Hey Doc ... boys lacrosse question.

[GOUNUII]

My 5 year old grandson is all lacrosse now. Currently in his first year and playing up with the 7 year old boys. Loving every moment.

Any suggestions on high quality instructional opportunities for the youngster? He lives in the NYC metro area.

Any words of wisdom from your own experiences?

Thanks in advance.

GOUNUII

 

[NJCat]

My 5 year old grandson is all lacrosse now. Currently in his first year and playing up with the 7 year old boys. Loving every moment.

Any suggestions on high quality instructional opportunities for the youngster? He lives in the NYC metro area.

Any words of wisdom from your own experiences?

Thanks in advance.

GOUNUII

Teach him to play point guard as a back-up option.........

 

[docrugby1]

Have him play all sports. BB will help him see the field. FB will teach him how to deliver and absorb contact. My son also was an elite junior tennis player that helped with with eye to hand coordination.

Long Island should be loaded with summer camps, where he will exposed to kids with advanced skills. There are more teams with quality coaches as lacrosse has become more popular. As he gets older, look for elite travel teams that now are similar to AAU BB teams. North Jersey and the Hudson Valley will also have camps for all ages. UVA still runs a program in Harlem

At 5 the practice wall should be used as much as possible. Elite players are essentially ambidextrous, so there should be as much off hand practice as dominant hand

As a HS Freshman, Hopkins Coach Petramalla thought my son was left handed, so off hand practice is important. My son could shoot 110mph righthanded and over 100mph lefthanded. At half time of the 2006 National Championship ESPN showed a pre-taped film of him shooting, with the announcer calling where to place the ball-each shot was in the exact corner of the cage that was called. Quint Kessenich simply was dumbfounded

 

[High Hopes Cat]

My 5 year old grandson is all lacrosse now. Currently in his first year and playing up with the 7 year old boys. Loving every moment.

Any suggestions on high quality instructional opportunities for the youngster? He lives in the NYC metro area.

Any words of wisdom from your own experiences?

Thanks in advance.

GOUNUII

While I certainly don’t have docrugby‘s perspective and knowledge, I have spent a lot of time on lax sidelines in recent years. My son is finishing 7th grade and has been playing since 2nd grade. He plays for one of the better clubs in the Boston area and has played with some national teams as well. I’m also helping coach his town team, which is lower key but basically everyone on the team has played club lacrosse for years. So I’ve seen a ton of youth lax, and a decent amount at a reasonably competitive level.

i think it is really important to establish good fundamentals and technique on shooting and passing early. habits get formed early and then reinforced, good or bad. They very hard to break or change - there are a lot of very athletic kids who’ve played a ton of lacrosse with good teams and good coaching who practice all the time but don’t have great shooting form. This matters for shot speed but more importantly for accuracy and consistency.

In my opinion getting individual or small group time with someone who knows what they are doing is important. Not necessarily at 5, but over the next several years when he’s still pretty young. In larger group or team sessions you can hear what is important but they rarely offer the time to provide the individual pointers and feedback and corrections that are important to really establish good technique. Once you’re on the right track it isn’t necessary to have on going help - just lots of reps.

Anyway, just a view for what it is worth, and more offensively oriented. (And I completely agree with doc’s comments as well)