Pointers for a former college player turning youth coach?

[gripitandripit]

My town recently started a youth lacrosse program and I'm really excited about getting involved this coming spring. My biggest concern is giving the kids too much advanced theory to process and, as a result, them learning nothing. Ideally I'd like to coach the young teens with the hope that they already have a reasonable fundamental base and are ready to incorporate some advanced skills into their games. I haven't gotten any specifics on what age group I'll be working with, but if I do get saddled with the little guys, how much is too much? Fundamentals will obviously be the first priority, but will I fry their little brains with concepts like moving without the ball, team defense and one on one offense and defense work? Any advice will be appreciated.

[UVAlaxer432]

I agree with you at the point of fundamentals being the main priority. After that I think the next thing you should work on is just moving the ball as in passing around and looking for cutting players and so on. One of the biggest problems I think in youth leagues right now is that most kids just want to take the ball for themselves and run up the field to score.

While teaching them that or after (which ever you prefer) you should definately work on team and individual defense. As in sliding, proper checks, footwork, and body positioning.

The rest will come in time.

[coaches gal]

Take the coaches online class from US Lacrosse. It gives you good pointers for what to teach at all the different levels, as well as other coaching tips... It's not that expensive and some clubs will pay for their coaches to take it.

Good luck!

[gerber]

I agree with coaches gal. The US Lacrosse Level 1 online course would be a good idea.
Beyond that, I'm afraid you may find yourself disappointed with their knowledge of the game. What to you is second nature is likely to be beyond their grasp, depending on the level you're coaching, of course.
Watch them carefully during the first few practices and let their abilities be your guide. You're likely to have a very wide range of skills on display. For instance, my 7th/8th grade team this year has six out of 30 who have never played before. Once you know the age group you are coaching make a list of skills and knowledge you think they should know at that level and coach towards that. I've found it helpful to talk to high school coaches to get some idea of what they want the kids to know as they move up to JV and Varsity teams.

Remember that you are one of several steps on their path to learning to play and love the game--you can't jam years of experience and knowledge into one short season.
Above all: be patient, offer encouragement, have fun.

[cololax]

If you end up with the younger players (2nd-3rd-4th graders), focus initially on five things: fundamentals (priority ground balls), good defensive positioning and footwork, poke checking, always shooting low (bounce shots) and playing/staying in your position (to limit to mosh-pit effect).

Try to limit time that the players stand in lines and don't take too much time explaining complicated drills or concepts. The amount of focus this age can muster is minimal at best. Pair the kids up for as many drills as possible so they're always involved.

Keep it fun- I used to bring 10 to 15 tennis balls to one practice a week to play dodge-ball for 10 minutes. The kids loved it and it got them to practice keeping there head up while carrying the ball. It also allowed the kids to play full speed and just react without thinking too much.

I've coached the same team for two years (going on three) who are now in fourth grade. If I could go back, I'd have asked the first-year players to find a wall to practice throwing and catching and dedicate 30 minutes per week outside of practice time.

Some folks may think it's overkill but there just isn't enough time to get everything done during a couple of practices per week. I think in the end the players will enjoy formal practice more if they have taken a little extra time.

[gripitandripit]

Thanks for the tips everybody, I'm looking into the Level 1 program as I type this. Any other pointers you have will still be appreciated.

[3rdPersonPlural]

Grip, there are lots of threads in this forum on how to coach little kids. Scattered throughout are some gems of inspiration.

Browse around some. You'll be delighted.

[picknroll]

Here are some random thoughts from my experience coaching 9-12 year olds over the last 3 years:

Emphasize defense. A young kid just learning lacrosse wants to stand flat-footed and swing at the head of the ball carrier’s stick. This doesn’t work out well at all – obviously. Work a lot on footwork and teach them poke checks to get them from swinging their sticks wildly. It’s a challenge to get them to get their butt low and their feet moving. Run warm-up drills in every practice shuffling, drop stepping, poking, etc. You can’t work on this enough. Even though this seems so rudimentary many kids have not developer “muscle memory” yet. They need repetition.

