soccer player football player theory.

[mokiis]

i think that you should put the taller faster soccer players in longstick posittion, i found the big foot ball dudes cant react as fast as soccer players, but on the other hand putting the wrestlers and foot ball players in attack position as an offensive defence works really well. everyone eles , epesially the small but bolky players should play middie!

[Snake~eyes]

Not bad. Personally I bleieve that you cannot be big and slow and play lacrosse. It is very hard, everyone has to be fast. I'd do what you do and put the fastest kids on D, I find most coaches at the youth level putting the big kids on defense, just because I think that defense is stereotyped as a big football position when in all actuality it requires speed.

[spenny]

while i agree that you have to be fast to play the game with any sucess, when i have a slow player, 9 times out of 10 hes going to be playing attack, probably crease (especially if he has stick skills)

but remember, in youth lax, i'm required to play everyone, if i was a HS coach, the slow kids would have to be working their butts off during practice to see playing time during the game

[Snake~eyes]

I agree with ya 100%

[Thrillhouse]

As a big and slow crease attackmen; I have to hang my head and agree as well.

[jazzjon9]

i'm not bragging cause i've got nothin to brag about (i stink at lax) but i got a soccer and hockey backround, and i've got a great build for lax. i'm one of the fastest kids on the team, but i'm also 5'6 and 130 pounds at 8th grade. so average hight, good strength and speed. now if only i could figure out how to play

[LaXDaVe]

actually at 5' 6'' in eighth grade, your above average height. Im 5' 6'' and in 9th grade (10th next year) and I'm short. =P

[waxon]

I'm 5'9" and like 145 lbs. I'm not too fast either, but I have alot of stamina and endurance and can run for a long time. Just not very fast. I'm play football, wrestling, lacrosse, and diving.

[Infrared]

Hm, im in 8th grade too. Im only 5'2", and 100 lbs, so im short, but im fast from soccer, and am "ambidextrouse" (sp?)

[smitt5168]

i'm a noseguard with a long pole...

[jazzjon9]

my endurance isn't too great, but my mile is around a 7 minute,so im not bad either

[spenny]

i'm 6' 1" and 30+ pounds overweight, and i can still beat almost all of my players in a sprint.

endurance? that was 20 pounds ago

[TheKOB]

My thoughts are that any player can do well in any position. In terms of sports...

Basketball players: make good defenders, especially for zone.
Football players: same as above. a slow kid with footwork who knows how to check can be an effective slider...especially since down here, all the football linemen want to hit anyways, and with the hs football programs down here, they're big and fast

Soccer: middies, naturally, although the D probably would have the foot speed to stay in good positioning....they'd just have to fight the urge to slide-tackle.

Wrestlers: Great faceoff and goalies. Faceoff because they'll get low and are quick, goalies because they're (usually) fairly fearless and quick.

chess player: stat keeper

baseball player: who needs 'em.


Attackmen...I usually look for the best stick skills. Not necessarily the hardest shots, but the best feeders and guys who know to run away from trouble. A good feed is harder to pass than to catch.

and for the record, I'm 6'3", huge, slow, and get winded putting my pads on.

[mokiis]

(i never thought wrestlers as good face off men, but that is a awesome theory. are face off man this year was a wrestler to.)

for me this season all are defence was food ball players. they are naturally good hitters but dont see the other aspects of the game such as "slides" & "teamwork". they never really worked together.

the soccer players wouldnt do much better. to nutz. and soccer defence is the fathest thing from lacrosse defence.

basket ball players who are quick and understand zone defence would work, they have good hands, and good foot work.

i feel though that if you give a 6"1' football player a short pole, (something he can handle) he would be industructable. only if they had good stick work, but sometimes if they can just scoop the ball and push there way threw they would be good.
and on ground ball they would work the defence over on ground balls having big bodies in there.

[jazzjon9]

well yea, don't leave it up to a football player to figure out slides, they aren't the quickest kids normally. (jk football kids, don't tie me to the flag pole again). That's one of the great things about lax, it's got a place for everyone.

[nmlax22]

I used to play football and basketball and turned into a more year round goalie. Im slow though, with good hand eye and decent hand speed.

