YOUR edge // coaches
SHOOTING DRILLS
VENUS OR
MARS?
It doesn’t matter as long as you can coach
Can we agree on two things? First, the word coach, when used as a noun, does not imply a gender. By definition, it means somebody who trains athletes, performers, students, etc. Second, a good coach promotes safety, fun, learning and a positive team culture regardless of winning or losing. Agreed? Great.
Recently, I received an email from a girls’ lacrosse coach who was not permitted to hire a male assistant. The coach was flabbergasted that in 2014, a
candidate for a position would not be considered because of gender.
Administrators, however, felt it was best to have a coach on the sidelines that was the same gender as the athletes, regardless of whether or not the candidate was the best person for the job. Wow!
The US Lacrosse Coaching Education Program hears frequently that the women’s game is being ruined by the influences brought to it by male coaches. Was math or physical education ruined in school for your child because the teacher was of one gender or another?
I am not naïve enough to believe there are not issues that need to be handled carefully when men coach girls or women coach boys. Kids need people that can
64 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » November 2014
understand and appreciate their needs. Moreover, it’s important to understand the intricacies of the men’s and women’s games. But a well-trained coach can do that regardless of gender. Good coaching comes in all shapes, sizes and genders. The San Antonio Spurs in August hired six-time WNBA all-star Becky Hammon as an assistant, making her the first female coach in NBA history. Closer to home, Johns Hopkins last year added Steele Stanwick to its women’s lacrosse coaching staff.
These people are the best candidates to help their teams succeed. Our schools hire teachers that are the best candidate for teaching our kids. Why should we expect anything different when hiring coaches? Here’s my challenge to coaches: Look beyond gender when applying for that next coaching job. Do not limit yourself to the men’s game or women’s game. If you believe you are qualified for the job, go after it. And here’s a challenge for program administrators: Choose the best candidate for the job. A coach is not a man or a woman. A coach is a teacher, a leader, a mentor and a positive role model for the athletes under his or her supervision. If you want your team to reach its potential, hire the coach that can get it there in a safe, fun, educational and positive way.
X1 X2 X3
HOPKINS UP AND OVER
SHOOTING (MEN)
• Set up three lines with a cone in front of each: one 3 yards behind GLE to one side of the goal and two at top left and top right of attack zone. • Place two additional cones as shown to guide the drill. • X1 dodges off a cone at GLE and feeds up to X2. • X2 moves the ball “one more” to X3.
• X3 catches and dodges topside off the cone for a running shot.
• Players rotate to where they throw, rapid fire. • Change sides, add defenders or goalie as variations.
X1 X3
C X2 G
TRIANGLE ROTATION SHOOTING (WOMEN)
• X1 dodges from the point, bouncing out wide. • X1 can choose to throw the ball back across her body to X3 or roll back if you simulate a double team from the defense.
• X1 moves the ball to X3, who has trailed the dodge to set up right inside the 8-meter arc.
— TJ Buchanan US Lacrosse coaching education manager
• X3 moves the ball quickly to X2 on the crease. • X2 must move across the crease and then return to pop off the crease to receive the “one more” pass and then finish the shot.
• X1 moves to X2 position, X2 to X3 and X3 to X1.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
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