It’s never too young to teach team defense. Start with a basic adjacent slide – “I’ve got ball. I’ve got left. I’ve got right.” Make them communicate this every single scrimmage. Stop the scrimmage if no one is communicating. Teach them “big eye/little eye” and “head on a swivel”. A good drill for this is to go one-on-one on the crease with four perimeter passers. The offensive crease player tries to break free while the crease defender is ball watching. Defensive footwork, “head on a swivel”, and adjacent slides will get you far in youth lacrosse. Stopping the easy drive is half the battle. If your defense forces passes you create turnover opportunities because many players don’t throw and catch all that well.

Kids want to stop to do everything – ground balls, throw, catch, shoot. Spend lots of time on basic drills that perform these activities on the move. So many times you’ll see an offensive player standing on the field with their stick in the air waiting to receive a pass. You have to teach them to cut to the ball or cut to the goal. I make a basic rule that says if your standing still your not open. Same goes for ground balls. I’ve often seen a scrum of 3-4 players standing around a ground ball and then some guy flies through the pile and picks it up on the run. Scooping on the run is huge. Practice that every day. You’ll still get some kids wanting to stop to scoop a ground ball. It will drive you crazy. The ball is on the ground a lot in youth lacrosse. Also work on teamwork with basic man/ball drills. About half of the players will get it and you’ll see it show up in your games.

Spend a disproportionate amount of practice time on unsettled situations. You score more goals in youth lacrosse on transition than settled half-field offense (if your opponent knows how to play defense). 3v2 is good. Making the defender commit to the ball carrier is huge. Their first inclination is just to pass the ball without drawing the defender – even in a 2v1. You really have to drill the “draw and dump” concept. Uneven situations are good for teaching passes too.

The secret weapon of youth lacrosse is the ride. Often a team will put a player with weak stick skills on defense. He can become a target for an aggressive ride. I run a simple ride – double the ball, shut off adjacents, and split the midfield line with two middies. We look to force a dropped ball or errant pass from the defenders. This often result in easy shots on goal. Work a lot on clearing so that you are not a victim of a ride.

Probably the thing that is tempting to work on the most, half field offense, is probably the least productive. I try to teach basic motion plays off of 1-3-2 triangle rotation and such. I think that the boys get the idea, but it becomes difficult to run such plays against an aggressive defense. You’re better off spending time on “cut and feed” drills. A really simple offense that can be effective is to run a 1-4-1 and iso the top middie. Put your best dodger up there and have him initiate a dodge from the 45 yard line and teach him to pass to the slide – back to “draw and dump” like the 3v2 drill.

Last bit of advice would be to reset your thinking from your college playing days. Resist the temptation to put in that complicated EMO play that worked so well. It really won’t look the same in a youth game. Simplify everything, but definitely retain those fundamentals and concepts.

Hope you have fun. Coaching youth lacrosse is a blast!

[jmsaway]

GREAT PIECE - Can you please explain both this and "the ride" a little more

[VTLaxFan]

start with strict basics, and tell that there is more to come. then as they build in good basics, teach them more through fun drills, it helps alot, this is coming from a youth player, players dont like it if you underteach them

[gripitandripit]

Here are some random thoughts from my experience coaching 9-12 year olds over the last 3 years:

Emphasize defense. A young kid just learning lacrosse wants to stand flat-footed and swing at the head of the ball carrier’s stick. This doesn’t work out well at all – obviously. Work a lot on footwork and teach them poke checks to get them from swinging their sticks wildly. It’s a challenge to get them to get their butt low and their feet moving. Run warm-up drills in every practice shuffling, drop stepping, poking, etc. You can’t work on this enough. Even though this seems so rudimentary many kids have not developer “muscle memory” yet. They need repetition.

It’s never too young to teach team defense. Start with a basic adjacent slide – “I’ve got ball. I’ve got left. I’ve got right.” Make them communicate this every single scrimmage. Stop the scrimmage if no one is communicating. Teach them “big eye/little eye” and “head on a swivel”. A good drill for this is to go one-on-one on the crease with four perimeter passers. The offensive crease player tries to break free while the crease defender is ball watching. Defensive footwork, “head on a swivel”, and adjacent slides will get you far in youth lacrosse. Stopping the easy drive is half the battle. If your defense forces passes you create turnover opportunities because many players don’t throw and catch all that well.

