Great Post from New England Lax Journal: It’s up to the player

The article in the below link is a great read.  It is written by Bill Daye, the head coach of the Boston Cannons professional lacrosse team.  Coach Daye was an All-American at UNC in the early 1990s.  A lot of what Coach Daye says in the article mirrors what I and the rest of the coaching staff has been telling our players since the first day of practice.   I’d suggest showing it or printing it for your player to read.

Click link to read article: New England Lax Journal: It’s up to the player

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Game 1 – Spring 2010….

Not exactly the result we hoped for but the coaching staff learned a lot about the players on our team and we plan to use that going forward.  Yesterday also gave our new players the first opportunity to see how a competitive lacrosse game operates.  In spite of the score, we do believe we have found a pair of competitive goalies for our team and both Connor Morang and James Duffy did a great job in the cage.

Yesterday’s game is black-and-white evidence of what the coaches and I have been saying from day 1 — that lacrosse is a game of passing, catching and running.  If you haven’t mastered passing and catching then its difficult to create the scoring opportunities.  We will continue to work on that in practice.  Also, the game is constant running and that’s why the conditioning we do is so important. 

It became evident during the game that the large roster we have led to a lot of players standing on the sidelines.   We can only play 9 boys at a time (not including the goalie) and we want to be sure all our players get adequate playing time.  The coaching staff is considering splitting up the team into squads.  Both the 4th grade Chiefs team and the 6th grade Chiefs team are currently doing this.  It allows the coaches to “coach” more effectively and provides the players with more playing time.  I will communicate later this week how we plan to proceed in this regard. 

For now, lets look ahead and focus on our practices this week and our next game on Saturday.

– Coach B

Game 1 vs. Bridgewater Moved to Sunday

Our Saturday game vs. Bridgewater has been moved to Sunday at 11am and will be played at Bridgewater-Raritan H.S.  Directions to the field can be found on the Chiefs website. 

All players should arrive at the field by 10:15am.

– Coach B

Great Article from March 22 NY Times

Terrific article from yesterday’s Sports section of the NYT entitled: “An Explosion of Growth for an Age-Old Game“.  You can access it here by clicking the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/sports/21lacrosse.html

The Official Lacrosse Dictionary (from E-Lacrosse.com)

The Official Lacrosse Dictionary: http://www.e-lacrosse.com/content/videos/laxicon/laxicon.php

Great stuff!

Gearing Up For Game 1 On Saturday!

This week we have our final 2 practices before our game season starts on Saturday against Bridgewater.  In the past Bridgewater has been a top-notch team so our players will have to come out playing hard and fast.  We have a lot left to do this week at practice on Tuesday and Thursday.  I hope all our players will attend both practices. 

I’m again providing the link to my write-up to help your player practice on his own.  Click here: Parent Player Drills .

All players should be on time for practice this week (6pm) so we can get started right away and make the most of our practice time.  I’ll provide more info about the game later in the week but you should know that game time is 1pm and all players must be at the field by 12:15pm for warm-ups, game plan discussion, etc.

See you on the field!

– Coach B

GO CHIEFS!!

Saturday 3/20 Practice – Back Field at GL H.S.

Tomorrow will be our last full Saturday morning practice before the season starts (next Saturday vs Bridgewater – a top notch team!).  As such, tomorrow is an important practice and I hope to see all our players there. 

As I’ve said repeatedly, all players MUST practice on their own at home.  This can be as simple as practicing cradling with a ball (be sure to cradle on both right and left sides), scooping ground balls in the back yard and throwing against a building wall or Lax Wall.  I know that some boys go to the paddle ball wall near the tennis courts by the New Providence Community Pool and the wall at Columbia Middle School in Berkeley Heights.  If you haven’t already done so, take a look at the document I attached to my March 16th post about helping your son practice on his own.  This makes a HUGE difference in a player’s development as a lacrosse player. 

Since we will practice on the grass, all players should wear cleats if they have them and be sure to bring plenty of water since the weather is forecasted to be in the 70s.

See you on the field!

– Coach B

2010 5th Grade Lax Schedule

Our season game schedule has been finalized and you can access it from the top bar of this page. 

– Coach B

Practicing Lax At Home Is Essential! Here’s How You Can Help Your Son:

I have told our players numerous times at practices that there is no substitute for practicing lacrosse skills on their own.  A number of parents have asked me how you can help your sons practice at home on their own.  I appreciate that you’ve reached out to me in this regard.  The team only gets together three times a week for 1.5-2 hrs per practice and thus, self-practice at home is probably one of the biggest factors in helping your sons improve.  

On the attached sheet I have put together a bunch of drills that address all the fundamentals (cradling, scooping, catching and throwing).  The attached sheet lists drills that your boys can practice on their own and with a parent.  The sheet can be accessed by clicking here: Parent Player Drills

The most valuable “coach” any successful player has ever had is the wall.  One of the best self-training drills is to simply throw and catch against a wall.  The side of a building or the wall at a paddle ball court are usually sufficient.  However, if your son would like to practice in your own backyard, the most useful lacrosse training aid you can invest in for your son is a LAX WALL.  If you are unfamiliar with a LAX WALL, see here: http://bit.ly/c8bPoB .  You can order the LAX WALL online or you can purchase it from Thompsons in Summit or Lacrosse Unlimited in Madison.  I realize the LAX WALL is expensive but trust me, if your son plans to play lacrosse for years to come, the LAX WALL will last for years and become a great investment in your son’s lacrosse development.  If you’ve never seen one you are welcome to come over to my backyard and I’ll show you how to use it.   On the last page of the attached sheet is a great Wall Ball routine.

I also direct your attention to the 11 Commandments of Lacrosse that can always be accessed from the top bar of this blog page.
 
If you have any questions about any of the drills in the attached pages (or anything else), do not hesitate to contact me.

– Coach B

GO CHIEFS!!

Saturday (3/13) Practice Moved Indoors to The Center Circle (Rahway)

Due to the forecasted bad weather tomorrow (Sat. 3/13), rather than cancel our team practice, the team coaches have reserved a 2 hour block as a gift to the team to allow them to practice on the indoor turf at The Center Circle in Rahway.  We will practice from 4-6pm.  Information and Directions for the Center Circle are on their website at the top under “General”: http://www.thecentercircle.com/

I hope all players will be able to attend.  Its a great opportunity for them to get this practice time on the turf.   Players should come with all their equipment.  SNEAKERS ONLY.  NO CLEATS. 

See you tomorrow afternoon.  Come ready to practice!

 – Coach B