Everett Lacrosse Club: Welcome

Everett Lacrosse Club 2012 Spring Season 

Registration is now closed. Please email the club with any questions. Check the team pages for up to date schedules. 

Every player must have a valid and current US Lacrosse membership number (must be renewed every year). Please have your membership number and expiration date prior to registering. US Lacrosse membership provides insurance coverage for players and the club.  All ELC coaches are members of US Lacrosse.

Everett Lacrosse Club would like to welcome our new High School head coach Pete Crowley.  Coach Crowley has assisted with the Seattle Starz select program and the Overlake High School program.  Coach Crowley is very active in the local lacrosse scene and will be a great addition to our club.  Go Seawolves!! 

If you are interested in volunteer coaching opportunities at the youth level please contact Stan Kosick, V.P. of Youth Lacrosse, at everettlacrosseclub@gmail.com .

PRE-SEASON PREPARATION
December 2011

With the season less than 3 months away, it is time to “DO.”  Remember what that diminutive philosopher once said?  “Do or do not, there is no try.”  Well, this is “DO” time.Pre-Season Preparation, “PSP”, is comprised of three separate parts:  Time Management, Conditioning, and Skill work.  Individually they are insignificant, taken as a whole they will be the secret to our success.

TIME MANAGEMENT:Time management is the single most important component of “PSP.”  Time management is about organizing yourself so that you have sufficient opportunity and energy to complete those tasks that you have started or wish to complete.  Schedule and prioritize your obligations for the day.  Use a day timer, calendar, journal, or whatever else you can think of to write down your school assignments, reports, medical appointments and any other obligations you might have.  Make sure that your work is completed, reviewed, and submitted in a timely fashion.  Remember school comes first!  Prepare now for the time commitment you will be required to make when the season (including pre-season) starts.  Lastly, when configuring your time make sure you leave yourself some “down time.”

CONDITIONING:Are you the most physic ally fit person on your team?  If not, establish a goal to be the most physically fit that YOU can be.  Challenge yourself.  Start with a daily routine (which you will have to include in your time management) of sit ups and push-ups that you do at home every day.Next buy yourself a jump rope. 

Jump rope EVERY DAY.  See how many jumps you can do in one minute.  Do this for several days.  Once you feel comfortable add another minute.  Challenge yourself to increase the number of jumps.  Keep increasing the number of minutes so as to always challenge yourself.  Note: jumping role will increase your foot speed, your agility, your coordination, and stamina.  And you will make me happy.

Running, much as we might not like it, lacrosse is a dynamic sport requiring it.  We run on and off the field.  We run with speed and we run with determination.  Go to the high school field and run the track.  The amount of running will be dictated by how in shape you are in.  The key, as usual, is to challenge yourself.  Start off slowly with a good warm up followed by a leisurely jog and dynamic stretching.  Increase your work rate by running some sprints, using a slow jog to change the pace followed by some more sprints and concluding with a slow jog and stretching.Running with a friend is always more fun and safer than running alone.  Make sure to dress for the weather (dress in layers) and bring water with you.  Don’t run in the dark unless you have reflective clothing.Running stairs is great.  Run hills, run up the Space Needle, run up . . . whatever you like.  Just make sure you use common sense.

SKILL WORK:There are many types of skill work.  Individual work and group work.  For individual work please refer to my prior report.  Wall work is the best and most important skill work you can do.  Do it as often as possible.  Ideally every day (now do you see why time management is so important?).Skill work with groups is the most fun.  Get together with some of your friends and work on specific areas that you need to improve on.  By way of example, if you are an attackman, find a net/cage or a wall and practice your shooting.  Have your friend feed you and take turns.  Throw in a couple of fakes before you shoot.  Other examples of skill work with groups is playing 1v1 or 2v1, or 2v2.  Use your imagination.  Face-off specialists should also get together and work your clamp, rake, and jump moves.  Ask your captains or email me for specific skills work exercises.Lastly, learn the rules of the game.

CONCLUSION: How much do you want to improve yourself?  Like life, lacrosse success is based on your effort and your desire.  Remember the formula:  effort plus desire, equals results. This is true about everything in life, the greater the effort, the greater the desire, the greater the success. 

Wall Ball, the difference between an average player and a great one; the more touches you have the better you will become. Your effort plus desire will produce results. Use a tennis ball. It is lighter and more difficult to catch and it will help you develop soft hands.

Wall routine – any wall will work but a smooth concrete one at least 10 feet tall will be the best.

Proper 1 hand technique:

Wearing gloves, hold the stick in one hand at its balance point and then place the head of the stick in the “box” area next to the ear. Then with one hand, “snap” the wrist which will cause the ball to come out of the stick in a straight line and bounce off the wall straight back into the stick kept in the box area. This will be difficult at first. Do not take shortcuts. Keep the head of the stick in the box and not down off the shoulder.

Proper 2 hand technique:

Wearing gloves hold the stick with your top hand approximately half way down the shaft of the stick. Your opposite hand should cover the end cap. Snap the top wrist while bringing the bottom hand towards your dominant arm pit. This will help to keep your stick in a vertical position. Try to keep the head of the stick in the box at all times. Be ready for the ball to return in a hurry. Change your foot stance as you change your hands, that is lead with your left foot if passing from the right, and so forth. Stick protection is important.

Proper Cross hand technique:

This is similar to the two hand technique. Hold the stick such that the dominant hand is across your body. The head of the stick should be kept in the “box” near the opposite ear. This will be awkward at first but only the advanced players will get to this stage.

DRILLS: (Beginners 30 reps with each hand) (Developing Players 50 reps with each hand)

1 hand: catch and redirect (no quick stick) 2 hands: catch and redirect (no quick stick) 1 hand: split drill – catch righty, switch and throw lefty/catch lefty switch and throw righty 2 hands: split drill – catch righty, switch and throw lefty/catch lefty switch and throw righty 2 hands: catch, face dodge, and throw 2 hands: catch, fake, and throw

You must be at 50 reps with each hand before passing this point.

2 hands: cross handed 2 hands: behind the back 2 hands: running along the wall throwing and catching.

“You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event – it is a habit.” Aristotle