent players on defense.

Coach Marr also includes a practice segment focused specifically on wing play, as well as his Denver Drill which aims to get defensemen comfortable denying attackmen the ball.

Formations and Scrimmage

Offensive execution is at its best when your team can hold its formation. Marr introduces a section of Albany's practice that is all about formation and understanding set plays. You'll hear a good deal of individual coaching during this segment that will be valuable when you go to do the same with your own players.

Finally, Coach Marr finishes things off by including a scrimmage that features an emphasis on riding and clearing. His in-practice coaching points continue to be valuable as the scrimmage plays out and you'll see many of the skills required in his practice drills come out during live play.

It's not everyday that you get to see a high-level collegiate lacrosse program go to work at practice. Take this opportunity to learn plenty of drills and coaching insights from Albany's Scott Marr!

117 minutes. 2019.