US Sports Lacrosse: The Quest For Specialized Sports Workout Programs and Coulter Mackesy DOMINATED in USALax Debut

-Neil Gerstein

When I want to improve my golf game and I want a workout routine that is specific to the sport of golf, why can't I find any? The Internet is completely inundated with general workout plans and body building workouts, but finding an excellent workout plan that you can trust for each of the different sports is more than difficult, it's almost impossible! It's amazing to me, but in today's health conscience society, in a health industry full of specialists, why is physical fitness training still back in the stone age? Why is it so hard to find workout programs designed for each individual sport? If you have a bad back you don't go to a general M.D., you go see an orthopedic doctor. If you have an impacted wisdom tooth you don't go to a general dentist, you see an oral surgeon. If you suddenly develop double vision you don't go to your local eye glass store, you see an ophthalmologist.

Workout Plans And Programs For Different Sports

Workouts need to be tailored to fit each sport differently because not all sports require the same muscle groups to be strengthened the same. Workouts should be divided into types depending on their tasks in that way workouts can properly focus on speed, technique, strength and endurance. I understand that professional and college sports teams have workout routines designed for their athletes, but I'm talking about the aspiring athlete. Where does he find a workout plan specific to the sport he is interested in. Where are baseball player workouts? Where are football player workouts? Where are hockey player workouts or basketball player workouts? Workouts for these and other different athletic sports are not general fitness or bodybuilding workouts. Although they may incorporate general and bodybuilding workouts. Workouts for these sports reflect the rigorous and physically demanding aspects of each specific sport.

A List Of Workout Routines For Popular Sports

Golfers Workouts- A good golfers workout program will help you to hit the ball harder and straighter! If you want to crush your drive straight down the fairway and have accurate stronger shots then you need a golf workout routine that is devoted half to improving flexibility and half to strength training. The best golf workouts will focus on developing the body's strength and stamina, golfing posture, the rotational flexibility, range of motion and ability to turn smoothly. Areas to focus on include the important forearm muscles, core strength /stability and flexibility exercises. The core exercises work the muscles of the abdominals, back and hips. So, if you are ready to increase your golf swing speed and distance then join a good golf workout program.

Build strength to be a better athlete with Peak Strength—your professional strength coach in your pocket. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced lifter, our app delivers athlete-tested training plans tailored to your sport and goals.

Baseball Player Workouts- Your baseball specific workout routines will have you hitting harder, running faster and swinging quicker. Just having good baseball skills is no longer enough. Today's baseball players are getting bigger and stronger - and you need a solid strength and conditioning program just to keep up! If you want to compete at the next level, you need the total workout package: strength, power, speed, and coordination.

Basketball Players Workouts- You will need an overpowering combination of strength, agility, quickness, conditioning and power. Your workout routines need to get you jumping higher, cutting faster and overpowering your opponents. If you’re not at top condition, you will get out played by your opponent.

Golden Glove Boxing Workouts- If you want to join the ranks of the top-ranked boxers in the world, you are going to need a serious training program. Your workout routines need to build blinding speed, explosive punching power and endless endurance. You'll need a lethal combination of devastating hand speed, bone-crushing power, blinding foot speed and endless stamina. Hand speed, strength training, quickness and endurance workouts are what is needed.

100 Meters Sprinters Workouts- If you want to explode out of the blocks and blaze to the finish line than you will need to do 100 meter sprinters workouts! There’s a reason why the winner of the Olympic 100 Meter Dash is always called “The World’s Fastest Human” It’s a race of 100% pure speed. Just you, the starting blocks, and a finish line. And if you want to continue to improve your personal best, you need to do the right strength workouts. Just sprinting on the track is not enough. Elite college and Olympic-level sprinters have full time strength coaches creating strength workouts for them. Workouts to transform them into powerful explosive sprinters (and it’s NOT doing time-wasting exercises like bicep curls!)

Ice Hockey Player Workouts- Your workout routines should consist of off-ice strength and conditioning programs just for hockey players. That means a workout plan consisting of strength training, plyo-metrics plus speed and agility drills. As a result you will get benefits of lightning speed and bone crushing strength to name a few.

