Frustration, Frustration, Frustration

[laxgod1790]

Ok as all my fellow Jerseyites know lacrosse season started friday. Anyway over the off-season I have training hard. I wanted to be better than everybody else and really excel this year(im a sophmore this year). So i played wall-ball. Ran cross-country and winter track. All that stuff. Anyway so the season comes along. As i guessed nobody picked up there stick. Although to my surprise this one kid who also plays attack and as of last year I was around the same level as him skills wise(BTW he is a lefty and has no right). So today at practice during some 6 on 6's he just keeps ripping our goalie apart. I don't know how he did it. Then after I ask him what he did during the off-season and he says he hasen't picked up his stick since last season. I can't believe it. I trained so hard to get better and basically got nowhere. Now I am in danger of losing my starting slot. Anyways my question is how can I get better? I know its a vague question but like I don't really know what to do. I think that my only problem is that it is a little hard to get open. Like its hard to get good offense flow with our team.

Can anybody help me???

[Superman]

practice harder. theres always a way to practice harder. lift heavier weights, run farther, rip shots for an hour. just keep pushing yourself to the limit. youll see alot of improvement.

[GBaschski]

Same friggin' thing happened to me man. I worked my butt off harder than I ever have in my life in the offseason, I'm getting owned in practice and my friend who didn't run a single sprint or touch his stick once in the off season made the varsity team without even trying.

I know how it feels...you can either give up or keep pushing, simple as that. Keep pushing man.

[laxgod1790]

Same friggin' thing happened to me man. I worked my butt off harder than I ever have in my life in the offseason, I'm getting owned in practice and my friend who didn't run a single sprint or touch his stick once in the off season made the varsity team without even trying.

I know how it feels...you can either give up or keep pushing, simple as that. Keep pushing man.

Yeah well Im definattly not gonna give up. Lax is life baby. And to make it even worse yesterday that same kid said do you like play like everyday?

[titanslax]

Well at least someone is noticing your hardwork. I dont know the remedy for your situation man. Maybe you worked to hard to long? I dont know...I'm just throwing things out there. Maybe its just pre-season lucky bugs? I dont know. But i wouldnt stop trying. Thats the worst thing you can do.

[laxgod1790]

Well at least someone is noticing your hardwork. I dont know the remedy for your situation man. Maybe you worked to hard to long? I dont know...I'm just throwing things out there. Maybe its just pre-season lucky bugs? I dont know. But i wouldnt stop trying. Thats the worst thing you can do.

Who is noticing my hardwork? You guys?

[Diesel4958]

laxgod- This will happen time, and time again. Don't worry about it. This will help to push you harder for next year.

[waynelaxgrl101]

if your having trouble getting open like you said, when cutting to the goal w/out the ball, try to dodge around the d-man but also get a push off of him. this knocks him off balance, and helps you get an offensive edge.

[Dose]

just keep working hard and dont get discouraged. if you keep up the hard work, youll get to the point where your work ethic surpasses his natural ability

[aLAXc5]

From personal experience that happend to me but i was the one who never practice and schooled on people. In high school i couldnt hit the net if it was 10 feet tall accuracy was off then i go to college as the only freshman and schooled on our goalie and i figured that it was b/c our team was really bad then i schooled on D2 schools and schools in NY. I think it was my cofindence and my determination because after i found out i had accuracy everytihng got easier and I wanted to practice more. I def understand how frustrating it can be for you but it is also awkward for the person because yet again from experience everyone hates you and your just doing the same things you did before but for some odd reason everything is working. And who knows this kid could have actually been practiceing but wants to play off that he wasnt to be cool. Keep up the good work tho and keep practiceing

[sammyduelist]

first chill first so you arent frustrated, since it might end up beign a distraction which might make you perfeorm not as well as you could

[shiftylax]

This si goign to be hard to swallow for some of you younger guys. But the truth of the matter is this: Some kids are more talented than others. Some kids work a lto harder than others and will never be at the level of the kids who never pick up their stick until they have to. That is just how it is. Can you get better from practicing constantly? Of course. However, some people are more gifted than others naturally, athletically, and physically. That is how it is. It's not fair - trust me I played every pther sport and was just "okay" at them until lacrosse. I was lucky and took to the sport every quickly. All you can do is keep practicing and working harder than anyone els eon the field. Play a role, help the team. Not everyone on the team is going to be a superstar. You cant bake a cake with just the icing - you have to go out there and do the dirty work to get noticed sometimes. Don't le tit discourage you, let it motivate you.

[Shorelax]

There is more to the game than physical preperation. As an old fart who still plays - it becomes more obvious every year. You can be the most gifted athlete physcially - but if you don't have good "field sense" or your "field sense" doenst grow as quickly as other players - you will be left behind. Recognizing defensive sets and player locations on the field and understanding quickly how to exploit them is huge.

This may sound like some zen budda mumbo jumbo - but I know a few 40 year old guys who still give the college players a run for their money every summer.

So my advice - work on all aspects of the game - not just the physical part. Watch some tape and begin to recognize what works for others. Field movement, positioning relative to the ball, off ball movement, etc...

[sharpshooterFTW]

ok i totally agree with all of you, but i do have to say practicing dosn't help just one sport. this is going to sound completely gay, but what you learn in practice can be applyed anywhere. lacrosse has told me that life is not a box of chocolates, sometimes you get pissed, sometimes someone is pissed at you, somtimes you get hurt, somtimes u=you can dish out the pain, sometimes you win and somtimes you lose. if you can accept all of those things then you're golden. however you should never let losing be the only option, always step up in practice, step up in the class room, and step up when you can. I can see that most people on this forum are in HS, and most likely have jobs, and/or girlfriends, (workin on both @ the moment) but maybe practicing every hour of every day is too much. spend some time with other stuff. i can tell you being a runner, a swimmer, and a lacrosse player that somtimes you need a break to get better. take a step back and relax for a sec. one time in xc (cross country 4 those who don't know) we did an intense training regiment, all season, and then our class took a 3 day trip to gettysburg, PA. we pigged out, arbeys McD's ect. but when i came back i beat our #1, andone of our former coaches in a race where i really wasn't the favorite (our former coach was like 20 somthin and ran every day) so, there's some proof i guess

sorry for preaching,
coop

[laxgod1790]

Thanks alot guys.

Sharpshooter yeah I know what you're talking about that. I also run cross country. Its actually funny though because the type of person that I'm complaining about in Lacrosse in the type of person I am in Cross Country. I stepped onto the team last fall not having run more than one mile at a time. After two weeks I was our 3rd best runner. As a sophmore.

WayneLaxgirl thats a good idea thanks, Ill try that today. BTW are you from Wayne, New Jersey. If so I go to Ramapo.

Shifty I also get what you're saying. Im not trying to be in denial or anything but this kid who I'm talking about is like the same level as me. I can shoot as well as him but it just seems like it comes easier to him.

Well I guess for the concensus(sp) of this I'm just going to watch some video for better off-ball movement and concentrate on getting myself open. Ill try like heck to become a floater this season(playing both JV and Varsity). I guess I'll also try working on shooting a little bit more also over the off-season.

[WickedDpole21]

keep working hard. but ull get to a point where its pure talent, like evryone else has said. but if he has no off hand, he should be able to be eaten up by a smart defender. the dmen should be forcing him to his off hand.
i think if u trully r better than him, just keep playing and ur coaches will notice it. and they will notice ur work ethic. tell them u worked all offseason. they will be glad to here it.

but kep up the good work, dont give up man.

[laxfolife24]

Some kids do a lot better after a break. I wouldn't sweat it, just keep playing and don't think so much. Your hard work will pay off.