Grade Level Expectations: U8 (5-8 Year olds)

At this age we spend most of our time on Fundamental Athletic Skills. Our goals for this stage of development: To develop agility, balance and coordination and speed for success in learning fundamental technical lacrosse skills. Getting as many touches with the ball as possible.

Player-centered environment – what it should look like:
Fun, constant active engagement (kid+ball=fun), relaxed, inclusive, positive with and emphasis on learning new skills. Lots of enjoyable games that reinforce skill learning. Predictable routines. Focus on effort and trying your best. Activities are designed for success.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Athletic Development: Agility, dynamic balance, bilateral coordination, skipping, hopping, throwing/tossing and catching away from body with either hand, flexibility, strength.

Technical (Skills) Development
Proficient at stick grip and scooping, Exploring and developing other fundamental lacrosse skills–catching, passing, shooting, cradling, dodging.

Tactical (Strategy) Development
Developing 1v1 and 2v2 offense and defensive concepts, exploring 2v1 offensive and defensive concepts.

Psychological Development – working to support athletes in these areas…
Concentration, teachability, learning to make choices, respect, understanding rules, how to cope with winning and losing, learning to solve problems.

Social-Behavioral Development – we know that at this age athletes are…
Learning to cooperate with and help other children. Learning to consider other people. Learning through familiar activities. Want to do their best. Can show responsibility through completing simple tasks and requests.

Cognitive Development
Better able to follow instructions; concentration is increasing; can introduce basic rules and fair play; learning the concept of winning and losing. Still may have difficulty with abstract concepts (i.e. complex plays, multiple choices of options etc.)

TRAINING

Ratio of Training (Technical and Tactical Skill Development) to Competition + Competition Specific Preparation
Competition is embedded in activity sessions or 70:30

Primary Objective of Training
To develop physical literacy and introduce fundamental sport and lacrosse skills. Achieved through stations, games and activities, 1:1 ball to player ratio with 2:1 activities also factoring in. Include free play.

COMPETITION – Developmental Purpose of Competition
FUN, introducing basic lacrosse concepts, exploring competing in lacrosse and basic rules, sportsmanship.