Soccer Players Workouts- Your workout routines need a combination of lightning quick agility, incredible leg strength, blinding speed, massive power and never ending endurance. Serious soccer players who want to take their game to the next level need to workout on strength training, plyo-metrics and lightning fast foot speed.

Tennis Players Workouts- Tennis is a game of strength, speed, agility and power. Your workout routines should produce a unique combination of super endurance, explosive serving power, crushing ground strokes, blinding quickness, and finesse. Serious tennis players who want to become champions should workout on their strength training along with quickness, power and agility workouts.

Lacrosse Workouts- Lacrosse workouts requires lacrosse-specific strength and conditioning programs. Do you love to play lacrosse? If you’re serious about your lax game and are ready to take it to the next level – you need to train like the pros. You need knock out power, jaw-dropping strength, jackrabbit speed and agility plus never ending endurance. To keep up with the competition you need a strength and conditioning program that delivers results. That means strength training, plyometrics, and speed/agility drills.

This is only a partial list of the different workout plans for athletes.

General Workout Routines Aren't Always Enough

Although I'm a young 49, I consider myself to be physically fit with part of my general workout routine consists of a great deal of walking. When I went bike riding with my grandson the other day it completely changed my mind of what my total fitness was. About ten minutes into our ride my leg muscles began to burn fiercely and it wasn't much longer until I had to stop and rest. Although part of my general workouts consisted of a lot of walking which worked some of my leg muscles, it didn't workout the muscle groups that were needed for bike riding. I guess Lance Armstrong's Tour De France record is safe for now. If I were an amateur cyclist interested in turning pro, where would I find a good cycling workout plan?

Every Athlete Should Have Tailored Workout Routines

No matter what physical shape you are in or what bodily conditions you are working with, your workout plan needs to have exercise routines tailored for you. Once you find an excellent workout plan for your sport that you feel you can trust, you then have to hope that the workout routines are good for all levels of fitness whether you are at a basic, intermediate or advanced level. What good is your workout plan if all it has are workout routines designed for advanced level athletes. It shouldn't matter if the only exercise you get is running to the fridge before the game starts, or if you've been training for years, you want a workout program for each level of fitness. Hopefully, the workout programs are designed for athletes by coaches that know about something about making high quality workouts for different levels of expertise. Lets face it, if you can't perform the workout routines then you aren't going to do them. The people who see the best results from their workouts are often the people who enjoy their workouts the most. Probably the best way to get results is by joining a workout website with a members' forum which provides a great area for social networking, where you can meet other athletes and sports trainers, exchange tips and find training buddies to workout with.

Be Wary The Workout Plan That Does Everything

Be extra wary of the workout plan that claims they will make all athletes better at every sport. It can't happen! As I've already shown you, every different sport requires strength, speed, agility and endurance from different muscle groups. Therefore, no single workout plan is going to allow you to excel at every sport. I have reviewed literally hundreds of websites in search of the best one to meet the criteria that I previously mentioned in this article. You know how many I found? "46" That's right! 46 fantastic workout programs for athletes. 46 superb websites that are all part of a network. A network of 46 workout sites created by the world's elite fitness experts, and it's growing weekly!

The Specialized Fitness Workout Plans Is Here!

Each site is devoted to a different sport or part of the body or piece of fitness equipment. That is "46 Workout Plans" with over "10,000 Workout Routines" designed by some of the worlds foremost experts in the field of fitness and personal training. Just pick the workout routine you want and it pops right up. You can either view it online or print it out in print ready format. All of the workout routines are broken down into weekly scheduled exercises which include how many sets of exercises for each workout and how much rest between exercises you should take. Plus, each workout routine shows you animated exercises making sure you are using the correct form. I can't stress it to you enough just how important it is for you to use the correct form while working out. For each workout routine you get a complete description of each exercise. Now for the best part. For just a small membership fee you not only become a member of the site you joined but, you become a member of each and every workout program in the network plus all the new workout programs that are added to the network in the future. Your membership includes free access to the exclusive members-only forums which are visited daily by the world's best fitness experts and coaches who are standing by ready to answer all your fitness and workout questions. Whether you have a specific training question for our experts, are looking for a workout partner, or just want to meet kindred spirits, I have no doubt that you will feel right at home. If you want more information on the network of specialized workout programs visit The Health Nut. There are even specialized workouts for pregnant women. As always, before you engage in any sport or workout routine you should check with your doctor to make sure it is safe for you.

