A Lacrosse Weekend 10.6.18
Welcome to A Lacrosse Weekend, my weekly compilation of thoughts, ideas, history, stories, myths/truths, about the great game of lacrosse. I hope you find it enjoyable.
Fall is in full swing. Finally the weather is cooling down here in Denver, the Patriots seem to be back on track per their usual October solidification, and fall lacrosse for the Munro family has a lot going on this weekend. My wife went off to Chapel Hill this weekend to watch UNC scrimmage High Point this morning, my oldest daughter and her Ducks team have practice this weekend, and I'm holding down the fort with my youngest as we have no field hockey this weekend which leaves time for a fall ball game today and more importantly a "Street Box" game on Sunday. Early reports from Chapel Hill: new face off guy / late pick up looked good, defense looks athletic and physical, goalies solid, a bunch freshmen look good, shorties look deep, a bunch of key guys didn't play, but the over all depth of the roster was impressive.
Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcast with Cleveland State Head Coach, Dylan Sheridan
Dylan Sheridan is one of the best and brightest young coaches in Division I Lacrosse. A Cleveland native and a product of Western Reserve Academy and the legendary Skip Flannigan, Dylan describes his journey from DIII Football and MCLA lacrosse to women's lacrosse coaching, to DII and DIII coaching before landing as an assistant at the University of Denver. Dylan is thoughtful, well studied, fun, interesting and interested! He talks about his coaching mentors in John Haus, Bill Tierney, Matt Brown, and Chris Bates and what he took from each of them. We chat about culture building, recruiting, his defensive philosophy, his offensive philosophy, and the power of video. He also talks about the two big things that almost every HS athlete lacks coming into college.
Go to www.JM3Podcast.com to subscribe.
Skills Videos
Over the past month I have been in a major content creation mode. I am breaking down every skill and every variation of every skill and it's been fascinating. You know how when you have to write a paper you learn a ton about the subject matter? Same thing has been happening to me with this project. Even though I've been teaching these skills for years, I learned some HUGE nuances that I had never considered or noticed.
Here is the list of videos I'm producing:
• Wind up Triple Threat Dodges
• V cut / Split Dodges
• Double Threat Dodges
• Change of Direction
• Change of Speed - Hesitations
• Pop outs
• The End of the Dodge: How to Get Your Shot Off
• Passing
• Catching
• Feeding
• Time and Room Shooting
• Shooting on the Run
• Finishing
• Off Ball Play
• 2 man Game
Here is a sneak peak at one of my favorite videos, The Double Threat Position: https://vimeo.com/292024972/96a31483da ... I think it's pretty sick! I hope you like it!
JM3 Academy
I'm creating all of these videos as part of the content for an on line academy model I'm creating. My goal is to take hard working athletes and lead them down a new path of looking at the game, training, and feedback. I will train every kid to have box lacrosse in tight finishing and feeding skills so they look like Canadians; I will teach players a repertoire of dodges that will fit with their athletic make up; each athlete will learn big picture X's and O's so they will seamlessly enter college programs, I will share training models that are by far more effective than what everybody is doing, and athletes will receive specific feedback along the way. Father, I will formally educate parents on player development, recruiting, and how to prioritize through bi-monthly webinars and Q&A so they can better navigate the murky waters of youth lacrosse. Stay tuned for this 90 day program.
A Single Invert Look
Here's my favorite Single Invert look: https://vimeo.com/255765351/ef629d9bb6 I learned this look and all of the details from my friend and former Dartmouth Head Coach, Andrew Towers. I got a ton of mileage out of this look at the DI level and the HS level. Depending upon how the defense plays it, there are great looks and interesting counters. And since you need to be able to defend a single invert, you might as well have this look in the repertoire! Enjoy it!
If you're watching these videos and intrigued, take a look at the Coaches Training Program, CTP at www.JM3Coaches.com . Honestly, there is so much content in there and it is so rich with info, it will take you months to get through it. And your mind will be overheating!
The 2019 CTP is going to have incredible new content! First, I'm adding in all of the skill content from the list above. In addition, I'm breaking down the 2018 season's teams and games to see new trends and evolutions of various offenses and defenses. One really interesting topic I'm getting ready to study is Penn State's 2man side / 3man side 141 that gives you a "Pairs" look on one side and more complexity / variability with a 3man side, while also having only one man at X which then allows for "Hang ups" and better underneath space for dodgers.
Greatest Motion Offense
This was one of the first videos I produced for the Coaches Training Program and if you haven't watched it, you definitely should! In 20 minutes it gives you the skills you need and the drills to build up to a 132 Motion Offense. You can watch it at www.Greatestoffense.com
Women's Lacrosse
So I'm coaching HS Girls Lacrosse this season! I'm so pumped to learn the game in this fashion. I've coached a lot of girls lacrosse: club, I've coached my daughters in small group scenarios, girls box and street box, I've even studied a lot of film, but to have a chance to coach every day and to prepare throughout a high schools season is going to be a great experience.
By the way, The Single Invert look above can be nicely translated into women's lacrosse by simply initiating the offense with any type of 2 man game behind instead of a 1v1.
Skill Videos : the Double Threat video link above is a phenomenal technique for women's lacrosse. I will be creating over the next month skill videos for girls and I will have a JM3 Academy for girls as well.... so stay tuned!
I'm also creating a Coaches Training Program for Women's Lacrosse in the coming months which will include video of women's lacrosse skills, drills, and X's and O's. I will produce Live Trainings as well as MicroTraining Videos.
If you are a serious women's lacrosse coach, you need to study men's lacrosse as well as women's lacrosse. All coaches who register for the Women's Coaches Training Program will get access to the content on the men's side and honestly, you must go through it. There is so much info that is applicable, either exactly or with minor tweaks. There are several Division I Women's Lacrosse Programs that are subscribed.
College Lacrosse Recruiting
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing"
I haven't posted this link in a while, but for any parent out there who's kids are aspiring to play college lacrosse, watch this video: www.JM3GetRecruited.com. What is the main thing? The main thing is to learn what coaches want and put your efforts towards that! Coaches want: 1, students that can gain admission to their institution, 2, High Character - leaders, team players, hard workers 3, Athletes - multi sport athletes, all shapes and sizes, combination of speed, size, hands, and game sense, 4, Skill - not just high end skill, but a repertoire of skills, and 5, IQ - players that know how to play, players that are coachable (attitude and aptitude).
Are you keeping the main thing the main thing? Or are you getting side tracked with recruiting services, making lists of favorite schools, visiting colleges that you might like, attending prospect days every weekend?
If you're not good enough, there's nothing to talk about. Period.
@JM3_Coaches Twitter
Beginning Monday, I will start cranking out the tweets of instructional videos. I have tons of clips I want to share with you all so follow me if you don't already!
Baltimore
I'm pumped to head to Baltimore next week to watch the Michael Breschi Fall Ball game between North Carolina and Ohio State. I'm making my way to as many college practices as possible too. Beginning with UMBC practice early Friday morning! I have to say that I love Baltimore! I love getting some Half and Half (half cream of crab half Maryland crab) soup AKA "Perm" soup at Ocean Pride. I love the fact that lacrosse is huge in Baltimore, that lacrosse gets on the front page of the Baltimore Sun, and that there are so many great lacrosse traditions! But I will miss my friend Dave Huntley who I would always meet with in Baltimore. One year ago on this very same trip we met to discuss his involvement in JM3! We were planning on working together teaching, learning, sharing the great game of lacrosse! Miss you buddy!