[TRELAX]

I play defense in soccer an attack in lacrosse so this theory doesn't really apply to me. Soccer players generally make good middies but every team needs an evasive attackman (speed and stick skills, like myself) and someone who understands the dirty side of lacrosse (soccer is the dirtiest, cheapest game on earth, soccer players make evil lacrosse players) so its natural for a soccer player to be a good riding attackman.
I would never play a fullback from soccer as a d-man in lacrosse, the positioning is way differnt, thats why my lax coach moved me to attack. In soccer you play defense on a angle; in lax you play with your hips squared- adapting to one sport's defensive positioning will only screw you up in the other, so FBs need to find a differnt lax position.
Basicly, football linebackers make the best d-men, hands down. They are enforcers and they know how to play zone (especially MLBs).

Soccer fowards and midfielders make great lacrosse middies, soccer fullbacks make great attackmen.

Basketball players make great LSMs since they're all tall and fast.

Baseball catchers make decent goalies too, they're fearless, good leaders, and need to know the game better than the coaches do.

[mokiis]

seroiusly

[mokiis]

seriously!

[longpole3661]

Originally posted by smitt5168
i'm a noseguard with a long pole...

Same here i'm a noseguard and center

[longpole3661]

the best lax players are the crazy football plyers who love to hit and are mad fast like the safetys and stuff they make good midies

[VeronaLax17]

You cant just have everyone else play middie thougth. they are they most important people on the team, next to the goalie. they play both offense and defense they are the workhorse of the team. if you dont have middies how are you going to transition between offense and defense.

also you cant forget about hockey players, if they can run they make good middies. The reason for this is that they are used to playing both offense and defense. They can the the ball up the field on a rush and then if they loose it they have it ingraned in their brain to backcheck like a no other.

[TheKOB]

Originally posted by VeronaLax17
You cant just have everyone else play middie thougth. they are they most important people on the team, next to the goalie. they play both offense and defense they are the workhorse of the team. if you dont have middies how are you going to transition between offense and defense.

Yes you can. Where would you put a new player? Attack? Defense? Goalie? I can see someone who played football playing Defense, at least to start out. They have a wider variety of duties, but usually you're middies aren't your best takeaway men and best scorers, that's the d and attack. i'd rather have a middie up top on either side of the field that didn't know what he was doing rather than a attack, defense, or (heaven forbid) goalie who was new to the game. Also, middies are where you need the most players anyways. If they show bright spots on one side of the field or the other, then they can move to another position.

Originally posted by VeronaLax17
also you cant forget about hockey players, if they can run they make good middies. The reason for this is that they are used to playing both offense and defense. They can the the ball up the field on a rush and then if they loose it they have it ingraned in their brain to backcheck like a no other.

...and to not play without their sticks. There's a hockey player on our team who gets called for tripping all the time, mainly because of his wide stance, which I think he gets from hockey.

[LaxGoalieLZ]

Our FO man was a wrestler as well, he dominated the face offs too

[Cip]

Nobody even knows how to reply to a post that unintelligent.

[Cip]

O ya, and I play football too, and lax is better :tongue

[Dan]

yeah, i'm 5'11", 155, most of it is everything but fat. i have 12.5% body fat. i'm a skinny kid. i play d, mainly because it's about tactics, intelligence and knowing when to strike and where. half my team played hockey, and our goalie was a football player. me and another kid were cross country runners, and we played midi last year. i switched to d mid-season. like it WAY better. most kids thought it was because i was lazy, but it's mainly because i haven't got offensive skills, but i do have defensive skills. and i hate bending over to scoop. so, i say, let older players play where they want, and if they are good, let them play.

younger guys, unless they already own a pole, should start midi, in most cases. or goalie, if they have a goalie stick. and that's for the very young kids. i don't know what my point is.

[AngryLongStick]

We had a giant defense two years ago (4 guys 6 foot + 200+ all football players), and they sucked. We moved to a smaller, faster defense this past season and we were a very effective unit. We did find that however, big football linemen are great faceoff guys. They have size and that burst to getting off the line as well as ability to go low. Our face off guy (a Right Tackle in football) had like a 70% face off win percentage in the regular season, not only was he good, but he scared the piss outta alotta people.