Neil Gerstein writes informative articles on various subjects when he isn't busy building and promoting his own websites. He currently have two websites that are great for content. At Movies, Music, Games & More he reviews the best unlimited free download sites for movies, music, games and more. At The Health Nut Health and Fitness News & More

US Sports Lacrosse: Developing Improvisational Lacrosse Skills through Keep Away

 

by Jamie Munro

There are so many skills that can be learned from “Keep Away”. Understanding how defenders try to attack ball handlers and how they position themselves to cut off passing options. Putting oneself into as many different lacrosse situations as possible is the ultimate key to success. Better understanding how different defenders operate in different scenarios is yet another crucial piece in the puzzle to empowering player development. 

Beyond learning more about how defenders behave in “Keep Away” situations, there is a lot that can be learned from the offensive side of the ball as well. Players can see different off-ball offensive tendencies, learn the techniques to deceive defenders of where passes are aimed, and much more. Book this course.....

The Coach

Jamie Munro

JM3 Sports, Founder 3d Lacrosse, DC Atlanta Blaze '17, Analyst ESPNU, HC Mt. Vista, AC TRHS Girls, HC Denver U, Boston Blazers '93, Wolfpack, Brown Lacrosse HOF

- 5th on the All-time leading scorers list for Brown Lacrosse (and member of HOF)

- Former Head Coach for Denver University Lacrosse (1998-2009)

- Former Founder and CEO of 3d Lacrosse

- Founder of JM3 Sports

Book this course.....

US Sports Lacrosse: Elite Women’s Lacrosse Shooting Tactics and Every Atlas Cup Goal Scored By the USA Women's Sixes

 

• By Avery Hixson
 

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If you’re coaching girls' or women’s lacrosse and want your offense to start putting more points on the board, it all starts with smarter shooting. These unique strategies taught by seasoned professionals will give even the best players a better chance at improving their shooting skills. These strategies are easy to integrate into practice and effective at every level of play. Whether you're working with players who are seasoned shooters but want unique skills, or elite players just entering the attacking scene, new shooting techniques can give your players the tools to score with confidence. These shooting methods are game changers for players looking to step their game up to the next level.

The best way to improve specific skill sets is to learn from a seasoned professional, and Coach Jamie Munro is surely an expert in the field of lacrosse shots. In his time playing for Brown University, Munro used his shooting skills to score a whopping 152 points. Additionally, he coached a D1 women’s lacrosse team and started his own lacrosse company.

Coach Munro shares a treasure trove of women’s lacrosse skills in his ‘Women’s Lacrosse Skills Master Classer Class’ program, ranging from, but not limited to footwork drills, cradling tactics, defensive strategies and elite-level shooting techniques. Listed below are the two of the most foolproof lacrosse shots that will leave defenders and goalies stunned. 

Fade Shot

Firstly, the fade shot is mainly characterized by the backwards step sequence following the shot on goal. However, it is much more than that. Coach Munro describes this shot in a few simple steps when broken down. These are “dodge in, step back, and hammer the shot.”

Dodge In

The first step, dodging, is by far the most complicated step of this shot. The clip above shows a simple split dodge, where the player starts off running away from the goal, then plants a foot towards the goal, split dodges, and pivots to where they are facing the goal. The reason this step is so complicated is that the dodge must be executed dramatically and effectively to successfully gain space from your defender. To improve the effectiveness of a split dodge, the planting of the foot needs to be quick and sharp. Once this quick step is complete, the next focus is the shot itself.

