A Lacrosse Weekend 8.15.20

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! 

Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcast

After a two month summer hiatus, I am excited to announce that I have started season three of my series of podcasts and added a solo podcast to the package!

The Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcast is a one on one conversation primarily with coaches, but occasionally players or other special guests like my latest guest Terry Foy, CEO Inside Lacrosse.  Our conversation is all about college lacrosse recruiting in a COVID world.  Terry is one of the smartest and most informed people in the lacrosse world and you will want to hear his opinions on how coaches are handling recruiting with no in person evaluations or visits.  Finally, IL has a new product called the IL Video Evaluation which is an incredible product for boys and girls high school players as they need to know where they stand, what they need to work on, and how good they actually are!  Evaluations, which are performed by college coaches with a strict and consistent protocol, will give every player the opportunity to be seen by IL.  Click here to listen!

The Inside The 8 Podcast with Colleen Magarity focuses on all things women's lacrosse with the greatest players and coaches in the game!  Colleen and I will get back to work on this show within a week or two!  Stay tuned!

The New Flying Solo Podcast is a short form podcast where I have the opportunity to expound on interesting topics.  My first episode is titled "Handedness" and is dives into the question: Should we want players to be two handed?  Canadian and Native box lacrosse players have proven that they can be world class and Hall of Fame level players without a weak hand, but we also know that the ability to have a two handed X attackman and an ability to shoot on the run with both hands is hugely advantageous for a team offense.  You will learn how focusing too much on two handedness will actually stunt a player's development.  I hope you find this interesting!  Click here to listen!

If you have suggestions for topics or guests for my podcasts, please email me at [email protected]!  I'd love to hear from you!

College Lacrosse Recruiting

People reach out to me all the time asking for recruiting advice.  Should I go to this tourney or that showcase? If I re-class how will coaches know what year my daughter is?  Do you know what Duke is looking for in recruiting defenders?  Do prep schools for PG years have financial aid?  If you are trying to educate yourself on the state of recruiting as a result of these crazy times, if you want to get in the heads of DI Men's and Women's Coaches, or if you want to hear experts talking about the biggest mistakes people make in the recruiting process, you will love the JM3 Recruiting Portal. 

Watch this short video and get a tour of this awesome resource.

 

MVP Zed Willams Analysis

It was marvelous to watch Zed Williams play over the course of the PLL Championship Series!  Zed's box lacrosse skill set was on full display along with his incredible athleticism and physicality.  I decided to to piece together a reel of some of Zed's best plays in the series with voiced over analysis I hope you will find interesting!

You will find examples of:

• 2man game, "Invite" defender over the pick
• 2man game, shoot it when they go under
• 2man game Slam and Spin the switch
• Gap 2man
• Physical Dodge / Spin Move combination
• Hesitations to the weak hand
• Rockers and hesitations to get topside
• Multiple Hitches to set up screen shots
• A phenomenal Underhand Twister

 

Practiced At The Art of Deception

To me deception is the difference between good and great. Would Lyle be Lyle without deception?  How about John Grant Jr?  The best players are "Fluent" in the game and use non verbal communication towards opponents regularly to manipulate and control them through their eyes, posture, stick position, hesitations, swing angles of passes or shots etc.

At all times the defense and goalie are always watching what you do and will anticipate and react to your every move.  If you don't fake, your opponent will have a chance of being on time whereas if you fake, you can cause the defense to defend the wrong thing, making them early or late.

In my weekly Zoom calls with my JM3 Athletes we discuss faking and deception non stop. It is definitely the most talked about topic with my boys and girls players and I get so fired up when players make progress in this area.  Faking and deception is a sign of Fluency.

Deception and faking is the hardest part of the game to teach.  In fact, I don't believe it can actually be taught.

You can't teach feel.  Feel can only be learned.

