11 Ways to Get Better at Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a sport that requires you to have the right equipment, be aware of your surroundings, and know lacrosse rules. If you are looking for lacrosse tips on how to get better at lacrosse, then this blog post will help! We'll go over 11 ways to improve your lacrosse skills so that you can take your game to the next level.

1. The Lacrosse Wall Drill

The wall drill is a great lacrosse drill to work on shooting and dodging. It is a simple drill that can be done just about anywhere with a wall, which is why it's often referred to as the "wall" drill. To practice this lacrosse drill, have a teammate or coach hold up a pole vertically in front of the player. The player then has to do whatever move they are trying to work on (dodging left/right, shooting off different hands). After doing your move you either shoot through the poles or bounce pass back to another person who will continue practicing their own moves. When using this method make sure you improve from one side of the pole to the other until you can score every time!

2. The 3-Man Weave

This is a great lacrosse drill to work on dodging and the fundamentals of passing and catching. To practice this drill, you will need 3 players (defenders included) with two balls in order to keep score. Two offensive players will be lined up behind the end line that is facing their teammates. The third player without a stick starts in between these two players, facing them as well (he's acting like a defender). Once everyone is prepared, they yell "start."  The three players go into motion immediately - weaving back and forth while trying to dodge each other until the coach calls out "switch" which signals these offensive players to pass off one another quickly before turning into the third player that is acting as a defender. This drill will go on until either the first two players score or the coach calls "time" which signals everyone to stop playing.

3. Chasing Mirror Drill

This lacrosse drill helps with both dodging and running faster/quickening your pace while staying balanced at the same time. To practice this lacrosse drill, line up three cones approximately 12-15 yards apart from each other - they should be in an "L" shape (as shown below). Place one cone on the right side of where you are lining up for this exercise, one cone is placed in front of it but slightly to its left side, and then one more cone is placed behind it but also to its left side. This is where you'll place yourself, right in between the two cones that are closest to you (the ones that are beside each other). You'll then be facing all three cones with  your lacrosse stick in your right hand. Once everyone is prepared and lined up, they yell "start."  

The first person starts running towards the front cone of the left side of the "L" while dodging back and forth between it and the middle cone of the left side of this lacrosse drill until reaching it. After completing their drill they stop before going to the next cone which should be a few yards ahead by now as well as a few to its right side. The player now runs through both cones without losing speed or getting out of their dodge pattern. Once this player reaches the far right cone of this drill, they turn right and run side by side with the second player who is going through the same thing on the other side - chasing this second player until reaching that far left cone again.

This pattern should be a little faster than before because you're picking up speed. The two players who are doing this lacrosse drill will go back and forth like this until you reach either cones or have to change directions in order to get away from your teammate.

4. The Shot Fake

The shot fake is a good way to improve your shooting accuracy since it allows you to build up momentum when throwing a fake so that when you shoot the ball it's harder for an opposing player to block. It's best to start this drill with a smaller ball (ex: tennis ball) before trying it out with your lacrosse shot because it will be much harder to throw the ball without having it bounce back or roll away from you. To practice this drill, all you need is another player who will act as an opponent and stand in front of you about 12-15 feet away. The first player should put his stick on the ground, hold his hand up for a second, then put down the ball - all while turning towards the other player acting as their "defender" who is waiting for them to turn around so that they can attempt blocking their shot after it has been thrown.

When ready, the first player should turn around quickly before throwing their ball towards the second player's stick - all while keeping their head up to see what the defense is doing. As soon as they throw that ball, that person should dodge immediately in order to get away from any possible hits by the opponent. The defender will also turn around quickly after seeing the first player run past them and attempt blocking their shot. The drill continues like this for a certain amount of time or until both players have made 10 successful shots each.

5. 3 vs 1 Drill

This drill helps with dodging in small spaces, setting your feet when shooting, passing off to your teammate when they're open, and practicing staying balanced while moving at high speeds/changing directions often throughout a game or practice session. To set up this drill, get two cones that are about 10 yards apart from each other. Place 3 players on one side of these cones while only having 1 player on the opposite side. The player that is alone will then be dodging towards the group of players - trying to avoid their hits really quickly since there are more attackers than him/herself.