[micksnhulax7]

i was a baseball catcher for 9 years, soccer goalie, hockey goalie and foward, played center in football....i play goalie in lacrosse, playing other sports is a must for lacrosse player, i have good hands from hockey, goalie mentality from soccer and hockey, fearless from football, and all from baseball....ex baseball players or hockey players make great lacrosse players for all positions

[faacjb]

As a youth coach, I say recruit all the hockey players you can. They never stand still and naturally work from behind the goal.
I also agree with several of you who say put the slow kid at attack. The defnese does not regard the slug as a threat. Eventually, they ignore him.
I have a slow kid on my team who is also a good stick handler and very smart. He always gets open and is a major scoring threat.
Lastly. I am fascinated by the discussion of wrestlers as face of guys. I was a center midi in high school (back before the Crimean War) and also captain of the wrestling team. I never understood why I gravitated to the face off position. But reading these posts, I realize there a lot of similarities. In both cases, you have 2 men facing each other alone. In wrestling, you are taught to dominate and control your opponent, which is what you need to do in a face off. Lastly, there is the intensity. There is no such thing as a "settled" game in wrestling. The same is true of face offs. Every face off is a dog fight.

[franks2089]

In football I play middle linebacker and in soccer I play center midfield and I play middie in lacrosse. That is sort of the opposite of what you guys are saying that soccer players play defence.

[shiftylax]

If I had a choice in recruiting kids that had never played lacrosse before I would go after kids that have played basketball and hockey. But those sports don't line up season wise - not in the NH anyway. If pressed I'd got for a basketball player over any other sport any day of the week. At least they will be able to play defense, which is more than I can say for soccer players. Yikes, they're a disaster on D.

[LiquidMercury16]

And then there is me, Im a rower who happens to play lacrosse for fun. What position do I fit in?

[jim_uk]

Hi. I play lacrosse in the UK and only started when I was 18 after playing soccer (or just football over here) and rugby all my life.

Starting so late in life I found getting good stick skills difficult but I was used to big hits (from rugby) and positional play from soccer so I gravitated towards defence. Apart from the fitness/speed aspects, I agree that the key to defence is team-work, positional play and lots of patience.

The problem with some big guys (I am only 5, 10) is that they cannot get into position quick enough and end up over-committing all the time; a big hit is not always the best thing to do! Defending in soccer can be similar, knowing when to tackle, when not; when to just hold, etc. and from that perspective, defence is a good place to start out.

[Tex71]

im a middle linebacker for football and i play middle d mlb helped me learn to play zone because my middies suck at d and on d we always have an extra ofensive guy but im so happy because in nesll my midies are crazy at d an stuff so its like man the whole way just destroying some kid when he gets the ball it works for me :grin:

[ex-lax]

As a youth coach, I say recruit all the hockey players you can. They never stand still and naturally work from behind the goal.
I also agree with several of you who say put the slow kid at attack. The defnese does not regard the slug as a threat. Eventually, they ignore him.
I have a slow kid on my team who is also a good stick handler and very smart. He always gets open and is a major scoring threat.
Lastly. I am fascinated by the discussion of wrestlers as face of guys. I was a center midi in high school (back before the Crimean War) and also captain of the wrestling team. I never understood why I gravitated to the face off position. But reading these posts, I realize there a lot of similarities. In both cases, you have 2 men facing each other alone. In wrestling, you are taught to dominate and control your opponent, which is what you need to do in a face off. Lastly, there is the intensity. There is no such thing as a "settled" game in wrestling. The same is true of face offs. Every face off is a dog fight.
word i cant believe no one has said any thing about hockey players they can check, have good stick skills and they are used to having short shifts and going 100% all the time have you ever watched a box lacrosse game and a hockey game and how simalar they are.

[laxjunkie]

also you cant forget about hockey players, if they can run they make good middies. The reason for this is that they are used to playing both offense and defense. They can the the ball up the field on a rush and then if they loose it they have it ingraned in their brain to backcheck like a no other.

Hockey players pick up the game fast, but they also have a tendency to play with the free hand, and pull a lot of dirty tricks (stick butts to the sternum and other fun stuff). They do make strong middies, and can be good faceoff guys.

My players who also played basketball were my best all around players - I generally put them as middies. Their field sense for offense and defense has always been awesome.

I found soccer players make good attackmen. My high scorers have been soccer guys - they've always been in the right place at the right time.

I do put football guys on D - I found their communication skills have been the strongest. Also, these guys are required to stay in shape all year, so they are fast.

Goalies - that's not from a sport, that's a personality type. You need someone crazy enough to want to stand in there, has a high tolerance for pain, and the reflexes of a cat.

[arm3]

Sorry to say this, but the problem with soccer kids is they tend to be pretty soft. I wish it weren't true, because some of them are pretty fast and could make pretty good players if they were willing to work through a few bumps and bruises, and hit/take a hit once and a while.