Step Back

Before you can rip the shot, the split dodge must be completed with the actual “fade” of the shot. After you have successfully pivoted towards the goal and dodged, you begin to jog or “fade” backwards as you wind up the shot. A complication to this step is the possibility of gaining a “shooting space” call according to women’s lacrosse rules. If a defender is within a stick’s length of the shooter when the shot is released between the shooter and the goal, the referee can call “shooting space” which results in an 8 meter shot for the offensive player. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the outcome of the original shot. This complication is a large factor to keep in mind during the “Step Back” step.

Hammer the Shot

The final step is the most fun and the most important. Once you have separated from your defender and executed the dodge, it’s time to execute your shooting skills and deliver a precise shot to the goal. Obviously the shot won’t always be perfectly placed, but practice and repetition of the fade shot can ensure higher accuracy with every attempt.

Face Dodge Finish

The face dodge is a simple concept that every offensive player should know, but many overlook due to its simplicity. The face dodge is when a player dodges a defender by planting their foot and stepping to their offhand side while simultaneously cradling their stick dramatically over to the offhand side, mimicking a hand switch or a direction change, and then swiftly switching back to the leading foot and dominant hand. This dodge effectively fakes out a defender, but Coach Munro’s example specifically explains how this dodge fakes out goalies. The dramatic offhand switch causes the goalie to reach over to the opposite side to block the shot, which opens up the other side for a shot. Here are some of Coach Munro’s key tips while executing the face dodge finish.

The Reach

The part of this dodge that makes it so successful against goalies is utilizing the open side of the goal when the goalies inevitably steps to protect the side that you dodge towards. To have the best chance at making it into this crucial space, you need to reach your stick to the open side before releasing the shot. While releasing the shot, you should be positioned in a sidearm-style way, which creates more angle and more reach. This ensures that you have the highest probability of beating the goalie and placing your shot correctly.

Twister Method

The method of “twistering” the shot is basically the opposite of the reach. This method is where after switching back to your dominant hand following the face dodge, you bring your stick back over to your nondominant side and fire off the shot almost above your head, dunking it between the goalie and the pipe of the goal above their vision level. This approach is more complicated than the reach, but can be more advanced and more undetected by goalies.

US Sports Lacrosse: The Art of Coaching: Cultivating Growth and Inspiration and CJ Kirst Goes #1 Overall in the 2025 NLL Draft

• Author Janine Tucker

When I look back on my 29 years of coaching the women’s lacrosse team at Johns Hopkins University – I can’t help but smile. That smile has less to do with the wins we were fortunate to experience, and more to do with the immense pride I feel in the growth and development of the athletes I had the pleasure of working with. Coaching is a journey that intertwines the development of athletes with the art of leadership and inspiration. Each new season is like a fresh canvas for coaches. Every season is filled with opportunities to mold players into a confident, cohesive unit.

Effective coaching demands tremendous time, effort, energy, and dedication to nurture each player’s talents and strengths. It is not easy – but I feel coaching is an incredibly fulfilling profession that can leave a lasting impression on you.

The Excitement of the New Season

The arrival of a new season is always invigorating. It’s a time to reflect on each player’s potential and identify specific areas for improvement.

Setting Goals

Whether it’s refining footwork, perfecting a split dodge, or experimenting with a new shot, helping your athletes set individual goals serves as a powerful motivator.

This approach reassures players that their coach is invested in their personal development, emphasizing their important role within the team.

Coaches can assist players in documenting these goals and attaching timelines for accountability by encouraging their athletes to keep a “goals journal” and write their goals and timelines down. I would tell my players that “writing things down makes them more real” whether it is in a journal or on a piece of paper they posted in their room – and that definitely applies to the goals we set for ourselves. Help your players craft their goals, inspire them to write them down and help them identify a timeframe to achieve their goals. Regular check-ins and impromptu chats with your athletes about their progress helps them stay accountable.

Create a Partnership Culture

By cultivating individual growth, coaches can foster a culture built on support and collaboration.

John Wooden wisely stated, “Make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you.”

This sentiment is crucial for creating an environment where players feel empowered and valued.

