ECC Lax

East Coast Lacrosse: Diversity in Lacrosse Training (Article 1 of a 3 part series)


by Jason Pressman


#1: Multiple positions


Developing into a quality lacrosse player requires a strong understanding of the game and all positions on the field. Young players, including high school, should try different positions to understand how they work together.


For example, if an attackmen plays midfield they learn how tiring it is to play defense and then clear the ball. This gives them appreciation why it is important to break to the ball and work to get open on clears. Young attackmen will then start to understand that attack is not a stationary position at all, but one if played properly requires a great deal of running.


If middies play attack, they will learn better stick protection as they are forced to play against long sticks. At higher levels, one midfielder will be covered by a long stick and if he is not capable of handling it, he becomes an instant target for the defense to try and take the ball away.


If a defenseman plays middie, they will be forced to work on footwork and not rely on their long sticks to play defense. Many young defensemen fall into the trap of relying on the long stick to do the work for them. This quickly becomes a problem at higher levels and playing some short stick will help correct it.


As another example, if all players work on face-offs, they will learn how to be aggressive on ground balls. In regular ground ball situations, experienced face-off players have a big advantage.


On Friday January 14, 2011, East Coast Lacrosse Academy teams held their regular practice supplemented by a training session where all players worked with Chris Mattes, the starting face-off specialist for Rutgers University. As an included benefit in team membership, each player on our 7/8th grade and high school winter teams received clinic style instruction from Chris on various face-off techniques (Clamp, jam, laser, pinch-n-pop). After the demonstrations, every player competed in face-offs to work on some of the lessons just learned. While most of our players will not face-off for their home teams, practicing them is a valuable addition for anyone who wants to be a complete lacrosse player.


After the general lesson, face-off specialists worked on more advanced drills to help refine their technique. The rest of the team broke off into shooting drills or 6v6 games in the hockey rink.


Flexibility in lacrosse pays off. There are some examples: Ray Megill of the MLL Bayhawks, former player of mine while in high school, started in youth lacrosse as a midfielder. We moved him to long-stick mid several practices into his freshman year. He stayed there and eventually moved to defense by the time he was a sophomore. He stayed at defense until he graduated from the University of Maryland as an All-American (where he took many face-offs with his long pole just like he did in HS). Upon getting drafted to the MLL, he moved back to short-stick for several years and now has moved back to long-stick defense. The diversity in Ray's lacrosse training gave has served him well.


Brett Queener is a great goalie. He played for the University of Albany and now in the MLL. In college, when Albany would go man-up he would run to the sideline from goal and exchange his stick for a short-stick and play on the man-up team. During his first Division 1 lacrosse game as a goalie, he carried the ball the entire field with his goalie stick and scored versus Johns Hopkins. The diversity in Brett's game is a huge factor in his success as a player.


Give another position a try, even if its just in practice. It will add to your overall lacrosse experience.


Diversity in lacrosse training is not just about playing all positions, but also about changing the dimensions of the playing field. In the next blog topic, I will discuss the value of playing in confined places like hockey rinks.