[DeadZero9]

im not excatly the best at stick skills on my team but when ever i get the ball on defense you can be sure it will be on the otherside of the field within a few good seconds. By the way i play middi and no one on my team can come close to my sprinting speed and winning face offs.

[NLLStormCA]

hey I play football offensive line...and I play long pole so your theories are wrong about football players cant react, you have to be out of your football stance in a slip second...I'm pretty good too....O and if you are wondering, I'm 6'5 250...the little attacks piss there pants when they see me...

[bulldog24]

yea good idea, but i play fullback and linebacker, and am the best defensemen on my team. plus, im as far away from a fast soccer player as possible.

[Ventral]

Sorry to say this, but the problem with soccer kids is they tend to be pretty soft. I wish it weren't true, because some of them are pretty fast and could make pretty good players if they were willing to work through a few bumps and bruises, and hit/take a hit once and a while.
I agree with this totaly, we have a couple kids that would be awsome if they just ran around and not worried about getting hit.

Our D-Unit is composed of a MLB,OSLB, and a DE(me) We all are quick on our feet and are just as fast as our middies, but the difference is we love to hit. Most attack get shut down because they all are afraid to do any thing but pass the ball.

I think you just need to find the right combo of people, it doesnt matter what sport they play. All sports have there benefits and downsides, ie: Football players generally love to hit but are some times slow reacting and Soccer players have great reaction skills but are gerneraly afraid of contact.

But this is all my own opinion.

[waxon]

I'm a wrestler, played goalie this year and liked it. I think I'm switchin to middie this year.

[aikitim]

i'm a noseguard with a long pole...
same hurr .

[Frihed89]

I coach overseas in a soccer-mad country. You have to break a lot of dirty habits - since position play is 100% different. Give me an ice hockey or a basket ball player every time.

[websterlax52]

We've got this guy on our team who is 6'0" and 180 pounds. He is honestly probelly the greatest defensmen i have ever seen. He's fast(a little bit above average) he's ambidextorase and he is extremely discplined. That what i was goin for with my being a long pole middy, but i tore my acl and ended my season after the 4th game (MUCH TOO SOON!)

Anyway, baseball player arn't completly worthless. Some hitters are great at seeing the ball coming towards them, so they make amazing goalies. Other then that, they are completly worthless

Hockey kids are extremely tough, and can be relied on to play until they
break somthing.

We don't have a lot of football players (except for the amazing defensmen), so i can't really say much about them.

Soccer players are usually the best middys. They have great endurance and are usually pretty tough

Expieranced basketball players are amazing with there footwork and can call great plays. I belive the football/basketball player combo works best for defense though.

[regulate34]

i am 6'1 1/2 and like 220lbs and i am ok in the speed department i run the 50m in 6.9 sec and i am a hevey hitter but i specilize in box but in feild i do play a lot of goal(mostly because every one is afraid and the ones that arent we need out scoring goals)but what i play biggie i rock kids and i doo play some attack but i also play middie some times to give out really good middies a break because i and bid and hard to move and i have amazing stick skila and i can really shoot fromt he out side like aroing 80-85 mph

[Doddsworth]

Book by the cover?
This is a crazy argument! not all soccer players are fast!not all footballers are slow! Some slow movers have fast reactions, some fast movers have slow reactions. Maybe if they were all sheep there would be an argument. My advice, only judge a player after you see them in action.

[eamiddy16]

i come from a soccer background and i got into lacrosse this year... me playing soccer i am fast one of the fastes on our team and i play middy.. in soccer i played middy and D so i dont really agree with that fact that D are best atack men and such.. im also one of the bigger kids on my team too 5'11 160 and im 14. basically what im trying to get at is that i think its more about how your foot work is and how ur feild of vison and stick skills are not really about how big you or what sport u come from. granteed tho ur sport background might help with ur speed and foot work.

[laxjunkie]

To be honest, one of my top scorers this year is a rookie Senior (his first year in lacrosse) who is a soccer player. He's naturally an amazing athlete, and I put him at attack because his field sense is great, and he pounces on rebounds and puts them in the net. He wins every groundball. He has set the tone for the whole offense. Imagine if I had him for four years!

[gitrdone]

I found putting soccer players at attack and football players at D.

[HdGLaxWarrior]

Yeah. Soccer players on O, football on D.

[Lamada]

the thing i have learnt playing defence is its fine to have a bigger, slower linemen with a d pole on defence, who can deliver a hit and keep people wary of the middle, while the other d poles should be faster, whith less emphasis on size.

