Level 2 Online Course

Transcription

1 Level 2 Online Course One for all. Skill School Lesson 4: Scooping US Lacrosse

2 Men s Skill School Lesson 4: Scooping Introduction Groundballs win games. Whether they occur during face-offs, rebounds, or end-line possession battles, they are essential. Players at this level who have become more adept at throwing and catching can really elevate their games by learning how to scoop through a loose ball in traffic for possession and retention. Spend time teaching your individual players how to approach, scoop and follow through a loose ball, and your team will reap the rewards. Skill Execution Technique Review Use two hands. Curb the one-handed and raking habits here. While players may see professionals on TV walk the dog with a one-handed scoop-and-cradle, show them the reality: that more often than not, two hands are better than one. Raking, or trying to pull a loose ball out of a scrum by using the back of a stick, should also be discouraged. Players should be encouraged to use their non-dominant hand to scoop ground balls. A player s stick should always be in his outside hand, to protect the ball. Eliminate the need for him to switch hands after the ground ball by teaching him to know which hand his stick will need to be in prior to scooping. That hand should be his top hand when he scoops. Instruct the players to approach a ground ball at full speed, and bend at both knees when they are in front of it, getting as low to the ground as possible while maintaining their momentum. Protect your players by enforcing the head-up approach. It s not a golf swing. Tell them to get low enough where they can see the ball, but still keep their head up to avoid cheap headshots. When they scoop, emphasize that they bring both hands - especially the bottom hand - low to the ground, almost to the point that they graze the grass and punch that bottom hand downward. Once they are low enough and have scooped through the ball, the feet must follow. At the same time they are scooping, they are dragging their back foot to avoid overstepping the ball. As they come back up with the ball in their sticks, teach them to lock their lead elbow and pull the stick up in vertical position. Bringing it up on an angle leaves a player susceptible to a stick check before he s had a chance to settle the ball in his pocket. Transitioning from scoop to cradle is just as important. Drill your players to bring their sticks immediately to the imaginary box around their heads upon gaining possession of the ball, and to go into protect mode. Teach them to kiss the stick with an initial cradle across the face. Level 2 players should be competent enough to perform these tasks at full speed. Once in possession, get your players in the mindset of exploding out of their crouch, emphasizing stick protection, and immediately looking for an outlet. Get your players in the habit of immediately seeking to pass off the ground ball.

3 Men s Skill School Ground balls are also the sparkplug of a good transition offense. The scooper is not exempt. Once he has found an outlet, instruct your player to follow his pass for a possible fast break. Many times he already has a few steps on the opponents whom he initially beat for the ground ball. Alternate Options Kicking the ball This isn t soccer, and by no means should kicking be first resort, but not all ground balls are gettable. Simulate appropriate kicking situations, and teach your player to kick a ball into open space before retrieving it with the methods previously described. Similarly, players should be encouraged to flip, or goose, a difficult ground ball to a nearby teammate for advantage when appropriate. Do not allow them to get into the habit of flipping when it is better to maintain possession. Screening/Boxing Out Seldom is a ground ball attained without some form of contention from an opponent. Players at this level are physically developed enough to realize the usefulness of screening and boxing out. If your player has a step on his fellow ground ball pursuant, teach him to block his opponent s path to the ball with a body screen. He should be instructed to use his outside leg to screen the ball from his opponent s stick, as a catcher might block the plate in baseball. Have your player learn the advantage of boxing out, which is as significant in lacrosse as it is in basketball. As he and an opponent pursue the ground ball, he should turn his hips to obstruct the opponent behind him. If his opponent attempts to circumvent on either side of his body, your player should be taught to move laterally with him to maintain the seal and an advantage in the possession battle. A body check can also be quite useful in this situation. If the two players are side-by-side in contention for the ground ball, it s perfectly legal for your player to throw his hips or drop his shoulder into his opponent. This is similar to the wing-play situation discussed in the face-offs section of this course. Error Detection and Correction Error: The player manages to scoop the ball, but can t keep it in his stick as he explodes from the crouch. He is too anxious to cradle. Correction: Teach the stick-to-face technique, with the stick kissing his facemask. Error: The player overruns the ball because he has either missed the scoop or is not properly dragging his back foot. Correction: Reinforce that he gets low to the ground - with his body, stick and hands. Long Stick Scooping Choking up is encouraged so you can get down farther on the ball. Be sure to protect the butt end that is now exposed from choking up. Don t stab and the ball, MUST SCOOP THROUGH. There is 6 feet of shaft exposed.

