A Lacrosse Weekend 10.16.21

Uncategorized Oct 16, 2021

Welcome to "A Lacrosse Weekend" my weekly compilation of thoughts, ideas, stories, myths, truths, about the great game of lacrosse. I hope you enjoy it!

If you are a men's or women's lacrosse player, coach, or parent, I think you will love the weekly content, videos, and analysis!

Did you check out the new membership model

for the Coaches Training Program?

There is a membership for everyone!

Go to JM3COACHES.com

Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcast with Stu Armstrong, The Talent Equation

Jamie Munro- JM3Sports · Phi - Lacrosse - Ophy Podcast Season 4, Ep. 7, Stuart Armstrong - The Talent Equation

I started listening to Talent Equation Podcasts several years ago and have found Stu Armstrong's guests to be some of the most impactful I've ever come across. Since Stu and I both have a podcast, we sort of interviewed each other to set the stage and then just had what Stu called a "Coaches Jam Session" of sorts.

This is one of the few podcasts that I've done where I will have to go back and listen to it again. The way Stu articulates concepts is incredible including the Ecological and constraints lead approach to development.

This is Stu's write up on our conversation:

"Jamie Munro is a Lacrosse coach who has found a fascinating way to coach his sport through film. His method is to use free play as the basis for learning and to then use reflection through watching the film of these sessions with athletes to observe what might be useful as a tool for learning.

Jamie is a free play evangelist but as he say's this doesn't remove the place for the coach, in fact the coach is really important in free play....just important in a different way...."the Free Play model doesn't remove good coaching from the development equation. Good coaches have tremendous value as mentors, as teachers, and as tacticians, but coaches can't teach "Feel". Only the game can teach "Feel" and the "Feel" is the whole key!

Jamie has a podcast too so we decided to have an exchange of ideas and to post the outcome on our respective shows..."

I highly encourage you to start following Stu and the Talent Equation for incredible content in the world of coaching and player development.

Virtual Lacrosse Summit

Week 3 10/18-10/21 Register: VirtualLacrosseSummit.com

Replays until 10/21: VirtualSummitReplays.com

LEARN ABOUT THE NEW MEMBERSHIP MODEL

Learn More @ JM3Coaches.com

This month we have launched yet another set of amazing webinars which will be a part of the new content going into the Coaches Training Program! A big thank you to Mikey Thompson, Head Coach at Christopher Newport University, who has helped create this amazing content through both performing and moderating webinars on the great game of lacrosse!

Jamie Munro, "A Season in a Box." Last March I had the incredible opportunity to coach the Deerfield boys lacrosse team down at their spring break at IMG in Florida. Long time coach Chip Davis wasn't allowed to coach the team due to Covid so, with his blessing, I ran a one week program to prepare the team for what would end up being their first National Championship season! This webinar both outlines the philosophy behind the practice plans as well as uses film clips from Deerfield Spring Break 2021.

Free Play
Feed The Cats
Create Game-Like Practice Environments
Principles Based Offense and Defense
The Drills

Mikey Thompson, Traditions Sustain Culture- Having strong relationships and a great team culture is what makes being a coach such a fulfilling endeavor. To quote Jon Gordon, "culture is dynamic, not static." So what can we do to make sure we are setting ourselves up for success year after year? How can we be sure that we don't lose our way and forget to reinforce the things that are most important to our programs?

In this presentation, Mikey Thompson explains how having team traditions can be a great way to ensure that your foundation is solid every year. It starts by coming up with core values that are authentic to you and your program. You can then add traditions and habits that will ultimately create the texture of your culture. Coach Thompson shared some of his favorite traditions he has at Christopher Newport University and encouraged the viewers to begin some of their own to create the type of relationships and team identity that any coach would be proud of.

Jake McDonald, Mindfulness and Performance- Co-founder of The Peavey Project, Jake McDonald brought a super insightful and practical presentation about mindfulness to the Virtual Lacrosse Summit. We can only train three things in life. We can train our bodies, our craft, and our mind. If you were to ask your athletes if they have trained their bodies and their craft (lacrosse)- they would all immediately raise their hands. If you were to ask them if they have spent deliberate time training their minds, the answer would likely be no.

