Practice your favorite sport in the comfort of your home. You likely already spend long hours practicing with your team each week, but did you know that lacrosse is one of the few team sport that you can practice alone? If you really want to improve your skills and get picked up by a recruiter at-home practice could easily be what sets you apart from everyone else you are competing with for that spot at your favorite school.
So, what does it require to be able to practice lacrosse at home alone?
- Stick
- Ball
- Wall
- Space
The use of protective gear like a goggle and a helmet are also highly recommended.
Skill and technique checks
After you gather all of the needed items, check on the fundamental skills needed to play lacrosse. There are four basic skills necessary to execute better lacrosse plays. These are:
1. Cradling
This skill is done to maintain control of the ball in one’s stick while the player moves around the field. The two most common styles are the full cradle and half cradle.
- Full cradle – A player does a full cradle when he holds the stick close to the side of the face and cradles it from ear to ear. This is commonly seen as a play that is about to set.
- Half cradle – A player moves the stick from one ear to the middle of his body. This is ideal when the player goes full speed on the field.
2. Scooping
This action is done when picking the ball from the ground using the stick while the player’s knees are bent as he comes running towards the ball. The ball recovery technique requires sturdy legs and a good sense of balance. He must be able to scoop the ball before his opponent does.
3. Throwing
This very crucial skill needs one hundred percent eye and hand coordination. To develop the correct technique a player should place their leading hand at the top and non-leading hand below the stick. The pushing forward and pulling down actions is similar to that of a lever. To get more leverage and to increase the distance of a throw, players must slide their top hand down the stick.
4. Catching
Eyes on the ball, all the time. A player must be able to catch the ball and quickly transition to cradling. Pay attention to your front elbow when catching the ball. Maintain a good form when cradling a catch.
Practice! Teach! Practice!
With the gears ready, skills, and techniques understood, we are now ready to practice playing lacrosse at home, alone.
The space to practice plays an essential part. Lacrosse involves throwing, catching, and a lot of running. The bigger the space, the better. An empty garage or a yard is preferred instead of practicing inside a bedroom. Bigger space will give more opportunity to practice throwing and catching a long distance.
Here are some drills that can be done at home alone.
- Pick the Corners – Shoot the corner from another corner. The objective is to get a perfect aim at the opposite corner. Switch dominant hand after ten shots.
- Turning the Corner – A good way to practice to score. Create an improvised goal or use a rebounder and a stool, which will serve as your defender. Place the stool beside the improvised goal. Run around the goal, get past the stool, and as quick and accurately as you can, fire a shot.
- Sweep Shooting – This drill requires a bigger space to practice proper cradling while running from side to side. Place a stool in line with each other. One stool is 12 yards away from the left pipe and the other 10 yards from the sideline. Sprint side to side of two cones and fire a shot.
- Quick Hitch Shooting – Place a stool 10 yards from the side of the improvised goal. Run towards the stool and stutter step. Continue running towards the goal, pick a corner, and fire a shot.
- Shadow Shooting – This drill is shooting without a ball. This drill focuses on how the stick is handled. Attention should be on the footwork, the techniques on how the stick is handled, the placement of the dominant hand, and the forward and backward swings.
Focus and Execute
Lacrosse is a huge sport of speed and skill. The basic skills require an enormous amount of discipline and dedication. Focus and improve each skill to become a well-versed and exceptional lacrosse player!