It's best if you have a coach or goalie acting as an "attacker" here instead of another lacrosse player because they'll be able to throw harder and make sure your stick doesn't get taken away too easily. Once the person with the ball gets close enough, they should pass it off to one of his teammates who are also open for a shot. This process keeps going until someone scores. You can do this drill by switching the roles of the players so that there are 3 attackers on one side and 1 defender trying not to get hit.

6. The Warm Up

The warm up is very important before any game or practice because it gets your body ready for what's about to happen. Stretching is a big part of warming up because it prevents injuries from occurring - but only if you stretch properly! All stretches should last 30-60 seconds in order to be effective. Take 10 minutes out of practice/before games or even when you're at home watching TV since most stretching exercises require no equipment (except maybe a lacrosse stick). Once you've stretched for at least 10 minutes, make sure to drink some water and re-hydrate yourself. Sometimes a pre-game meal is what's best for your body depending on when you're playing/practicing - but if that's not possible then try to eat smaller meals or snacks before you play in order to prevent cramps and other side effects from happening.

7. Reviewing Tape

This is one of the best ways to get better at lacrosse while also having fun while doing it! Take some time out of practice or free time and watch videos about specific skills, strategies, or drills that you've been wanting to learn more about. Even watching footage of other people who are better than you can help improve your game and keep things interesting while doing so! Getting feedback from someone else (coach, player, parent) is also important when reviewing tape for yourself since it can help you learn new things that maybe you didn't think about before.

8. Practice Lacrosse Moves

Too often have I seen people struggle with their shoots or dodges because they are practicing them incorrectly at home or in the backyard. They might do something called "shadowing" which means copying what their coach says but not really understanding why they're doing it so fast/wrongly. Another thing to avoid is just shooting against a wall (or post) over and over again without improving much because of how simple it looks. Improving your game takes time - but it's definitely worth it if you put the right amount of effort into it! Make sure your passes, dodges, and shoots are crisp and accurate though. If you're shooting a lot then try to take it to the net as well - this will give you more accuracy and consistency when taking shots that players might not want to take or aren't open enough for at the moment. Practice makes perfect!

9. Lacrosse Strength/Conditioning Exercises

If you've ever watched UFC fights before than you probably know how important strength training is in order to maintain control of your body while fighting or even playing sports like football or lacrosse since there's so much running involved. Doing pushups, pullups, weight lifting (back and shoulder exercises), sit ups, etc. will help strengthen your whole body which means your shots will start to get harder and your dodges/receptions/passes will come out better. Doing specific drills (or exercises) like these can also help you improve areas of your game that need work. The more effort you put into improving your body the better results you'll see on the field later on!

10. Lacrosse Specific Agility Exercises

Lacrosse is not only a game of running, sprinting, and dodging - it's also very fast paced which requires agility if you want to constantly be moving towards or away from the net safely. Doing things like ladder drills (similar to football), standing long jump (exactly what it sounds like), high-knees, butt kickers, carioca, and other drills will help you improve your ability to get past someone while dodging. Even doing things like twisting with the stick or running agility ladder without it can also help you improve your overall game. If possible I recommend doing these at least once a week but even more often than that if you're trying to become an overall better player!

11. Lacrosse-Specific Conditioning Exercises

Conditioning is just as important for lacrosse players - if not more so - than any other sportsperson who has to run around on the field all game long in order to avoid being scored on or making a shot themselves. Doing sprints, suicides, hill runs, pushing/pulling sleds, and doing certain exercises (like the ones mentioned before) at high intensities during practice can help you improve your conditioning overall. Obviously if you want to play lacrosse for a long time it's probably best to make sure you're in good physical shape - this will allow more dodging, sprinting, cutting, etc. throughout an entire game without getting tired or winded quickly. I hope these tips helped some of you out! If anyone has anything they want me to write about on here feel free to leave a comment below with your topic and I'll try my best to get it up as fast as possible!