Teaching Lacrosse to U9

• U9 players are a unique age to teach. They are just learning to play organized sports

• Patience and focus change are key for coaches as players this age have limited attention spans

• Practices should not be more than one hour. Change focus and drills every five to ten minutes. Most importantly, make practice fun.

• Encouragement is important for skill development. Mistakes are ok.

U9 Lacrosse Skills• There are four critical skills all u9 players

must learn in order to enjoy lacrosse– Cradling: the most fundamental skill. The

faster they learn proper cradling, the faster they can progress to more advanced skills. Practice time should incorporate cradling into all drills. Give home work assignments for parents to help their child learn to cradle.

– Ground Balls: Once a player learns to scoop a ground ball and cradle it, they can now have fun playing the game. Picking up a ball and running with it allows them to participate. Participation in a game is the key to keeping them involved and advancing faster.

– Passing and Catching: This skill set is the most difficult and requires tremendous patience for coaches. They will miss lots of balls and throw lots of bad passes. Continue to encourage them to pass and catch in games. Don’t allow a strong player to dominate a game running by everyone and scoring

– Field awareness: Drill games are the best way to teach field awareness. Use the drill games in this document.

Sample u9 Practice PlanEvent Time NotesDiscussion 2 minutes Set the priorities

Dynamic Stretching 3 minutes Helps get the focused

Technical Drills 15 minutes Develop individual skills

Cradling circle with the coach 5 minutes Circle players around coaches. Practice cradling with both hands

Ground Ball drills 5 minutes Use different drills to keep attention

Pass and catch pairs 5 minutes Coaches provide individual help

Break 3 minutes

Fun Drills 20 minutes Develop individual skills

Pick a cradling drill 5 minutes Cradle Relay, Sharks and Minnows,

Pick a ground ball drill 5 minutes Down the side into 2-2-2 wide, Tag you’re out

Pick a passing and catching drill 5 minutes Monkey in the middle, Shoot the Bunny

Break 5 minutes

Field Awareness Drill games and scrimmaging

Drill games. Pick 2 games to do . 15 minutes Gauntlet Game, Ultimate lacrosse, Numbers game, Simple 2 on 1

Team play and scrimmage 15 minutes Work on field positioning, simple clears, faceoff and game start play.

Cradling and Ground Ball Drills

• Circle Cradling• Ground Ball Yo-Yo• UMass Ground Ball Drill• Line Drill• Pairs Catching and Throwing (Egg

Toss)• Ground Ball Mystery Drill• Ladders Drill

Circle Cradling

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Coach circles players around him and demonstrates cradling. Players copy. Coach goes around to each player to assist with proper technique. Have advancing players work both hands and single hand cradling.

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Two Player Ground Ball Yo-Yo

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Two players. Player A starts with ball and rolls a ground ball out in front of Player B. Player B scoops ground ball with back to Player A, curls and runs back to Player A while cradling. Player B then rolls out a ground ball for Player A.

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UMass Ground Ball Drill

Three-four players in a line. Player A steps out and places his stick-head over the ball on the ground. Player B runs toward the ball and drives through scooping up the ball. Player B must curl away cradle the ball while running back to where Player A was. Player A goes to the end of the line, Player B places his stick over the ball for Player C.

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Line DrillDivide players into 2 lines about 15 yards apart facing each other. Start with the ball on the ground in front of one of the lines. The first player in line scoops the ball and runs toward the opposite line cradling. Once he arrives at the other line, he drops the ball for the first player in that line. That player then scoops and runs while cradling toward the line facing him.

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Egg Toss-Catch and ThrowPlayers pair up with each pair having a ball. Players start 5 yards apart and throw a ball. If caught by their team mate, they each take a small step back and then throw and catch again. The winner is the team that makes is the last to make the longest throw and catch.

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2 on 1 Ground Ball Mystery

Four lines, alternate jersey colors. (In this example red and white). Coach rolls out ground ball for first two lines to the left of coach. Coach then immediately calls red or white for player to join from one of other 2 lines. Players create a 2 on 1 to the goal to score.

