A Lacrosse Weekend 6.26.21
Welcome to "A Lacrosse Weekend" my weekly compilation of thoughts, ideas, stories, myths, truths, about the great game of lacrosse. I hope you enjoy it!
If you are a men's or women's lacrosse player, coach, or parent, I think you will love the weekly content, videos, and analysis!
Get Back On Your Line!
Below is a great clip from a Coaches Training Program webinar featuring Manhattan Head Coach, Drew Kelleher. He is discussing the importance of getting physical as a dodger as soon as you get even half a step on your man. A successful dodger is someone who consistently either creates scoring opportunities for himself or creates double teams and moves the ball. The best way to do this is by initiating contact and "getting back on your line." Check it out!
Mindset Skill of the Week | Confidence
When asked where confidence comes from, most people would give one of the following responses: Confidence comes from past success. It comes from feeling prepared and putting in the work. It comes from knowing I am better than my opponent. It comes from a good warmup. It comes from faith in my teammates... and the list goes on. All of these things, no doubt, play a role in our feeling of confidence but there is one thing that is more important than the rest- Self-talk.
Last week's Mindset Skill of the Week was 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 our thoughts. We can imagine the trap that we run into if our confidence is based strictly on things like past success, our opponent, our teammates, or even getting a good warm-up. What if I miss my first 3 shots? What if I know I'm outmatched by my opponent? What if I'm playing in a showcase with teammates I don't even know? What if I only get a 5-minute warmup before my fourth game of the day?
This is why our self-talk is the best place to draw our confidence from. We need to be able to tell ourselves that no matter what the circumstance is, "I'm up for the challenge." We also need to be able to earn the right to tell ourselves, "I'm up for the challenge"... and the only way to do this is by constantly putting ourselves in difficult/challenging situations. We need to have a healthy relationship with failure and realize that the only way we grow is through pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones. Challenging ourselves on a daily basis is like getting the reps that we need so that on game day- we can use our self-talk to say, "no matter what the circumstances are- I'm up for the challenge."
Have a great week!