YES! ...When you work on a wall with your stick and a ball you will discover that your stick handling ability will make improvements. Yet it does not come without discipline and hard work! To get better, you need to perform the drills as often as possible. Once your stick becomes an extension of your hand, the FUN of playing lacrosse really begins.

Have fun, play lacrosse, and get outside on the wall!

Eleven Rules to Being a Better Player

- Learn to catch, throw and shoot RIGHT AND LEFT HANDED.
- The more time you play with your stick perpendicular to the ground instead of parallel to the ground the better player you will be.
- Move the ball; the less time the ball is in your stick the better player you are.
- Move the ball off the ground (when you pick up a ground ball pass it immediately) --by way of explanation, the team that scores the most transition goals usually wins the game.
- Move without the ball --a corollary to this rule is don't watch your pretty pass, let the defender do that while you move, when he does then back door your man as he watches that pretty pass.
- Move to the ball --this means; a) move to the ball when you are open on the back side (standing waving your stick only draws defenders), b) move when the defender is not watching you (you get the advantage on him), and, move to any ball that you are receiving.
- Look at a spot behind the goalie when you shoot -- it is likely that he will move and if you look at him you will hit him so look beyond him.
- Shoot with a quick release (because a slow release lets the goalie see the ball and setup for your shot).
- Defense need to have better stickwork than Attack or Midfield (because that long pole is harder to handle, especially in tight situations ) GOALIES NEED TO BE THE BEST STICKHANDLERS.
- Play D like a boxer boxes (on your toes, moving, countering, resetting, recountering, attacking… not just one check and hold) .
- You don't have to take the ball away to play good defense --play good position, stay on the offensive players′ hands and you can play big time defense.
- Magic Hands! -Keeping Your Stick Up and Ready!

How you hold your stick will determine your success as a player. When you grip the stick with your top hand hold it on the shaft about a fist's length down from the stick's head or pocket. Work to grasp your bottom hand, or what we like to call your "control hand" , on the butt end of the shaft. Now your hands are in the correct position to throw, catch, or shoot. However, there's one more point you have to master each day before you can become the best player that you can be.

It's important that you keep your stick pocket "by your ear", or "in the box", next to your helmet.

We coach you to keep your stick "in the box by your ear" because we believe that keeping your stick up at all times will allow you to (1) create a great target for your teammate to throw you a pass, (2) create the best starting point for shooting a great overhand shot on the goal. When you keep your stick up you are ALWAYS ready to pass, catch, and shoot. You will see lazy players drop their stick heads down by their sides. With the stick head down, it will be easy for anyone to check the ball out of their pocket, and they will always have to make that extra motion to raise their sticks up for shots.

You will hear us from the first day of practice coaching you to "keep the stick up", and "get your stick in the box by your ear." When you learn this first Magic Hands skill with your stick, just remember that by KEEPING YOUR STICK HEAD UP, and KEEPING YOUR HANDS FREE--you will get off more shots and throw better passes that will allow you and your teammates to be at your very best! Sticks up, ALWAYS!

The Tight Stick

One of the first things we will talk about at practices will be stick control. Your opponents constantly will be trying to "check" or dislodge the ball from your stick. What can you do to improve your confidence of keeping the ball in your stick? Keep a TIGHT STICK and that will make it harder for them to get the ball away from you.

If you watch some of the best players in the world, you will notice that they grip the stick ALMOST ON THE PLASTIC part of the stick head. This does a lot of things for the great players. When checked, the closer your hand is to the PLASTIC, the more SECURE the ball seems to be. Certainly, the greatest effect of this grip will be to TIGHTEN up every dodge and move that you make on the field. This grip will work best for CATCHING and STICK PROTECTION.

On passing, you can slide your hands back to the traditional grip on the stick.

Remember: use the TIGHT STICK and you will secure the ball for yourself and the team.

Shooting to Win!

When you keep your stick up by your head (your third ear), good things will happen when you pass and catch with your teammates. We've found that great players who play lacrosse not only do this, but also, they understand that the key to doing anything that involves shooting requires that you GET YOUR HANDS FREE!

Shooting a lacrosse ball into the net requires different mechanics than passing or catching. In shooting, the key to your success all revolves around how you can GET YOUR HANDS FREE AND AWAY FROM YOUR BODY to rip that ball into the cage. Remember--your defender will be running with you and he will be trying to "check" your stick to dislodge the ball from the pocket.

But, when you keep a "TIGHT STICK"(go back and read that section, again!), you will be ready for anything. Shooting requires that you get torque or POWER into your shot. To do this we will teach you an easy technique that will allow your body to uncoil (like a snake does when it strikes) and put power into your shot. We call this technique "SHOW'em YOUR BACK". In other words, when you shoot, we want you to GET YOUR HANDS FREE and TURN YOUR UPPER BODY TO THE GOALIE IN A WAY THAT SHOWS HIM THE "NUMBER" ON THE BACK OF YOUR JERSEY!

With your hands up and away from your body, you will discover that your whole upper torso will "uncoil" when you rotate your shoulders forward and bring your stick down for an overhand shot. Amazingly, with practice, you will instantly shoot harder and more effectively. Your ability to reach back with your stick, as if you are trying to SWAT THE (imaginary) FLY ON THE CEILING, will give you the power needed to become an explosive shooter on the run!

Practice shooting to become the best you can be and you will develop the mental toughness needed to accomplish any task. Believe that you can be the best shooter and develop the winning attitude that will make you a better player and better teammate.

Setting Picks

A pick is a simple and quick way to attempt to free up one of your teammates on offense away from the ball from his or her defender.

Most offenses don't use the pick very much because most players would rather "dodge" their man instead of giving up the ball. However, by teaching you correct team play, you will develop a sense of creating situations that lead to assisted goals.

Picking for your teammate forces the defender being picked to take his eye off his man--and that's what we want. The moment that happens, you will find that our team will increase its goal scoring.

Sometimes the man coming off your pick will be a "decoy". In any case when you set the pick you must come to a stop and remain stationary. That is why we will coach you to set the pick a couple of feet from the defenseman. This will allow your teammate to "brush " you as he or she passes around your pick--and it will force the defender to run into you. Body position will vary, but we will want you to set picks on the right or left "sides" of your opponent.

Most players don't realize that people often setting up the pick are usually the ones who will most likely be open to receive a pass. That is why we will have you keep your stick to the "inside" when you set your pick so that when you "roll off" to the inside your stick will be in a shooter's position. If performed correctly, the defenseman who was "picked" should be farther away from the goal than the "picker." Therefore, if you "roll" immediately after setting your pick, YOU should be the one open every time.