[clublax44]

Soccer players are great lax players, because they have the best stamina

[Lucky#13]

I'll have to argue and say that wrestlers have the best stamina (i've play both sports). A close second is definitely soccer, though.

[IRISHLAX30]

players should pick what positon they play by what they like and what they are comfortable with . Other sports might help you develop into a positon but there have been big middies like conor ford who can be extremly helpful on offense and in transition and small defenders who can move around quickly and are great at covering attackmen and large slow attackmen who have great sticks and excellant shots . what i'm saying is that how your built doesn't necessarily give you an advantage at a position .

[cptdan]

players should pick what positon they play by what they like and what they are comfortable with . Other sports might help you develop into a positon but there have been big middies like conor ford who can be extremly helpful on offense and in transition and small defenders who can move around quickly and are great at covering attackmen and large slow attackmen who have great sticks and excellant shots . what i'm saying is that how your built doesn't necessarily give you an advantage at a position .

And that is what makes LAX the great sport that it is

[UNCdefense]

all yall are right on with putting certain players from other sports & all, but think of it the other way...dont think of it as drafting other athletes in to lax, but as lax players being drafted in to other sports..get what i mean???there's so many certain qualities for so many diff. positions in lax....the 1/2 of my team that bothers to play other sports all start & succeed in whatever sport it is, they might not be you know a soccer or football god, but they're all at least decent obviously.....short & sweet
LAX IS THE BEST!

[dkoulatsos]

Lacrosse and football are "gritty" sports, while soccer and basketball are "contact" sports; every year in the National Football League, the toughest, grittiest team wins the championship! You see the same trend in lacrosse. A good, gritty defense will shut down any offense. Just look at Hopkins this year against Duke - they held Duke to zero goals in the last 27 minutes of the game. Look at the New England Patriots the last 3 out of 4 years! I'd much rather have a player who is a step slow, but has a big heart, and lots of grit, versus a flashy player, who plays scared. Furthermore, a kid who is a step slow can play crease defense or crease attack. If he is a gritty ballplayer, he will find a place on the field. A lot of Coach Starsia's success at UVA is that he actively recruits Division II football players, and he takes these gritty athletes and turns them into lacrosse players. That's not saying that all soccer players are not tough - there are some who are. But overall, you don't see Coach Starsia recruiting soccer players; he goes after football players. Any sport where you need to wear a helmet, a mouthguard, and a cup, you need a good portion of grit as well. If a player has it, he can experience a measure of success in lacrosse, football, and hockey. If a player doesn't, then he needs to focus on soccer, basketball, or a similar "contact" sport, not a "collision" sport.

[UNCdefense]

that is very well said & probably the best 1st post ive ever seen....you border line called soccer & basketball players ******* but didnt say it directly.lol.....i agree completley well spoken

[lyonslax98]

at our school the coach pretty much lets new players decide where they want to play. i decided to play in december i think and i flip flopped between defense and attack a few times (the coach recruited me from football, at the time i think i was 5'10" 180). i dunno if this has been said, but i like the system we have b/c you never know how people will grow. like i said i was a big football type freshman year, but lacrosse/aging made me convert a lot of fat to muscle (now i'm 6'0" 185 as a junior) and get a lot faster. i think i have a pretty good build for a defenseman and have definitely built the footwork and quickness to be a good d player. if i had not gotten taller and faster but had just gotten a lot more muscle, i could have switched to attack. as a coach you should give your kids the chance to change positions so they can get the most out of their body and improve their chances of being on the field...and you can change their positions if thats what the team needs.

[freestylewalkin]

actually at 5' 6'' in eighth grade, your above average height. Im 5' 6'' and in 9th grade (10th next year) and I'm short. =P

wow u guys are short im 5 11 goin into 9 grade (i play D)

[Diesel4958]

I am a former soccer player, I play middie. I am shorter 5' 7'' and kind of bulky 175 lbs. I am a face off guy. I do not fit into any theory. I quit soccer to lift, and play more lacrosse. That is my story of the past 5 months.

[LaxGuru27]

Yeah i have to agree with that, My coach pretty much did the same thing, at 5'7 220 pounds i thought my coach was crazy putting me in attack my freshmen year, i was used to being handed a long pole and being told to do a job. Now at 6'3 250 pounds i see that i was ment to play attack, not alot people want to get in my way, Im not slow, and i have a faster sprint than half the attackmen that are half my size from my old team. I cant explain it, bigger guys do alot of damage when put at attack.

