A Lacrosse Weekend 7.4.21

Happy Fourth of July weekend and 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!

Big Little Picks

Below is a great clip pulled from the JM3 Coaches Training Program on Big Little Picks and why they are so difficult to defend. Big Littles are a staple for offensive coordinators at the highest level for several reasons:

• You are pulling another defender out of the middle which creates more space off-ball.
• Match ups
• Pick Communication is very difficult
• Inverts are so close to the goal. One mistake and it's in the back of the net. 
• Opens up the inside game.

Check out the video on Why Big Littles Work! 

Defending Goal Line (GLE) Picks

We just went over some of the reasons why Big Little Picks can be so effective. One of the best places to utilize these picks is right on the goal line and tight to the net. Any little mistake from the defense leads to a great scoring opportunity. 

Check out this Quiz from the CTP that will get you thinking about the best way to defend these GLE Picks... 

The Face Dodge Finish

Would you like your squad to be more automatic on those finishes coming across the front of the cage? How many times do kids dip and dunk only to be stuffed by the goalie exploding up into the ball? How many times do we fake to the same spot where we ultimately shoot the ball? 

The Face Dodge Finish is a natural and intuitive way to finish the ball. Everyone can do it and it is something that must be practiced with a live goalie! Check it out!

Mindset Skill of the Week | Balloon vs Yarn 

This clip from Scott Ratliff's webinar on Mental Toughness is a gem! Scott is one of the great teachers of mindset and leadership development in our game. He compares training mental toughness to training any other skill within our craft... it takes reps! Simply having a coach say, "come on! You have to be mentally tough!" isn't enough. We need to identify opportunities to PRACTICE our mental toughness throughout the course of each day. That way when we experience adversity on game day we can fall back on our training and respond appropriately. This ties directly into last week's Mindset Skill of the Week: Confidence.

Enjoy and have a great Fourth of July Weekend!