Kids want to stop to do everything – ground balls, throw, catch, shoot. Spend lots of time on basic drills that perform these activities on the move. So many times you’ll see an offensive player standing on the field with their stick in the air waiting to receive a pass. You have to teach them to cut to the ball or cut to the goal. I make a basic rule that says if your standing still your not open. Same goes for ground balls. I’ve often seen a scrum of 3-4 players standing around a ground ball and then some guy flies through the pile and picks it up on the run. Scooping on the run is huge. Practice that every day. You’ll still get some kids wanting to stop to scoop a ground ball. It will drive you crazy. The ball is on the ground a lot in youth lacrosse. Also work on teamwork with basic man/ball drills. About half of the players will get it and you’ll see it show up in your games.

Spend a disproportionate amount of practice time on unsettled situations. You score more goals in youth lacrosse on transition than settled half-field offense (if your opponent knows how to play defense). 3v2 is good. Making the defender commit to the ball carrier is huge. Their first inclination is just to pass the ball without drawing the defender – even in a 2v1. You really have to drill the “draw and dump” concept. Uneven situations are good for teaching passes too.

The secret weapon of youth lacrosse is the ride. Often a team will put a player with weak stick skills on defense. He can become a target for an aggressive ride. I run a simple ride – double the ball, shut off adjacents, and split the midfield line with two middies. We look to force a dropped ball or errant pass from the defenders. This often result in easy shots on goal. Work a lot on clearing so that you are not a victim of a ride.

Probably the thing that is tempting to work on the most, half field offense, is probably the least productive. I try to teach basic motion plays off of 1-3-2 triangle rotation and such. I think that the boys get the idea, but it becomes difficult to run such plays against an aggressive defense. You’re better off spending time on “cut and feed” drills. A really simple offense that can be effective is to run a 1-4-1 and iso the top middie. Put your best dodger up there and have him initiate a dodge from the 45 yard line and teach him to pass to the slide – back to “draw and dump” like the 3v2 drill.

Last bit of advice would be to reset your thinking from your college playing days. Resist the temptation to put in that complicated EMO play that worked so well. It really won’t look the same in a youth game. Simplify everything, but definitely retain those fundamentals and concepts.

Hope you have fun. Coaching youth lacrosse is a blast!

Awesome stuff man, thanks a lot.

[gripitandripit]

start with strict basics, and tell that there is more to come. then as they build in good basics, teach them more through fun drills, it helps alot, this is coming from a youth player, players dont like it if you underteach them

Good point about underteaching, I hadn't thought about that. I don't want to give them too much to handle but I certainly don't want to insult their intelligence and have a bunch of bored kids standing around.

[jmsaway]

What is "big eye/little eye”???

[gripitandripit]

What is "big eye/little eye”???

Keeping your head on the swivel while off the ball, basically. Keep most of your attention on your man with your "big eye" and follow the ball with your "little eye".

[ricealum]

I'm taking the plunge this year too. Played in college and put the stick down about 10 years ago, but I'm now going to coach a 5th/6th grade team at my old Catholic elementary/middle school.

I found this blog on line and this guy seems to have some really good ides too.

http://www.313lax.blogspot.com/

My wife is a 5th grade teacher so she is really helping me set my mindset for what to expect with attention spans and maturity levels at that age too. It might not hurt to talk to someone that works with kids that age to get a little more perspective on what you're walking into. The best advice she gave me (she coaches basketball too) is to set my priorities and let them be known to the parents.

1. Every kid has fun
2. Every kid learns something
3. Every kid plays
4. You win games

[gripitandripit]

AWESOME blog, thanks a lot.

[NorthernViking]

Here is another good source of info for all levels of lax: http://www.kudda.com/sports/boys+lacrosse

[ricealum]

AWESOME blog, thanks a lot.

I showed up at the men's rec league last night and non other than Coach B is in net behind me. He's a hell of a nice guy and still maning the cage at 50+ years old.

[gripitandripit]

I showed up at the men's rec league last night and non other than Coach B is in net behind me. He's a hell of a nice guy and still maning the cage at 50+ years old.