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Ladders DrillCreate several 10 x 10 grids connected to each other. Place a defender in the middle of each grid. Have a line of players, each with a ball in their stick, at one end of the grids.Players attempt to go through each grid by dodging the middle defensive player. Defensive players must stay in their grids. Players have 5 second to make it though one grid. Players score a point for each grid they successfully go through. Play for 5 minutes. Rotate positions.

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Fun Drills

• Sharks and Minnows• Hungry Hippo• Musical Ground Balls• Steal the Bacon• Numbers Game• Ultimate • Fireball• Tag, You’re Out• Monkey in the Middle• Cradle Relay• Shoot the Bunny• Gauntlet Game• Blind Mans Bluff• Duke Drill

Sharks and Minnows

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Players (the minnows) line up on one side of the restraining line (or set some cones on an open field area). Each player has a ball in their stick. On a whistle, all players run to the other restraining line (or cones) cradling the ball. Coaches (the sharks) try and check the ball away from as many players as they can as players run by. If a player drops a ball from a check while running, he stops and becomes a shark . Once all players make it to the other side (and checked balls are cleared away by a coach), a coach blows a whistle and all players run back across the field. This time trying to avoid more sharks. Keep going back and forth adding more sharks until one player is left (the winner)

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Hungry Hippo

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Players line up on both restraining lines (or set some cones on an open field area) facing each other. All balls (the more the better) are placed in the middle of the field area. On a whistle, all players run to scoop one ground ball and return it to their side and place near a home cone or a put in a ball bag or bucket. Coaches monitor results as players go back and forth retrieving balls (only one ball per time) Once all balls are collected, coaches add up the results and announce a winning team.

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Musical Ground Balls

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Players line up on a restraining line(or set some cones on an open field area). Set balls about 10 yards away and count that there is one less ball for the number of players (ex. 9 balls for 10 players). On a whistle, all players run to scoop one ground ball and return it back behind the line. The player who did not retrieve a ball is eliminated. Continue rounds by removing a ball until there is a winner. Checking to take a ball away from a player is not allowed for u9. For u11 you may want to allow checking especially when it is down to 2 players left. Encourage players to work on good technique to box out an opponent, scoop and curl away.

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Steal the Bacon

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Two sets of players line up on the restraining lines (or set some cones on an open field area). Set a ball equidistant between both lines. The coach or each teams coach will give each player a number. The coach then selects a player number to participate in the first round. On a whistle, The player selected from each line runs to the ball and tries to scoop and return to his line. Repeat rounds until all players have an opportunity to go two or three times. Encourage players to work on good technique to box out an opponent, and scoop and protect their stick.

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The Numbers Game

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Make two even teams of players between two coaches. Add a goalie to play in the goal if available. Players line up on both restraining lines (or set some cones on an open field area) facing each other. A third coach is located in the playing area with a ball. Coaches will select a number of players to go on the field and play for a shot on goal against the opposing team. The total combinations cannot exceed the number of players on your team. For instance, if you have a team of ten players, the coach may only use the numbers 1-10 once in combination per round. Each coach selects his own combination without the other coach knowing. This makes for unbalanced playing combinations (ex 3 vs 1) On a whistle, the coach on the field throws a ball out and the two team combinations run onto the field to play against each other. The team that scores a goal wins that round. A new set of combinations is organized and sent out on the whistle for the next round. Play until coaches use up all their number combinations.

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Ultimate Lacrosse

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This is Ultimate Frisbee rules for lacrosse. Make two even teams of players between two coaches. Players line up on the end lines of a field (or set some cones on an open field area) facing each other. Select one team to launch the ball down the field to the other team. Once the ball is picked up, the player with the ball must stay still and find a teammate to pass to. Teammates may move about the field to get open. An opposing player guarding the player with the ball must give him 3 yards of room and not check the stick. If a pass is thrown and caught, that player must now be still and find a teammate to pass to. If the ball is not caught and falls to the ground, each team tries to get the ground ball for possession. Once possessed, the player with the ball stops and looks for a teammate to pass to. Teams try and move the ball down the field across the opponents end line to score a point.