Training mindfulness through formal and informal practices can be a game changer for athletes. Mindfulness gives us more awareness of our thoughts, feelings, body sensations, and the environment we are in. It allows us to stay more grounded in the present moment and focused on the task at hand. It also allows us to move from making mistakes back to making plays! This was such a cool presentation and I think you'll love what The Peavey Project is doing!

Jamie Munro, "Principles Based Offense for Women's Lacrosse." I was SO excited to present on this topic because I find it fascinating and I believe this is where the game is headed in men's and women's lacrosse. Utilizing the proven statistical efficiencies of 2man game, this offense stems from the "Box Lacrosse Paradigm" of creating offense through constant passing and picking as opposed to the "Field Lacrosse Paradigm" of creating offense from clearing space and dodging. By sticking to these five principles, we give ourselves the best chance for success in winning games.

Possession
Passing
Picking on and off ball simultaneously
Spacing
Reads

The video below is the main film I use to illustrate the five principles in the biggest game in our program's history, the quarter finals in the state tourney vs Cherry Creek HS, not just a perennial power, but a program which had reached the state finals every year since its the sport's inception.

The bottom line is your team's ability to "Read and Influence" a play is its upside and in this webinar you will see in great detail how we taught our girls to read the defense and take advantage of it.

For example, in this game one of our best players was being face guarded and you can see how the girls worked together to make that tactic a non factor.

Lars Tiffany, "Defensemen Pre Practice." Lars Tiffany and I go way back! We were teammates for three years and captain together of the 1989 Brown Lacrosse team. We came up through the ranks together as assistant coaches and head coaches and have shared hours and hours of in depth lacrosse conversations.

I think you will love this one on how LT develops his defenders in the 15-18 minutes before warm up. Lars has five categories of drills: footwork, stickwork, Tactics, IQ, and challenge which he whips through every day at the beginning of practice. Lars talks about how he's able to scale his reps by getting all of the defenders and short sticks playing in groups simultaneously which not only get them more touches, but develops a level of leadership as his older players "Quality control" the drills quite literally becoming coaches on the field. This webinar is short and sweet and worthwhile for any coach to watch!

Ryan Tucker, You’ve got to trust your guys (and gals)- Head coach of Norfolk Academy boys lacrosse, Ryan Tucker reminded us that lacrosse is a players game! Ryan was born into a legendary family of coaches and spent several years as an assistant under Hall of Famer, Tom Duquette. "Coach Duke" has always been known as a coach that knows the game better than anyone, but at the same time allows his players to play with freedom and confidence. Coach Tucker is continuing that mentality with his boys at NA and he gives us some great drills and philosophies.

Coach Tucker has all of the qualities of a great coach and he seems like the kind of guy that would be a ton of fun to play for! Don't forget that sometimes as coaches we just need to swallow our whistle, see what happens, and then watch the film after. That is where the true learning really occurs.

Steve Koudelka, Multi-Sport Athletes Make Great Lacrosse Players!- Coach Koudelka of Lynchburg and Mikey Thompson of CNU took a deep dive into what it takes to play fast and tough. Both coaches shared their transition philosophies, favorite drills, and some great clips from the 2021 season that brought their teams together for a matchup in the NCAA Elite 8. They also had a candid conversation about why recruiting multi-sport athletes is more attractive than kids who specialize starting at a young age.

When you are able to put your team in scramble situations on a consistent basis in practice, you will be surprised at how calm and in control they will play on game day. To quote Sun Tsu, "in the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."

Next week on the Virtual Lacrosse Summit

We have an incredible line up of TJ Buchanan from World lacrosse, Mark Van Arsdale Offensive Coordinator Loyola, talking EMO, Ken Clausen, "D" Coordinator PLL Atlas, Tony Holler, Feed The Cats and Bobby Benson, Offensive Coordinator Maryland.

Week 3 10/18-10/21 Register: VirtualLacrosseSummit.com

During the Summit there is a limited time discount on the Virtual Lacrosse Summit Library!

Subscribe before it's too late!

Individual Subscription: CLICK HERE

Team Subscription: CLICK HERE

Have a great weekend!