Directing this camp will be MLL player Nolan Godfrey. A selection in the Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft, Nolan is a recent addition to the Boston Cannons. He will be a midfielder and face-off specialist for the Cannons this summer.
During his All-American collegiate career, Nolan helped bring Merrimack College to national prominence. In addition to All-American honors, Nolan collected All-Northeast 10 Conference, All-New England, and All-Academic accolades. He was also named a NEILA Senior East/West All-Star. One of the nation's premier face-off specialists, Nolan posted a career best .682 face-off winning percentage in 2005. He led the nation in ground balls his final year as he captained the team to an appearance in the NE-10 Tournament Championship. Coach Godfrey has played box lacrosse in the Ontario Lacrosse Association with the Brooklin Merchants and was a 2006 NLL Entry Draft pick of the Buffalo Bandits.
PLAYER GROUPING
There will be two divisions for the National Face-Off Academy. The Open Division will be for players of all levels and ages. The typical camper in the Open Division will be novice to intermediate level on face-offs. Players' knowledge and skill on face-offs will be greatly enhanced during the Academy to the point where they will compete for spots and playing time on their high school and youth teams.
We will also have an Elite Division that will showcase the Top 40 high school face-off specialists in the nation. Enrollment in the Elite Division will be by invitation from the Academy directors, or by recommendation from your high school/club coach. The Elite Division will be a comprehensive training camp for face-off specialists who are looking to get scholarships at the college level or are already headed there in the fall. The Academy directors will look to prepare these players to be dominant face-off specialists at the college level.
TYPICAL DAILY SCHEDULE
7:00 Wake-up
7:45 Breakfast
9:00 Stretching and warm-up
9:15 First Session - Instruction on face-off moves and ground balls
11:15 Video analysis of each player
12:00 Lunch, swim
2:00 Second Session - Running the 4v3 fast break off the face-off
3:30 Face-off Challenge Tournament
4:30 Free time, Extra help
5:30 Dinner
6:30 Chalk talk and stick stringing/pinching clinic
7:00 3-man face-off unit team competition
8:30 Back to dorm, movies, pizza
10:30 Lights out
INSTRUCTION ON THESE FACE-OFF MOVES
- The Clamp
- The Rake
- The Plunger
- The Jump…and more!
FACE-OFF ACADEMY HIGHLIGHTS
- Personal evaluation
- Video analysis
- Proper technique
- athletic stance and footwork
- Ground ball technique
- Running the 4v3 fast break
- Shooting on the run
- Wing play
- Communication with the face-off unit
- Defending and countering all face-off moves
- Review of face-off rules and regulations
- Review of what referees look for and forget to look for
- Deceptive moves
- Stick pinching and alterations for face-offs
- Stick stringing for face-offs
- Mental preparation
- Drills to work on alone
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