4 Box Out Drill Men s Skill School Objective: To reinforce fundamental groundball and scooping techniques. Suggested space needed/equipment: Balls (enough so that every other player has one) Players needed: All team players can participate simultaneously. Description of Drill-Execution: Assign each team player a partner, space the pairs out along the midfield line, and place one ball about 2 yards in front of each group. One player in each pair will be the scooper and one player will be the defender. On a coach s whistle, the defender will try to get around the scooper and the scooper will shuffle his feet so that he can use his back and body to box the defender out and prevent him from getting to the ball. On a second whistle, the scooper should pick up the ball and run up-field. After several repetitions, players should switch roles. Skills practiced: Boxing out Scooping under pressure Running away from pressure Variations/Progression/Increased difficulty (As your players improve their skills incorporate the following ): This drill can and should be practiced using both hands. To increase the difficulty of the drill, increase the time between whistles (15 seconds, 30 seconds, etc.). To add an additional component, add a third player to each group after the scooper picks up the ball, he must pass it to the third player (scooper then goes to pass catcher, pass catcher goes to defender, and defender goes to scooper). Goalie involvement: None Related drills: Two-pass Groundballs 2-on-1 Groundballs (to 3-on-2 on Cage) 4

5 Two-pass Groundballs (aka, Groundballs Away) Men s Skill School Objective: To get players in the habit of scooping through the ball, picking up groundballs under pressure, and passing the ball immediately after picking it up. Suggested space needed/equipment: Balls Players needed: All team players can participate in this drill simultaneously, but there should be no more than 8-10 players in each line. Description of Drill-Execution: Set two lines of players facing each other about yards apart with a coach inbetween the two. On a coach s whistle, the first player in one line should pick up a ball and begin to run towards the opposite line. As he is scooping the ball, the coach should make a light check (token defense/dummy defense) on him. After he successfully picks up the ball, he should immediately pass it to first person in the opposite line. This player throws it right back to him, and he then drops the ball at his feet, and runs to the end of that line. The first player in the second line then picks up the groundball, runs through a light check from the coach, and throws the ball to the first player in the opposite line, and the pattern repeats itself. Skills practiced: Scooping under pressure Passing immediately after scooping Variations/Progression/Increased difficulty (As your players improve their skills incorporate the following ): This drill can and should be practiced using both hands. Goalie involvement: None Related drills: Box Out Drill 2-on-1 Groundballs (to 3-on-2 on Cage) 5

6 Men s Skill School 2-on-1 Groundballs (to 3-on-2 on Cage) Objective: To improve communication on groundballs and to practice using extra players to your advantage. Suggested space needed/equipment: Balls Goal Players needed: All players can participate in this drill simultaneously, but there should be no more than in a group at one time. Description of Drill-Execution: Along the near sideline, set three lines of players the two on the outside are the offense, and the one in the middle is on defense. The first players in each line should step out with their eyes looking forward. A coach will then roll a ball out in front of them and then will fight to pick up the ball. If an offensive player picks up the ball, he must pass it to his teammate before passing it to a coach. If a defensive player wins the groundball, he must immediately pass it to a coach. Drill diagram: X 3 D 1 Skills practiced: Man/Ball communication Scooping under pressure Moving the ball after picking it up Variations/Progression/Increased difficulty (As your players improve their skills incorporate the following ): This drill can and should be practiced using both hands. To increase the competitiveness, challenge offensive players to do 10 pushups each time a defender wins the groundball. To increase the difficulty of the drill, add an extra offensive and defensive player and station them by the goal if the offense wins the initial groundball, they will attack the goal and play out a 3-on-2 live situation; if the defense wins the initial groundball, they must clear it to the midfield line. Goalie involvement: Full, when playing the 3-on-2 on the goal. Related drills: Box Out Drill Two-pass Groundballs X 1 D 1 X 2 6

7 One for all.