Field Vision

[UVAlaxer432]

Ok so, I play attack and am a decent player. But during games i tend to not look at what other players are doing and just concentrate on not losing the ball. As a result of this my field vision is atrocious. I never see COMPLETELY open players right on the crease. Because of this some people think all i am trying to do is score myself but the truth is i am just not aware of what others are doing.

Does anyone know of ways to help me with my field vision problems? any help would be much appreciated

[destructivelax]

get better so you can score whenever you get the ball :P.

sike but for real, just try ot keep you're head up. it'll just take time and practice. what i do is, everytime i catch teh ball, i survey my surroundings really quickly before dodging or moving the ball.

[greenshoelaces]

Do not EVER look to dodge, before you look for open teammates. Just like destructive lax said, always keep your head up, practice your catching position
(always catch the ball and bring it directly to your ear, for a good feed.)
Another good strategy i use, is to keep shouting all of the time, do signs with your hands (scissors sign telling them to cut, etc.) Pretty soon your teammates will pick up on this, and then right when you catch the ball, look up and you will see people putting up signs telling you that they are cutting, etc.

Also always look at their defenders and not only your attackman, because if you see an open spot on the field or a defenseman sliding, and creates an open spot in the field, wherever that open spot is, you will usually find an open attackman on the crease or for a good crank, or whatever.

You are a very smart player, for asking for help on this topic, having good field sense is the most important part of any lacrosse players game. If you have good field sense, then you operate the team. And operating the team means winning the game. touch'e.

[wolfenburg]

Don't look for teammates after you have catched the ball. Look BEFOR you will catch it. Always think: what will I do if i get the ball. Who is open, who will go for a pass ....

If you then get the ball, you just have to check the option you thought of before...

And then, practise to keep the ball while looking for a pass ...

[WHEELAX2]

Field vision often is something that takes quite a while to develope. many young players find it difficult to concentrate on maintaining posession of the ball, which leads to sloppy footwork and an inability to see the field....

the only way to gain good field vision is to be fully confident in your stick handling capabilities; this comes from hours of daily practice in your own time...

I would suggest spending a lot of time working on stick protection drills....

[Kid A]

I too have this problem. Whenever I get the ball, I get tunnel vision and completely mess things up. My teammates just tell me to look up as soon as possible and look around.

[czechinthepipes]

Field vision often is something that takes quite a while to develope. many young players find it difficult to concentrate on maintaining posession of the ball, which leads to sloppy footwork and an inability to see the field....

the only way to gain good field vision is to be fully confident in your stick handling capabilities; this comes from hours of daily practice in your own time...

I would suggest spending a lot of time working on stick protection drills....
Great advice.
Really work hard on getting a lot of confidence in your stick skills. If you know that when you catch the ball you will catch it or that you know what your going to do next and not worry "Omg am I going to drop it or am I going to be able to make a play" you will then not only have confidence in your stick but also that you will be able to make a play.
I know it sucks to here this but the best way to get better field vision is a lot of practice and playing experience. The more you practice and play the more confidence you will have and the better you will do.
Don't get frustrated, keep your chin up and keep working on it. You'll get better eventually.

[Joelax10]

alright my coach used to tell me that he was going to tie a string to the back of my helmet run it down my back down my crack and tie it to my member so if i ever tried to look down i would get a tug on my jewels and that would make me not look down.





but in all seriousness get a friend to stand where the side line and the mid line meet and hold up fingers like one two etc. and you run up and down the wing line changing directions at each end and tell him how many fingers he is holding up that will help with your field vision.

[3rdPersonPlural]

All good advice. However, the root of the problem is that you concentrate so hard on ball handling that you end up looking at the ball, not the field.

As Whee pointed out, you need to get confident that the ball is not going to drop out while you're scanning the field.

The simple solution is to wear your gloves and carry your stick every time you take a training run, and do that for at least an hour 3 times a week. carry the ball with both hands, one hand, two hands, switching hands, changing directions, whatever keeps you from getting bored. Remember to NOT look at the ball.

You'll be fine.

[laxitute]

Once you get your confidence down, check out this clip:

http://www.truveo.com/Stewarts-Vision-Has-Led-To-Big-Gains/id/842392587

It's Oregon running back Jonathan Stewart talking about his vision training. It aired on ESPN last weekend I believe. Then again he already has the confidence to run. This is just a compliment to that.

Playing experience never hurts either.

[QBYattackmen15]

yeah ia gree with whoever said look before you catch it. because i actually went to my coaches house to shoot and we were talking and he said that i do what you do, i sorta miss open poeple sometimes. so he said just before oyu catch the ball look at what poeple are doing. because when you dont have the ball you ont really need to do much except survey and move a little. so you can put fore focus on watching what other people are doing. then when you get the ball, you dont think about keeping the ball, you think, i got to get it to this player because i just saw him open. so thenh you think of an objective not just on retaining posession.

[Tehb2]

Develop a strong and protective cradle technique so you don't have to worry about losing the ball or having your stick in a bad place. Then you can confidently look up and around the field. Like its been mentioned, look to pass before you dodge, but remember to continue to look for a pass when you are dodging (not while actually making the break away move, but while you are trying to sprint away). You can even try dodging to put yourself in a position to make a good pass. If you are on a breakaway with a 2 on 1, you don't have try and take the ball in - your angle might be bad so draw in the remaining d-pole so when you feed your teammate he has more time to put the ball in.

[OHSgoalie10]

Just watch game film and everytime someone catches the ball, imagine what you would do with it. Start shooting with someone else and go through some game-like situations. Make yourself feel some pressure. Then watch some more film.