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[


YOUR EDGE] coaches Let’s Get Physical


How to make contact and teach proper technique


By TJ Buchanan


Lacrosse players are bigger, faster, and stronger than ever before. Look at a “kid” like Myles Jones from Duke. He’s 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds as a college sophomore. At the other end of the spectrum, you have someone like Villanova sophomore John Kluh at 5-foot-4, 140 pounds. Both players are midfi elders. At some theoretical point in time they


Eyes and chin upright, nearly vertical and no lower than shoulder of opponent.


could collide on the fi eld. Advantage Jones, right? Not so fast.


As a coach, you have many responsibilities in preparing your team. There is offense, defense, extra-man offense, man-down defense and more to worry about. But one aspect you must teach your players is how to make proper contact and how to prepare for receiving contact — regardless of their physical stature. Failure to teach your players about these two important concepts will only lead to penalties, easy dodges to the goal and injuries. In addition to proper technique, coaches should strive to teach the appropriate times and locations for


Make Contact


contact. Blind-side hitting a defenseless player is illegal by NFHS rule 5-3. It can result in a two- or three-minute non- releasable penalty and even ejection. As part of our online tutorial, “How to Make Proper Contact,” US Lacrosse also consulted with martial arts experts and gymnasts to develop recommendations for absorbing contact. Research has that athletes who are prepared for body-to-body or body-to-ground contact are less likely to suffer injuries as a result of it.


FREE FOR MEMBERS US L acrosse


Coaching education program


Nearly 1,000 coaches have completed US Lacrosse's online


tutorial, “How to Make Proper Contact," a one-hour e-learning course that's now a requirement for Level 1 certifi cation.


USLacrosseCourses.org


As you fall, keep your head down, chin to chest, and brace your neck for impact.


Eyes open and looking up fi eld.


90-degree angle and close to body.


Both palms wrapped


around shaft.


Stick vertically in line with center of body, with stick head just above the shoulder.


84 LACROSSE MAGAZINE March 2014


Keep both feet grounded and hip-width apart through contact.


>>


Top hand to chest, bottom hand to


opposite hip.


Keep both feet grounded as long as possible.


Receive Contact Arms at


Clench teeth to mouth guard to prevent biting tongue or cheeks.


Arms at opposite end of body from point of contact.


Try to hit the ground with your larger core leg muscles and rear end. Roll opposite contact to distribute force.


©THERESA KEIL


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