Similarly, Paul “Bear” Bryant highlighted that the knowledge of players is what truly counts in coaching success. How well you can teach the game and have those lessons resonate with your players is crucial.

Coaches Must Embrace Challenges as Opportunities

Every sports season comes with its own set of challenges for coaches and their athletes. For passionate coaches, these hurdles can serve as invaluable learning tools. It’s essential to evaluate past performances, set robust goals, and identify necessary adjustments.

Establishing clear objectives—both for oneself as a coach and for the program—creates a roadmap for success.

Remind your athletes and yourself,

“You grow through what you go through.”

Keeping this growth mindset allows you to turn mistakes into teachable moments.

How to Build Confidence Through Belief

As coaches encourage athletes to reach for higher aspirations, it’s crucial to instill a sense of belief in their abilities. When athletes know their coaches have confidence in them, they are more likely to meet challenges head-on and embrace the coaching they receive.

Eddie Robinson, a legendary college football coach, succinctly captured his take on the essence of coaching:

“Coaching is a profession of love. You can’t coach people unless you love them.”

When your players know you love them they will work that much harder for the good of the team, the coaching staff and themselves. That emotional investment in athletes is part of the “secret sauce” that coaches can bring to their teams to inspire them to have the courage to take risks, try harder and play with joy. Building confidence in your athletes is not just giving them positive, constructive feedback – it includes holding them accountable to learn and grow while they are in your care.

Inspire Your Players Through Creativity

Great coaches look to set the bar high for their players and can inspire them in many different ways. Inspiration is a key coaching skill that can be woven into the fabric of any team in many creative ways. One engaging method is the creation of an “Inspiration Jar.”

This jar can be filled with motivational quotes—one for each week of the season. Each week, a player can draw a quote, read it to the team, and facilitate a discussion about its meaning and relevance. This ritual not only fosters reflection, but also builds confidence, camaraderie and uplifts team spirits, making the quote a focal point for the week. The quote can serve as a springboard for the energy the team can bring each day. Having your players read the quote out loud to their teammates gets them comfortable speaking in front of a group and actively listening to each other – important skill sets to develop for practice, on game day and in life.

Learning from Peers

Collaboration with coaching staffs from other programs can be one of the most enriching experiences for a coach. Engaging in discussions about sports, leadership, and the challenges of coaching fosters a culture of continuous learning. Sharing drills, practice plans, and strategies creates a vibrant exchange of ideas and insights. If you are a college coach, inviting club or high school coaching staffs to your practices is a great way to give back and grow the game. It is a way to mentor and guide others in the profession.

These interactions often provide a renewed sense of energy and inspiration, reminding coaches of the larger community they are part of. Diane Geppi-Aikens, a mentor of mine, always emphasized the importance of giving back to the game and maintaining a broader perspective beyond wins and losses. Each interaction with another coaching staff can be a rewarding opportunity for growth—both for the coach and the team they lead. Diane would encourage us to have the confidence to share openly the things we were doing with our team. She felt it would keep us on our toes and committed to ever evolving and growing to ensure we stayed one step ahead of our competition. It is important for the future of the game to uplift, inspire and influence newer coaches. Go ahead and share the things you are doing with your team with other aspiring coaches. If their team gets better at a particular skill or set – that in turn will motivate you to grow, improve and better teach and coach your team.

A Coach’s Journey

The journey of a coach is one of dedication, learning, and growth. Coaching is not just a seasonal endeavor; it is an evergreen commitment to fostering talent, instilling values, inspiring others and building relationships that last a lifetime.

By setting clear goals, fostering belief in player capabilities, and encouraging collaboration with peers, coaches can create an environment where both players and themselves thrive. Embrace each opportunity with passion and purpose, knowing that the impact of coaching extends far beyond the game.

To learn more about the art of coaching, check out the ISNation app where we post new lessons weekly, aimed at helping you become a better coach.

