Lax Progression

By: Zack Grussell

3rd and 4th Grade:

At this age, catching and throwing is a very hard task to accomplish. Focus on the fundamentals you can control. Spend time on stick work drills but make it a point to have the boys work on wall ball outside of practice. Have wall ball tests to make sure the boys can accomplish certain things in a certain amount of time. This should be done at all ages.

Emphasize ground balls, cradling technique, and dodging. On defense understand the principles of how to guard someone; giving ground and approaches. Team defense will be hard to teach.

Ground Ball Technique:

• Both Butts Low

• Importance of Quick Cradle on Ground Ball

• Head and body down, bring it to your ear, make a phone call

   

  Cradling:

   

• Proper technique

• functional to getting the ball out of your stick faster - vertical by your ear

   

  Catching and Throwing:

   

• Importance of proper fundamental throwing - compare to baseball pitcher, opposite foot forward, hands away from your body, put keys in pocket

• Overemphasize rotating when throwing! Turn your torso

• Soft hands! No death grip. All fingers!

• Quick Stick right and left - (start early with both hands!!!!!)

• 10 yard throws - Both hands

• Canadian left and right

• Over the shoulder

   

   

   

   

  Catching:

   

• Very soft hands, top hand never on plastic, catch with fingertips. Pressure should be light enough to knock stick back to passing position

   

   

  Rolling away from Pressure:

   

• Importance of moving away from pressure and punching hands out away from defender

   

  Dodging:

   

• Importance of dodging full speed on all dodges

• First step at defender

• Changing speed and direction

• Dodge 5-10ft away depending on person guarding you to create space

• Dodges to master (Importance of footwork in dodging:

  1. Bull dodge - Compare to an in and out dribble in basketball - player explodes off of opposite foot to explode back to their stick side

  2. Split Dodge - Compare to crossover in basketball - player explodes off of same foot the stick is in to change direction - hands are changed late to make sure player shields stick with body

      

     Defense:

      

• Giving ground

• proper approaches - banana approach

• poke check

• “pop” and what the importance is

• Controlling offensive player - you control where he goes

• Help defense - knowing how to clog up lanes of other dodgers, “showing”

• zone help

   

  Offense

   

• Clearing through - When someone is dodging, know to get out of the way if you’re adjacent

• Coming to the ball!!! Easiest pass is two players running toward each other, no flat feet!!!! CANNOT STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS

• Full understanding of 3v2

• Partial understanding of 4v3