New Player Focus
Lacrosse is a fantastic community that welcomes athletes from all sports. I didn't start playing lacrosse until I was a freshman in high school. I swam, played basketball, soccer, football, ping pong, and tennis before I fell in love with the game of lacrosse. While all those skill sets translated in some way to lacrosse, there were a few key factors that helped me and can help any new player become a valuable asset to their high school team.
Be eligible to play - do your school work!
Commit to being a fool - to become great at anything you must first commit to being bad at that thing for an indeterminate amount of time.
Be in shape - work hard in practice to get into fantastic shape. Take the warm-up seriously, get in the weightroom, and do extra sprints. The more athletic and in shape an individual becomes, the easier it becomes to learn any sport specific skill set, let alone lacrosse.
Have good stick work - hitting the wall and playing catch with your teammates outside of practice hours will do wonders for your stick work. Wall-ball routines are all over the internet nowadays but you can improve by hitting the wall with no plan at all and just flowing through 100-200 reps in a matter of minutes.
Build lacrosse IQ - lacrosse games and highlights are all over the internet now. Watch as much as possible and listen to the commentary, the coach interviews, and the player interviews. This will help new players understand the nuances of the game.
Carve out a role - speak with your experienced teammates about which position would suit you best and discuss that position with your coaches. Ask them the most important things you need skill and IQ wise to earn that position on the depth chart. Then go do those things!
My personal journey in lacrosse started with being cut from the freshmen basketball team, then getting invited to try lacrosse a week later by two seniors that were friends with my older brother.
I was the worst player in the program.
I was a defensive midfielder on the JV team as a freshman with very little playing time for the first 4-5 games. I worked extremely hard on my stick and athleticism and was brought up to the varsity team for playoffs that season. I didn’t touch the field for the varsity team until Sophomore year. I earned a spot on the second line midfield as a sophomore. Junior year I was voted captain and played on the first line midfield. Senior year, I committed to play at Mount St. Mary’s University and played both midfield and attack there for four years.
I thought I was going to become a defensive midfielder in college but was given the opportunity to play attack and midfield on the offensive side of the ball.
Trust the process, believe in yourself, and good things will come your way!
________________________
Defy Athletics