Wall Ball: There is no type of practice more important for an individual player to sharpen his skills and work on hisstick work. The best lacrosse players in the world play wall ball by themselves several times a weekin addition to practice.Always play wall ball with gloves and a helmet. The best wall ball sessions follow a specific pattern:
1. Catching and Throwing: Have the stick in your right hand and stand about ten feet from the wall, turned sideways so your left shoulder is closest to the wall. Do not stand with your chest facing the wall! This is the proper stance for each drill. Pick a spot on the wall and throw the ball, catching the rebound as close to the ready position by your ear as you can. Cradle and repeat. Do 15-20 reps. Switch hands and do the same with your left hand. 2. One-Handed: Get up close to the wall and hold the stick in your right hand, up by the throat for maximum control. Throw, catch and cradle. Do 15-20 reps. Switch hands and do the same with your left hand. 3. Quicksticks: Staying close to the wall, with your stick in your right hand, try to throw the ball back towards the wall as quickly as possible once the ball reaches your pocket. Try not to cradle. Do 15-20 reps. Switch hands and do the same with your left hand. 4. Face Dodges: Move back to a spot about ten feet from the wall. With the stick in your right hand, throw the ball off the wall and when you catch it, make an exaggerated move forward with a face dodge. Reset. Do 15-20 reps. Switch hands and do the same with your left hand. 5. Cross-body Catching: Start with your stick in your right hand and bounce the ball off the wall in such a manner that you have to catch it across your body. Pull your stick quickly back across your body and reset into the proper throwing stance. Do 15-20 reps. Switch hands and do the same with your left hand. 6. Split Dodges: Start right handed and throw the ball towards the wall. When you catch it, pull the stick quickly across your body and move left, switching hands (split dodge). Now do the same with your left hand, split dodging back to your right. Do 20-25 reps. 7.Bouncers: Back up to around 15-20 feet from the wall and aim at a spot on the wall about 2-3 feet off the ground. With your stick in your right hand, throw and try to hit that spot. The ball should bounce before it gets to you, training you to catch and handle poorly thrown balls and bad passes. Do 15-20 reps. Switch hands and do the same with your left hand. Extra Wall Ball Tips: Keep your feet moving at all times! No one stands still on the field! The closer you can get to game intensity the more you’ll get out of the workout. Use proper throwing and catching form. Practicing bad habits is as harmful as practicing good ones is helpful. Interval Training: Running in the off-season is absolutely necessary to stay in shape for Lacrosse season. Regular distance running is great to build endurance and cardio, however, because Lacrosse combines short sprinting bursts and endurance, interval training is also very important. Interval training is a running exercise that mixes running and sprinting. Make sure to do at least a half-mile warm up before adding the interval sprints. If you can run on a track: A great interval training exercise is to run the curved sections and sprint the straight sections. Do two laps at a warm-up pace and then do four laps (one mile) of interval training. Finish with a two lap cool-down jog. If you can run on a Lacrosse/Soccer Field: Similar to the track exercise: you will be running around the outside of the field, running the length sections (sidelines) and then sprinting the width sections (endlines). Make sure to do a warm-up and cool-down lap or two. If you are simply running in your neighborhood: Find different landmarks (stop signs work great!) and sprint for 50-100ft. at intervals throughout your run. Champions create training games out of what they have around them to push themselves to the next level.
Play Other Sports: Basketball, Hockey, Swimming, Skiing, Football, Baseball, Volleyball, etc….Playing other sports will keep your muscles in strong, your reflexes sharp, your mind focused, your lungs in shape, your body healthy and your competitive juices flowing. The best Lacrosse players are the best Athletes. Watch Lacrosse: Nothing will help you understand the game more than watching it. The best players copy and imitate the best players. ESPN 2, ESPN U, and CSTV all carry Lacrosse games occasionally. Watching recent NCAA Final Four and Championship games provides a wealth of knowledge about the game and are fun and exciting to watch.Tapes are available for rent at Bigfoot Lacrosse. Registration form