That's awesome. I hope I get to play that long.

[Bounceshot]

Picknroll---I do pretty much the same thing. I to like the 1-4-1 for U13 especially. It is simple and takes the least amount of practice time. I rarely get to any offensive sets until half to three quarters of the way through a season. My question for you is "how do you balance the field with weaker kids"? I tend to have strong skills and athletes up the middle. I've played guys who load up on middies and put the weakest players on the attack wings. What works for you?

[picknroll]

When I first started coaching youth lacrosse an experienced coaching friend told me that it was a middie-dominated game. I put my big, fast stud athletes with decent stick skills at middie and look for them to control the game physically. I tend to put fast guys with weaker stick skills at D. I have a couple of D guys that are all star soccer players. They are super conditioned, but soccer consumes all of the off season so their sticks are a little weaker so they fit well at D with lacrosse as their second sport. My slowest guys are my attack, but I like to fill those positions with year-round lacrosse players with superior stick skills from both hands - guys that can finish from a middie "drive and dump" or can feed the crease well. I am fortunate that I coach in a pretty big program so the guys that we really need to hide are usually on a lower level team.

My friend also coaches high school lacrosse and he often converts youth stud middies to attack in high school as that is more of a settled offense game that favors attacks.

[gripitandripit]

I found out I'll be taking the head coaching position for U15. Assisting me will be two older gentleman that, while they're sort of familiar with lacrosse, are just nice guys that are enthusiastic about athletics and working with kids. My new question for you guys is how do I delegate responsibility between the three of us in a way that allows them to actually help us? What I mean is, as nice as these guys are, I don't think I can count on them to teach whatever I need the kids to learn correctly or effectively. One of the guys seems like he'll be able to handle basic fundamentals and such, but I'm not so sure about the other. What I'm thinking right now is that I'll have to bounce around all practice long and demonstrate each drill or situation before I can hand over the reigns to either guy. Even then, how do I know that they'll spot and correct the things that I will? I think my biggest advantage going into this is that I have the physical ability and experience to accurately demonstrate anything a player might need to do on the lacrosse field. In addition, I can observe and correct a kid that's doing it wrong and I'm not sure if my assistants will be able to. Any clarification needed for what I'm saying? Any tips? I'm still really excited but I'm a little overwhelmed by the proposition of heading up the "flagship" team of our youth program.

[GriffsDad]

I found out I'll be taking the head coaching position for U15. Assisting me will be two older gentleman that, while they're sort of familiar with lacrosse, are just nice guys that are enthusiastic about athletics and working with kids. My new question for you guys is how do I delegate responsibility between the three of us in a way that allows them to actually help us? What I mean is, as nice as these guys are, I don't think I can count on them to teach whatever I need the kids to learn correctly or effectively. One of the guys seems like he'll be able to handle basic fundamentals and such, but I'm not so sure about the other. What I'm thinking right now is that I'll have to bounce around all practice long and demonstrate each drill or situation before I can hand over the reigns to either guy. Even then, how do I know that they'll spot and correct the things that I will? I think my biggest advantage going into this is that I have the physical ability and experience to accurately demonstrate anything a player might need to do on the lacrosse field. In addition, I can observe and correct a kid that's doing it wrong and I'm not sure if my assistants will be able to. Any clarification needed for what I'm saying? Any tips? I'm still really excited but I'm a little overwhelmed by the proposition of heading up the "flagship" team of our youth program.

Actually, this is perfect for you. While they are blowing the whistle and saying "go" in a particular drill, you will be able to provide individual instruction ie. holding the stick, throwing motion, cradling, etc. that the other guys won't be able to do. For example, when you are doing 2 on 1 gb's, your asst's can throw the ball while you are showing a kid how to get his butt hand down.

You should decide on Sunday what you will do in the practice(s) for that week and then send them a schedule. Also, its good to meet with your coaches separately and tell them what you would like them to do or find out what they would be willing to do.

As for the kids, keep it simple- ground balls, passing and catching. Kids like to score so put in a shooting drill to keep them interested. Or make it a reward for working hard. One thing to look out for, the kids who think smashing a guy with a stick is part of the game.

Have fun.