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Fireball

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Make two even teams of players. All players go to the center of the playing area. A coach throws a ball high into the air and players scramble to get possession. Once possession is attained, that team must execute at least one pass (add more passes for more skilled players) before shooting on goal. Opposing players may check to take the ball away and get possession. If a goal is scored, a new “fireball” is launched to begin play again. A coach may intervene anytime and stop play to throw a fireball, especially if there is a long scrum for a ground ball.

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Tag You’re Out

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Place players inside a “restricted” area marked by cones. Each player has a ball. Place one or more coaches inside the area. At the whistle, coaches chase players and try to tap the head of the players stick to tag the player out of the area. Players dodge away from the coaches protecting their sticks. If a head is tapped by a coach, the player leaves the area. The last player in the area is the winner. This drill develops stick protection and dodging skills,.

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Monkey in the Middle

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Place 3 players outside a “restricted” area marked by a square of 4 cones. One player has a ball. Place 2 players inside the cone area. At the whistle, the player with the ball must throw a pass to one of his 2 teammates on the perimeter. Teammates must be near a cone to receive a pass. The 2 players in the middle (monkeys) try and intercept or knock down the pass. One of the inside players must guard the ball. This will leave one of the perimeter players open. Perimeter players may move along the square to a cone to receive a pass. After a few minutes players trade places to ensure everyone plays along the perimeter and in the middle.

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Cradle Relay

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Create two even teams of players. Line players up behind a start cone and place several cones out front in a offset pattern. On the whistle, the first player on each team navigates around the cones (right, left right) cradling the ball. Once they get around the last cone, they sprint straight back to the line and place the ball on the ground in front of the next player in line. He then picks p the ball and navigates through the cones. The team that finishes first wins.

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Shoot the Bunny

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Find a stuffed animal (a bunny) or two and tie a string around them. Tie the string to the top bar of the goal so that the bunny hangs down to the lower corner of the goal. Create two even lines of players. Line players up behind a start cone about 15 yards from the goal and place two cones out front about 5 yards from the goal. The coach has a pile of balls next to him between the two lines. The coach alternates rolling a ball out to the first player in each line, who scoops it up and the runs (cradling the ball) toward the goal. The player must shoot the ball at the goal and try and hit the bunny before passing the cone at 5 yards. Each team gets a point for hitting the bunny.

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Gauntlet GamePut two goals in an open field area about 30 yards apart. You can place between the midfield line and restraining line on a lined field. Divide players into 2 teams. One team outside the midfield line, the other outside the restraining line . Players are in a straight line evenly spaced facing the center of play. Start with one on ones. The coach can roll out a ground ball. Once possessed, the player attacks the goal to score (goalies optional). The player with the ball may throw a pass to one of the players on his team outside the lines. That player must throw a return pass back (play give and go). Change the game to 2 on 2 to teach finding the open player. Use odd numbers (2 on 1) to teach transition.

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Blind Mans BluffCoach chooses a random number of offensive and defensive players to simulate a transition or unsettled situation (4 v 3, 3 v 3, 4 v 2, etc). Put the players out in the field area and then have them walk with their eyes closed until the coach yells STOP! While the players remain standing with their eyes closed, the coach rolls the ball out and yells “Ball down”! The players can then open their eyes and play out the unsettled situation.

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Duke DrillDivide players into 2 teams. Both teams outside the restraining lines as shown. Start with one team on offense, the other defense. Coach calls out two players, a defender also comes out. The coach rolls out a ground ball. Once possessed, the offense players attack the goal to score (goalies optional). The player with the ball must draw the defender and then throw a pass to his team mate. Change the game to 3 on 2 as players advance in skill. Make the drill a competition with the winning team receiving an extra prize (snack)

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