[Diesel4958]

Lacrosse and football are "gritty" sports, while soccer and basketball are "contact" sports; every year in the National Football League, the toughest, grittiest team wins the championship! You see the same trend in lacrosse. A good, gritty defense will shut down any offense. Just look at Hopkins this year against Duke - they held Duke to zero goals in the last 27 minutes of the game. Look at the New England Patriots the last 3 out of 4 years! I'd much rather have a player who is a step slow, but has a big heart, and lots of grit, versus a flashy player, who plays scared. Furthermore, a kid who is a step slow can play crease defense or crease attack. If he is a gritty ballplayer, he will find a place on the field. A lot of Coach Starsia's success at UVA is that he actively recruits Division II football players, and he takes these gritty athletes and turns them into lacrosse players. That's not saying that all soccer players are not tough - there are some who are. But overall, you don't see Coach Starsia recruiting soccer players; he goes after football players. Any sport where you need to wear a helmet, a mouthguard, and a cup, you need a good portion of grit as well. If a player has it, he can experience a measure of success in lacrosse, football, and hockey. If a player doesn't, then he needs to focus on soccer, basketball, or a similar "contact" sport, not a "collision" sport.


I disagree, Lacrosse is also a sport about finess, and so is soccer, or basketball. One can not characterize a person by what sport they play, you may have the hardest hitting best football player on your highschool team that on the weekends engages in ballet. Its not likely but it could happen. For lacrosse you really want someone who has a good balance of both finess, and grittyness (sp). I also beleive gritty is easier learned than finess, finess is natural skill, not something a couple weeks at camp will teach you.

[CHSlax]

Here's what i did and its helped me a lot when i wasa really young i played soccer just cuz i was really goood at it thne from 5th-8th grade played football and that gave me the hitting sense and i high school i've playede soccer because it is so muhc more conditioning. I think its helped i play mid and dpole. and since everyone has said it I'm 5"9 170 pounds.

[MeTHLax18]

i used to play soccer as a little kid and then i switched to football and basketball and it played varsity football as a freshmen and i played freshmen bball and nowadays the more athletic kids are on defense kids who can position themselves very well and stick with anyone who is quick on there feet...so you cant necessary put slow players on attack everyone has to be quick on there feet and yes there arre those big players who are talented but they get shut down by 2nd year de poles cause they arent as athletic and middi's you have to be the most conditioned and athlectic.

[Northmen4ever]

Very interesting subject. Where I come from, we start lax at 3 years old, it is like a religion in my home town. It is the lax players that are coveted for other sports, so I think it is very interesting to see other coaches perspectives on what they look for and the generalities of recruiting from different sports. . I am a big believer that coaches do not put players into positions they "put" themselves into the positions they are built/drawn/geared to. We just watch them mature and grow into different positions as they develop and mature. From a general standpoint middies need fair to good sticks, agrressiveness and speed for the transition game. Posititioning and strength and agility with their footwork are the key for defenders. Attackers have to be intelligent and have great hands & sticks. They need speed but it has to be explosive short bursts of speed to do damage, and get themselves in a position to drive and score.

[sammyduelist]

well, im about 5' 8 ,8th grade, and play defense
and im pretty fast compared so some people on my team, if not one of the fastest
i have a soccer background too, where a play defnse

[Laxer1241]

im about 5'3 140lbs and i'm one of the top defenders in my highschool at my level even thuogh i could work on my stamina i can sprint just as fast as anyone and im one of the slower kids on the team so i dont think physical features really affect your gameplay it is more mental.

[GCdorman40]

I'm about 6'1 1/2" around 170 lbs in 11th grade... i used to play soccer until my school got a lax team last year. I play football and basketball as well. My agility sucks but i have 4.6 40 speed and my endurance is great and i have decent footwork from being a WR/LB in football. I started out as the team's only long pole middy, but after 4 games and 6 broken sticks i was moved to reg middy where i finished the 11 game season as second leading scorer. I took the face-offs when i was out there, and i won the majority of them. But during the summer league we, it was less serious and i swithced positions with one of our defenders and i'm probly the best defenders we have on the team, so i'll probly playing a lil of both during winter and this spring.

but we have a lot of big guys playing defense who play football. but we have two playing offense and two playing goalie/defense, and their stick skills aren't too good. but i personally think basketball players are the best defenders because they have footwork and are used to switching from man to zone a lot of course we only have 2 on the team. soccer players give you the endurance for middy and man to man, football is probly attack if they have the stick skills. Our hockey players play middy and attack, and they have the best stick skills on the team, but all shoot sidearm, but hey they get on target most of the time.