The app also features free mental wellness tips for athletes, coaches and parents.

https://www.isnation.com/articles/the-art-of-coaching-cultivating-growth-and-inspiration

US Sports Lacrosse: Understanding Men’s Lacrosse: A Beginner’s Guide to the Sport and Top 10 Highlights from PLL Semifinals

Lacrosse Basics: Offensive Techniques....by Mike Leveille

• Author Chris Robinson

For athletes new to the sport, men’s lacrosse can be thought of as a blend of soccer, basketball, and hockey. It is a fast-paced stick-and-ball sport originating from a game played by Native American tribes for spiritual, ceremonial, and conflict-resolution purposes. It is known as the “fastest game on two feet.”

Men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse have very different rules and differ by some of the equipment used to play the game. For example, men’s lacrosse players wear helmets and shoulder pads, while women’s lacrosse players do not. This article will explain how men’s lacrosse is played, key positions, and the basic rules.

Basic Rules

The scoring mechanism of men’s lacrosse is similar to soccer, where the object of the game is to get the ball in your opponent’s net. Teams can advance the ball down the field by cradling (carrying the ball in the net of their stick), passing, catching, and dodging opponents.

Starting Play: Games begin with a face-off where the ball is placed between two opposing players at midfield who vie to gain control.

Ball Movement: Players can run with the ball by cradling it in their stick, passing to teammates, or shooting at the goal.

Scoring: A goal scores one point and occurs when the ball completely crosses the goal line within the frame of the goal.

Body Checking: Players can body check their opponent when the opponent has possession or is within five yards of a loose ball. Hits to the body must be legal which means no hits to the head, back, or below the waist.

Stick Checking: Hitting an opponents stick is allowed in order to dislodge the ball, but players are not allowed to recklessly hit their opponent with their stick or make contact to the helmet with their stick as that is a penalty.

Game Duration

A standard men’s lacrosse game consists of four quarters, each 12-15 minutes long (depending on the level of play), with a half-time break after the first two quarters for recovery and strategy adjustments.

Offside Rules

Player Limits: No more than six players (including the goalie) can be on their defensive half of the field, and no more than six offensive players are permitted beyond the midfield line. This rule is designed to prevent teams from overloading one side of the field and to maintain a balance of play.

Key Rules and Penalties

Personal Fouls: These include slashing, tripping, illegal body checking, and cross-checking. Such actions can lead to time penalties (1 minute, 2 minutes, etc.), where the offending player must sit out, and the team plays short-handed.

Technical Fouls: Lesser infractions, such as holding or offside, result in a change of possession or a 30-second penalty if the team fouled against has the ball.

Why These Rules?

The structure and rules of men’s lacrosse aim to maintain a fast-paced, strategic game that balances offensive opportunities and defensive challenges. The physicality allowed reflects the sport’s origins and emphasis on agility and coordination, while the protective measures like the crease around the goal ensure player safety, particularly for goalkeepers.

Men’s lacrosse is a dynamic and physically demanding sport that requires not only athletic ability but also strategic thinking and teamwork. It’s a game where speed, skill, and physicality come together beautifully, providing excitement and fun for both players and spectators.

Men’s Lacrosse FAQs

Field Setup and Equipment

A men’s lacrosse field is 110 yards long and 60 yards wide. Similar to soccer and basketball, the field is divided into two halves by a midfield line.

Each half contains a crease and goal; the crease is a circular area around the goal. The goals are 6 feet by 6 feet, positioned 15 yards from the end line.

A hard rubber ball, about 7.75 inches in circumference, is used to play the game and can be white or orange in color depending on the league.

Attackmen and midfielders use short sticks, 40-42 inches in length while defenders use long sticks that measure between 52-72 inches. Goalies use a special stick with a larger head to defend the goal and clear the ball when a save is made.

Players and Positions

Each team has ten players on the field:

Three Attackmen: Positioned on the offensive end of the field, their main role is to set up the offense and score goals.

Three Midfielders (Middies): Similar to soccer, they cover the entire field, aiding both in offense and defense. Midfielders are key in transition, contributing heavily at the face-off and in the riding and clearing game.

Three Defensemen: Positioned near their goal, tasked with stopping the opposing attackmen, supporting their defensive teammates and protecting the goalie.

