[
HER SPACE] editorial
Classic Upgrade H
Modern spins on traditional lacrosse training techniques
ow do you train for the fastest sport on two feet? Lacrosse
requires multiple facets of fitness to function in a synchronized manner: speed, agility (quickness and footwork), plyometrics (explosiveness and power), endurance and hand-eye coordination. The only effective way to train our bodies for such a sport is to incorporate exercises that combine several of those elements in one workout. Here are some modern spins on classic lacrosse training tactics.
Classic: Wall Ball Upgrade: Wall Ball on the Move
Standing flat-footed and stationary, casually throwing the ball against the wall, does not prepare your stick for the chaos of a lacrosse game. You must be moving. Mix in these moving drills with your stationary routine, with high reps to create a 45-minute wall-ball routine and a great workout. 1. Run parallel to the wall, throwing leading passes with your stick down field. Turn around and use the opposite hand. Repeat going up and down 10 times, take a break and repeat two more times. 2. Face the wall, 20 yards
away. Throw a long pass to the wall while running towards it. Catch the deflected long pass and do a quick-stick as you approach the wall. Catch the second deflection, jog back 20 yards and repeat. 3. Start on the right side of the wall and stick in your right hand. Throw, catch and then
A Publication of US Lacrosse
switch to your left hand while sprinting parallel to the left side of the wall. Now throw with your left hand, catch and switch while sprinting back to the right side of the wall. Repeat 10 times.
Classic: Five-Mile Endurance Run Upgrade: Endurance Sprints
Never in a lacrosse game do you run uninterrupted, at one pace, for the entire game like you do on a long, slow run. Instead, stack sprints and bodyweight exercises to build lacrosse-specific endurance. 1. On a turf, sprint 120 yards, jog back and do 10 burpees immediately. Rest 30 seconds 2. Sprint 100 yards, jog back, do nine burpees and rest 30 seconds. 3. Continue decreasing your sprint in increments of 20 yards until you run a 20-yard sprint and do five burpees. 4. Rest two minutes, do the same rotation with push- ups and then another with abdominals. This workout will ensure that you’ll feel stronger in those last 10 minutes of a close game.
Classic: Weightlifts Upgrade: Plyometric Wall Ball
Lifting weights is imperative at the elite level, but must be done under supervision. There are other ways to strengthen your body’s ability to explode from stillness, and they require only your bodyweight. Add stick work to plyometrics, and you’re set.
1. 20 right and 20 left on the wall. 2. 10 burpees. Repeat three times. 3. 50 throw right, catch and switch. 4. 50 throw left, catch and
switch. 5. 10 lunge jumps. Repeat three times. 6. 20 right-handed, catching weak side. 7. 10 left-handed, catching weak side. 8.10 pushups. Repeat three times.
Classic: Agility Ladders Upgrade: Ladders in Lacrosse Drills
If you want to take your ladder workout to the next level, specify it with position- specific drills that will help prepare you for the game scenarios you see when you are playing. Attack: Set the ladder up straight to the top of the 12-meter (coming from the direction of the opposite cage). Do different forward and lateral agilities. Then receive a ball from behind or the side and shoot. To add a dimension, ask the feeder to tell you where to shoot (high right, for example) as they feed it, so your mind has to focus on nailing that spot. Defense: Set up five to 10 balls on the ground about 10 yards in front of the ladder, in different locations. Do different forward and lateral agilities through the ladder. Then sprint to pick up the ground ball and run through about 10 yards. You can have a partner throw a ground ball away as you exit the ladder so you have to react to where it goes. You can have a partner throw you a pass immediately after the ladder. LM
— Kate Hickman
Kate Hickman is the girls’ lacrosse coach at St. Mary’s (Md.), director of Bay Area Lacrosse Club and founder of Balance Lacrosse.
September 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 23
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