[mokiis]

damn i started a good thread

[aof09lax]

I dont know about the whole middie idea. In my opinion, middies influence the game the most. they should be your strongest, most athletic kids. I like the idea of fast d-men (I hate meatrods on defense). And attackman can be big guys with good shots.

[dkoulatsos]

Diesel, I guess we have to agree to disagree. "Grit" is something that one is born with - not acquired. Either a kid has heart, or he doesn't. As a coach, one of the most disturbing things that I've had to deal with, is an overzealous parent that was a good athlete in his day, trying to push his son into a "collision" sport like lacrosse. The sport is extremely difficult for the athlete who lacks heart. You need an element of grit to play all sports, but in sports like lacrosse, football, wrestling, hockey, the toughest teams with the toughest individuals come out on top. Give me a team of tough lacrosse players, and we'll beat a team of heartless, finesse players, or a soccer team, or even a team of ballerinas! :rofl:

[lacrosseman192]

yeah but if u put the skinnier, weak soccer players at defense against the big football players the defense will just keep getting bull dodged and knocked over and wont be that effective plus defense is supposed to be for bigger kids not the kids that get pushed around all the time

[CaptMDG]

I have some thoughts about athletes from other sports playing lacrosse. I have found a couple of consistencies in these crossover areas:

Wrestlers make good faceoff men - There are only two sports in the world that start from a set position and explode into action on a whistle, lacrosse and the wrestling down position.

The "skill positions" of football (running backs, defensive secondary, receivers) make great midfielders. The open field running and vision they need in their sport is exactly what midfielders do.

Basketball players are great d-men or attackmen. I particularly like them at attack because they always dodge with their heads up. This is probably because they have to always look up to spot the hoop.

I find that defensemen that come from the offensive or defensive line in football also works, particularly if they play a lot of pass offense or defense on their team.

I also agree with the "heart" factor - without heart there can be no lacrosse player.

I cannot give you any feel for the goalie though. I coached an D3 All-American goalie who also was an AA linebacker. Very few attackmen came around that cage! I also coached a wrestler in the cage. I cannot really find a particular sport that naturally transfers into the goal.

I have never had a good experience with the soccer to lacrosse transfer myself, yet a great player from the heydays of Cornell lacrosse was an AA midfielder in lacrosse and an AA soccer goalie. I played with him in club ball after he graduated. You may know him - Bruce Arena - America's World Cup Soccer Coach! So there goes my theory!!!

I loved this conversation, it forced me to write.

[spenny]

I cannot give you any feel for the goalie though. I coached an D3 All-American goalie who also was an AA linebacker. Very few attackmen came around that cage! I also coached a wrestler in the cage. I cannot really find a particular sport that naturally transfers into the goal.

football quarterbacks. its an ideal position for them. they are used to having the pressure of game in their hands, good and identifying cutters and reacting (sound like recievers downfield?) calling plays is the same as calling the defenses.

the other position ive had luck with is baseball catchers.

ive got to agree with the rest of your list tho. and give me hockey players everytime over soccer players!!
(soccer is a spring sport here in VA, so it not much of a problem for me)

[Goalie18]

while i agree that you have to be fast to play the game with any sucess, when i have a slow player, 9 times out of 10 hes going to be playing attack, probably crease (especially if he has stick skills)

but remember, in youth lax, i'm required to play everyone, if i was a HS coach, the slow kids would have to be working their butts off during practice to see playing time during the game

Same with girls lax if you slow you playing first home cause then your behind the net and out of the way

[Jplourde]

as a relatively small kid (5"2', 125 lbs), and i started out as a Midifielder in soccer, then lacrosse, and now i play those and QB in football, so it really depends, i think, on speed, intellegience, and toughness, those are the top 3 that could decide ur position

[mattlax743]

football quarterbacks. its an ideal position for them. they are used to having the pressure of game in their hands, good and identifying cutters and reacting (sound like recievers downfield?) calling plays is the same as calling the defenses.

the other position ive had luck with is baseball catchers.

ive got to agree with the rest of your list tho. and give me hockey players everytime over soccer players!!
(soccer is a spring sport here in VA, so it not much of a problem for me)


yea i agree baseball catchers or real good baseball hitters may be ideal for goalie, since they both would have very good eye hand judgement and reactions

[CaptMDG]

football quarterbacks. its an ideal position for them. they are used to having the pressure of game in their hands, good and identifying cutters and reacting (sound like recievers downfield?) calling plays is the same as calling the defenses.

the other position ive had luck with is baseball catchers.

ive got to agree with the rest of your list tho. and give me hockey players everytime over soccer players!!
(soccer is a spring sport here in VA, so it not much of a problem for me)
I think you may be right about a QB in the goal. All goalies must possess the poise and leadership skills that only a QB develops from his position.

