How-To: Become a Better Player

When it comes to being a lacrosse player, there are many ways one can get better in several aspects. The first aspect that one can improve to become a better lacrosse player is by strength and conditioning training. There are many different exercises and lifts that can specifically help you be a more athletic player. The first thing one can do is pretty obvious. You gotta run. Running is very vital to lacrosse. It is a sport with as much running as soccer and is as physical as hockey. The best ways to condition for the running are to run outside or on a treadmill as well as doing stairs. Personally, having the most stamina on a field or at anything is most vital. If you can outrun your team or the opposing team then you will most likely come out on top. It is one thing to be able to run for a long time. It is another thing to be able to run for a long time while people are trying to body check you. This will require leg strength and stability on top of the conditioning. The two best lifts for your legs are both regular squats for strength as well as one legged squats for stability. Passing and shooting requires some upper body strength, specifically in the shoulders and core. Shoulder stamina is vital to be able to make a large number of passes in a game. Lifts for shoulders should include light weight with high reps. Core is vital for shooting because this is where you get torque and power involved in your shot. Core workouts should be done every day. Hips also help with shooting and play a large role in generating torque. Footwork drills that require fast hip movement should also be practiced. One of the last muscles you should isolate in your training are your forearms. Forearm strength helps to control your stick when it is in your hands. Lacrosse is a game of feel. Having total control of your body and stick is vital to your success. Lack of strength and conditioning training can hinder your ability to display your in game skills to their fullest extent. While this physical aspect is not the most important aspect, it can improve your game tremendously. 

 Your overall attitude and drive for the game also plays a key role in your success. How you view the sport you play determines how you will play. If you love the sport you play and will work as hard as you can to keep playing, you will continue to excel. If you do not see any future in the sport that you play and do not care about getting better, then you will never get better. Mindset is also a huge part of lacrosse and any other sport. If you go out thinking that you will play poorly then you will. It does not matter how hard you work, if your mindset is not right then you will never become a better player. The mindset that you have going into practice determines how you will play in a game. Everyone says “practice makes perfect”, but that only counts if you enjoy practicing and give it your all. If you are not trying your hardest and doing everything halfway then you are not only wasting your own time but you are wasting the time of your teammates and coaches. You get out of practice what you put into it. The same goes with studying the game and increasing your lacrosse IQ. 

Another way you can get better is by simply watching more high level lacrosse. High levels would include NCAA Division 1 lacrosse, the PLL, and the NLL. The players playing in these games are some of the highest skill level players in the world when it comes to lacrosse. These players offer so many tips and tricks just through the way they play the game. To be at this level of lacrosse takes a very high lacrosse IQ, or knowledge of the game and how it works. Adding what these players do to your game will increase the amount of tricks you have in your bag. They can teach you about spacing, dodging and beating defenders, movement, and different situational moves to make in game when a specific scenario arises. A lack of watching and increasing your lacrosse IQ leaves one having to develop their game all on their own. This can be done, however it is far more helpful to use what is already available to you and make it your own rather than starting from scratch. Taking bits and pieces from other players’ games and putting them together can make you a smarter and more versatile player.

The most important way to get better is to actually play. If you do not improve your lacrosse skills on your own time, you will never excel as a player. You will also never be able to reach your full potential or apply any of the other aspects of becoming a better player to your game that I just wrote about in the text above. Stick skills may just be the most important part of the Creator’s Game. You cannot improve on any aspect of the game without having sound stick skills first. It does not matter how strong and fast you are, how smart you are, or your attitude if you cannot pass, catch, shoot, and pick up a ground ball once you are on the field competing. Wall ball is one of the most effective and efficient ways to improve stick skills. Going out and shooting with a teammate can improve your shot tremendously. Me and my friends used to go out and shoot for hours every day in the summer. All of our shots were more advanced than many of our own teammates and opponents because of this. Another great way to get better by playing is to join a club team on the side of your spring season team. It gives you a chance to play more lacrosse and get in game experience.