Kevin Corrigan's Notre Dame teams are always disciplined and relentless on the ride. He says to his attackman, "your number one goal is to TURN THEM ONE TIME." If your team is not concerned with throwing checks and has the mentality to take a good angle and simply "turn them one time", you will generate some very easy caused turnovers! There's nothing better than turning a defenseman, getting some ball pressure, and watching him throw an over pass over someone's head. You see this all the time even at the highest level and it's a great rule to implement with your team to buy you more possessions. Don't allow them to beat you to the sideline! Turn them one time back to the middle of the field where there is more traffic and opportunities to double.  

 

The other thing that the "turn him one time" rule allows you to do is set up "chops". A chop is a double team in the middle of the field where the trailing defender communicates to the lead defender to step out and turn him back into the double. This is the same concept as an on-ball defender holding up a dodger and encouraging him to roll back into a "wheel slide" (slide to the rollback) or a "hammer slide" (slide underneath to the inside roll). This technique is CRITICAL in your "need ball" scenarios at the end of a game! 

 

Here are a few clips! 

 

 

 

The best shooters in the game are always looking for their screen shots! Using your defender as a screen as much as possible is a great way to increase your shooting percentage. Screen shots are difficult for goalies to pick up and they are a defender's worst nightmare. No one likes getting hammered with the head or shaft of a lacrosse stick and then turning around to see the ball in the back of the net. It will force sloppy approaches the next time around and open up all of your wind up moves.

 

Check out some examples!

 

 

This Screen Shot 1 v 1 Drill is a great way to rep it! The shooter should catch the ball (tennis ball) at about 12 yards so he has the option to either shoot a screen shot or dodge out of his wind up. The defensive player starts inside the crease and throws it to the offensive player while taking an approach to his top shoulder. This is a great drill for the defense as well, as these types of short approaches on the backside of the defense or off of a skip pass are critical!

 

 

 

To quote Sport and Performance Psychologist, Michael Gervais, "There are only three things we can train as humans: We can train our body, our craft, and our mind." If you are reading these weekly blog posts there is a good chance that you have spent a good portion of your life training the craft of lacrosse and you have a good understanding of the importance of strength and conditioning. Training our minds is oftentimes left up to chance or overlooked altogether! Each week we will introduce a new mindset skill and a practical way to implement that skill in your everyday life.  

 

 

There are so many things that bog us down that are completely outside of our control. If we want to be our best we need to be able to sharply focus on only those few things that are 100% within our control at all times: Our attitude, our effort, our actions, and the thoughts that we entertain. Time and energy are two of our most valuable resources!

 

Train your mind to have a deep awareness of the things that are within your control and those things outside of your control at any given moment.

 

Weekly Challenge: Each day before you begin something important, write down one thing that is 100% in your capacity to control. This will flip your mindset from being outcome-focused to process-focused. For example, instead of worrying about what your final stat line is at the end of the game- simply write down, "fully commit to every possession". As legendary 49ers coach, Bill Walsh would say, "the score will take care of itself."   

 

Have a great weekend!