Of course everything we have said is really moot because it will always come down to an athlete is an athlete is an athlete... (pardon me Gertrude Stein)

[rjattack19]

while i agree that you have to be fast to play the game with any sucess, when i have a slow player, 9 times out of 10 hes going to be playing attack, probably crease (especially if he has stick skills)

but remember, in youth lax, i'm required to play everyone, if i was a HS coach, the slow kids would have to be working their butts off during practice to see playing time during the game

that would be me...im 6'3", 175, and slow as a mother effin snail...i have really good stick skills tho, so i play crease.

[UTlax31]

I played football throughout high school. Picked up a pole senior year and won first team all state. i personally attribute my foot speed to playing offensive line in highschool. i was an undersized lineman (5-9 215) and i considre myself an undersized (height wise) defenseman. Lacrosse gave me another sport to hit someone in. Like a wise man once said " If i am going to hvae to go to school, i might as well hit someone in the process" Name that movie...

[LeeBob802]

I coach HS in Vermont. We have players who play all kinds of sports other than lacrosse during the year (football, soccer, hockey, basketball, wrestling, skiing/snowboarding). Good athletes are just that. One difference that we have noticed over the past three years is that the football players approach lacrosse in a different manner than soccer players. It seems to go back to when players decided if they wanted to pursue one sport over another. As they are generally played in the fall, you cannot really commit to both sports at your school (not including AAU type of opportunities). Why someone feel in love with soccer over football, or vice versa, seems to be the real determining feature in the approach a player has with lacrosse. Our football guys like things tough during practice. Our soccer players like to scrimmage all day long. Our football team has gone 57-7 in the past five years, winning three state championships. Our soccer team won the State Championship last year (first time in 19 years). We are fortunate to have good athletes at our school.

[GlaxR]

i'm 6' 1" and 30+ pounds overweight, and i can still beat almost all of my players in a sprint.

thats awsome but your players must be slow lol

yea on my team football plays defence and soccer players including me play O it works because our team is really fast

[ShockerAutc]

You know. I dont really think what sport you play besides lacrosse matters that much. Sure, some positions you might have a better feel for early, but in the long run, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. On another note. Now, I'm a cross country guy who plays attack/mid. I use speed and endurance to my advantage a good deal. But, one of my firends isnt to quick and he's good to, so, blah.

[HdGLaxWarrior]

I played football throughout high school. Picked up a pole senior year and won first team all state. i personally attribute my foot speed to playing offensive line in highschool. i was an undersized lineman (5-9 215) and i considre myself an undersized (height wise) defenseman. Lacrosse gave me another sport to hit someone in. Like a wise man once said " If i am going to hvae to go to school, i might as well hit someone in the process" Name that movie...

old yes, but remember the titans...

i don't think it makes a difference, sure football players are better hitters. and soccer players are better runners, but i think once you come down to stick stills, it doesnt matter...

[bringthewood]

I actually play all the sports you've mentioned and i am very talented at them all. In Florida, the big guys play d and tha fast one play mid and the slow play attack

[anderson16]

i am 5'9" 175, play soccer, hockey, and run track. i have good speed and i can push ppl around. i like the attack position, but what is probably the bet for me?

[tomtom]

If attack is what you like the best, why not give it a shot? IMHO, youll give more effort and hard work towards a position you like, thus making you better, than a position you dont like. If you're like most laxers though, and dont care what youre playing as long as youre playing, maybe trying middie will give you a sense of both offense and defense, and if you turn out to be better at the defensive end, you can try picking up a pole, or vice versa.

As for your body type and background, you sound a lot like one of our best "d" mids. I say "d" mid, because quite often he can pick the ball up behind the cage after a missed shot and run clear up the field, and will often end up at a wing or x position on the other sides goal.

[anderson16]

Yeah i really just want to play, but i think i would like to play mid or attack better. but then again I also thought i wanted to play forward in soccer, but i ended up being all-conference starter at defense so you just never know.