Whatever level you Coach whether it be U10s or Club Training you can always make things easier for yourself.
Planning what you need and what you want to do can help things go smoothly
Do you always do the same drills?
Do you mix up drills each week?
Have you ever created your own drills?
What are trying to achieve in practice?
A little bit of thought in advance goes along way
there are lots of resources online to help
I write things down as I have a memory of a goldfish, if things don't go to plan it's fine but review what worked and what didn't
a) Plan - Do - Monitor - Review : spend couple of minutes at end of practice reviewing what they learned/liked or hated
tell them what you're going to tell them
tell them what to do
Demonstrate what to do
let them do it
ask them what you told them
tell them what you told them
Repeat next drill/skill
Practice can cover a multitude of needs
when you identify what they are you can make things more efficient
eg for U10s it is about having FUN so don't stand around explaining everything for 20 minutes - they want to run around & play, so play games
this is also true for Club Training
- players should enjoy training and look forward to it so make it FUN
little kids get bored doing the same thing - Newsflash! So do big kids
Keep drills short 15 mins max - change them up and make them competitive - keep score - celebrate winning
Set up learning new skills and let everyone play
- defenders learn to dodge and shoot
- attackers learn to defend and check
*especially at juniors - How many times have you seen the big kid given a long stick bigger than them which they never learn to handle properly and just end up hitting people?
treat everyone as a player not a position - Stcokport LC were brilliant at this in juniors regularly having more than one goalie play in a game so they could do half in/half out
Lacrosse is a Ball game so have lots of lacrosse balls, in the US they regularly have 100-150 for HS or College practice. In Canada they play Box Lacrosse so need less as Ball is always in play.
Don't turn up for 12 kids with 3 lax balls (minimum of 1 ball per player)
Different coloured bibs make life easier (split in teams)
Cones help demonstrate drills (boundaries or key positions eg where to dodge to)
Both cheap and cheerful from Decathlon or other Sports retailers
Coaching is FUN
Get involved
If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask and hopefully someone will be able to help you
Planning Practice & Drills
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UKLaxfan
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Coaching with Small Numbers?
how many times as a coach have you planned a great session of 6v6 working on team offense & defense only to have to scrap the whole thing as not enough players turn up. It can be frustrating and demoralising but it's not the fault of the guys who turn up so don't take it out on them, it's the players who aren't there who cause the problem.
So what can you do?
Be flexible
- there is no point being negative, adapt and move on
- ask the players what they want to work on
Be Positive and be enthusiastic
The Goal is to make practice Fun and useful, so the players who attend enjoy it and the players who didn't feel they missed out
Low numbers is a good time to work on news skills as well as improve old ones
- make the session as interactive as possible
- encourage questions
- work on technique, be precise
players could have practiced a skill a 1000 times with a fundamental flaw
Recycle Drills
make drills that rotate and recycle, so every player gets to perform every skill
Go from A to B - B to C - C to A
Use Skeleton Drills
- you only work on one side of the ball Offense or Defense eg 4 v 0 fastbreaks
- concentrate on high reps and execution of specific skills
Use Odd Number Drills
- 2v1s, 3v2s, 4v3s then reset
As a Coach you sometimes have to join in and play a role to make a drill work
- Play the Dman getting Picked off
- Play the Feeder who makes a pass to initiate a 1v1
- Play the Referee and make calls
Nothing annoys attackers more than defenders hacking lumps out of them in practice that would be fouls in a game. Call them!
Examples of Low Number Drills:
Corridor Drill
- 1v1 within a corridor of 6-8yrds
- Offense tries to reach end of corridor
- defense tries to drive dodger out of corridor
- switch roles each time
Possession drill
- 1v1 or 2v2 in a restricted box area
- set a time limit (30s)
- switch roles
Skeleton Mumbo Drill
- A is Picker
- B is Cutter
- C is Feeder
A starts with ball passes to C then cuts to crease to set Pick
B starts on crease, waits for Pick then cuts around Pick to catch & Finish
C starts behind goal receives pass and times the feed to cutter as he comes off Pick
C goes to back of A Line
Move position of drill around goal to use righty or lefty
Skeleton Pick & Roll Drill
A has ball B Sets Pick
as soon as A makes lateral move B Rolls inside to goal and A makes short pass
B receives Pass and finishes with fake & shot
- work on different Picks from different positions
Footwork Drills (Zig Zag Cones)
- Offensive and Defensive footwork
Use segments of things you want to use in games
- Slide from crease
- Roll Out & Step back feeds
- Double teaming when see back, "send him vs turn him"
- Build up Drill from different starting positions
Good source of drills
http://www.youtube.com/user/NDlaxTV/videos
So what can you do?
Be flexible
- there is no point being negative, adapt and move on
- ask the players what they want to work on
Be Positive and be enthusiastic
The Goal is to make practice Fun and useful, so the players who attend enjoy it and the players who didn't feel they missed out
Low numbers is a good time to work on news skills as well as improve old ones
- make the session as interactive as possible
- encourage questions
- work on technique, be precise
players could have practiced a skill a 1000 times with a fundamental flaw
Recycle Drills
make drills that rotate and recycle, so every player gets to perform every skill
Go from A to B - B to C - C to A
Use Skeleton Drills
- you only work on one side of the ball Offense or Defense eg 4 v 0 fastbreaks
- concentrate on high reps and execution of specific skills
Use Odd Number Drills
- 2v1s, 3v2s, 4v3s then reset
As a Coach you sometimes have to join in and play a role to make a drill work
- Play the Dman getting Picked off
- Play the Feeder who makes a pass to initiate a 1v1
- Play the Referee and make calls
Nothing annoys attackers more than defenders hacking lumps out of them in practice that would be fouls in a game. Call them!
Examples of Low Number Drills:
Corridor Drill
- 1v1 within a corridor of 6-8yrds
- Offense tries to reach end of corridor
- defense tries to drive dodger out of corridor
- switch roles each time
Possession drill
- 1v1 or 2v2 in a restricted box area
- set a time limit (30s)
- switch roles
Skeleton Mumbo Drill
- A is Picker
- B is Cutter
- C is Feeder
A starts with ball passes to C then cuts to crease to set Pick
B starts on crease, waits for Pick then cuts around Pick to catch & Finish
C starts behind goal receives pass and times the feed to cutter as he comes off Pick
C goes to back of A Line
Move position of drill around goal to use righty or lefty
Skeleton Pick & Roll Drill
A has ball B Sets Pick
as soon as A makes lateral move B Rolls inside to goal and A makes short pass
B receives Pass and finishes with fake & shot
- work on different Picks from different positions
Footwork Drills (Zig Zag Cones)
- Offensive and Defensive footwork
Use segments of things you want to use in games
- Slide from crease
- Roll Out & Step back feeds
- Double teaming when see back, "send him vs turn him"
- Build up Drill from different starting positions
Good source of drills
http://www.youtube.com/user/NDlaxTV/videos
Monster Mesh