One Goalie: Just like with soccer or hockey, they are the last line of defense, responsible for stopping the ball from going into the goal and directing the defense.

US Sports Lacrosse: Where Legends Train: Why Wall Ball Matters in Lacrosse and Maryland Whipsnakes vs Boston Cannons Full Game Highlights

 

• By Avery Hixson

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“Hit the wall!” - an annoying but true phrase burned into the minds of every lacrosse player. Wallball is the simplest but most effective way to take your stick skills to a higher level. Wallball can help you consistently catch passes, dodge while passing, try unique shooting methods, and more. It might seem mundane, but once you start seeing results from wallball, you won’t want to stop. Here are some important steps to perfect your skills with wallball.

Coach Jamie Munro is a former lacrosse player for Brown University and has collegiate coaching experience for both men's and women's lacrosse teams. One thing in common between men's and women's lacrosse is the importance and accessibility of wallball. Coach Munro’s Lacrosse Wall-Ball Drills course expresses the need for wallball for developing players and shows how to do it effectively.

Big-Picture Ways to Improve with Wallball

1. Fluidity of Switching Hands

Every style of passing used while playing wallball can be done with both hands, which will significantly improve your fluidity between hands so that you can be more versatile of a player on the field.

2. Throwing at Different Angles

Once you’ve nailed the basics of catching and throwing in wallball, the next step is to push yourself beyond routine play. Experiment with different angles, speeds, and passing styles to challenge your reflexes and accuracy. Wallball offers endless ways to keep your game sharp.

Improves Two-Handedness: Switch Hand Quick Sticks

As previously mentioned, varying your passing style is a crucial way to become more of an asset as a player. One way to improve your reflexes is by practicing quick sticks. Coach Munro’s course has several segments about conquering quick sticks. Here’s what one of them covers.

Quick sticking is a style of passing characterized by quick, powerful passes without a full follow through. The pass allows the ball to bounce quickly back off the wall and helps with receiving short yet powerful passes; a crucial skill for high-pressure moments on the field. Switch hand quick sticks are where you switch the hand your stick is in between passes, which merges the benefits of quick passes with switching hands.

The player featured by Coach Munro in the course displays the usefulness of quick sticks for “two-handedness” and switching hands.  

Throwing at Different Angles with Wristers

Wristers are a passing style often mentioned by Coach Munro that is characterized by hard, powerful passes towards the bottom of a wall from a farther distance away. Coach Munro explains in his wallball course how these implement a different passing style and are a great practice for improving players.

With wristers you can practice a variety of different passing styles such as overhand, three quarters, sidearm, and underhand. All of these different angles of throwing have real-world value on the field and are a great way to improve your skillset using wallball.

Taking Wallball to the Next Level: Implementing the Face Dodge

Once you master the basics of wallball, it can be difficult to progress further. However, by practicing dodges while doing wallball you can improve at a more advanced level. Coach Munro's wallball course teaches one example of this. The extra steps of the pass increase the difficulty which will up a player's game to the next level.

The face dodge is a well known lacrosse concept best described as when a player dodges a defender by planting their foot and stepping to their offhand side while simultaneously cradling their stick over to the offhand side, mimicking a hand switch or a direction change, and then swiftly switching back to the leading foot and dominant hand.

Bringing the face dodge to wallball is somewhat simple. Facing the wall, players should do a full face dodge and as they finish the motion, release the ball and pass it to the wall. This mimics real game situations like passing under pressure of a defender, and can be a real game changer for more advanced players.

Hit the Wall!

Ultimately, wallball isn’t just a warm-up drill, it’s one of the most powerful tools for sharpening your lacrosse game. From building two-handed confidence with quick sticks to mastering wristers at multiple angles, the skills you develop translate directly to better performance on the field. The beauty of wallball lies in its simplicity and accessibility. Any player, anywhere, can pick up a stick, find a wall, and get better. So the next time you “hit the wall,” remember that every rep is an investment in your speed, accuracy, and versatility. Keep at it, and you’ll see your game reach new heights.