Sure, a coach can present, explain, and demonstrate all variations of deceptive dodging, shooting and passing.  A coach can script fakes like Multi Hitches, BTB and Backhand Fakes, in various small sided drills and the players will eventually learn how to execute these forms of deception on command in structure.  Unfortunately, as beautifully as your players will execute fakes on command or in drills, it is the perception, anticipation and decision making leading up to the execution of a fake that will hold them back.

Look at these insane Multi Hitch plays from professional players (all box players by the way.)

 

Now look at these insane Multi Hitch plays from boys and girls playing pick up lacrosse from this past June.   Do you see the resemblance to the pros?  These kids are figuring out on their own how to use deception and it will no doubt translate to real games.  After a large dose of free play in quarantine, this summer I have been watching my JM3 Athletes fake the lights out and play at insane levels.  Literally, people are blown away by the improvements.

 

 The model playing various Sandlot games and reviewing film on Zoom calls allows JM3 Athletes both to learn implicitly and understand what they're actually doing when they play.  

 

JM3 Athlete Program

Beginning today 8/15/20, I will be opening up a registration window for six boys and girls players to sign up for the JM3 Athlete Program.  In this program I work with athletes and families and put them on a trajectory of development and exposure that they would otherwise never know.   I have created a new model of player development that is so effective and such a breath of fresh air you may not believe it!  

This program is not cheap, but it has been wildly effective at helping players and families achieve their goals and follow their dreams. 

If you want to learn more, please take the time to read A Lacrosse Life an in depth bio, which explains how my philosophies have evolved through my experiences as a coach at all levels, an entrepreneur, and a dad of three lax players, two girls and a boy.

If you're interested, email me at [email protected]  I am happy to provide references from current JM3 Athlete families.

Here's a video of the content I use for my JM3 Athletes

 

JM3 Attack / Midfield and Defense Academies

I have created  online courses for boys and girls players that teach literally every variation of every skill in a do-it-at-home model that is an incredible deal.  I created this content for my JM3 Athletes, and now I'm making these courses available for $97 for a full year.

If you read my blogs or listen to my podcasts, you will know I'm very thoughtful in my approach to learning, sharing, teaching the game.  These academies, which are continually updated with new content, are designed to teach every variation of ever skill.

 Watch this video for a brief look at the Attack/Midfield Academy:

Click below to check out the Defense Academy:

 

 

Girls Lacrosse Player Development

I am a proud girl dad and because of that I've put a ton of time into understanding women's lacrosse and trying to find the best ways to help girls develop into high level players!  I coach girls HS lacrosse and I have worked with a ton of girls in my JM3 Athlete Program with exceptional success on the field, in recruiting, and in a love of the game!

Check out this testimonial from the dad of one of my players.  If you think this would be the kind of program you would like for your daughter, feel free to email me at [email protected] .  The JM3 Athlete Program is not for everyone and it is not cheap, but the results have been incredible! 

Another element of the JM3 Athlete Program for girls that is incredibly exciting is the girls truly learn the game at a new level.  A club coach was telling me yesterday that he over heard one of my JM3 Athletes explaining to teammates at a club practice off ball motions that involved her sealing her own man for her teammate to Curl over the top.  This type of knowledge and understanding is rare in men's and women's lacrosse!  This is the type of IQ that provides a huge advantage both on the field and in a coaches office during an interview!

JM3 Girls Lacrosse Academy

In the video testimonial above, this dad references the online content in the JM3 program.  This is the most comprehensive development model you will find anywhere!  Check out this video walk through. 

 The Gait Stick

Make no mistake, the Flex Mesh pocket will change the game of women's lacrosse. The pocket expands with centrifugal force aka cradling and has created the best hold of any women's stick that still throws great!  

My daughters play with these sticks and call them, "The best stick they have ever had!"  Check out the descriptions below:

  

 

If you want to get the JM3 Discount or see more, go to https://laxpocket.com/ and use the coupon code JM3 to get 10% off these incredible sticks!

 

Have a great weekend!