We spend a lot of time working on the physical part of being a better lacrosse player at all of our GameBreaker Lacrosse Camp locations across the country, but that’s not all we focus on during our time with campers each summer. A great example is at our New Jersey Lacrosse Camps – while our camp directors and coaches focus on helping players improve on the field, they also make sure to talk about the other details that go into being a great lacrosse player.
This includes getting a greater understanding of team play and learning the concepts to help make their team better overall. Of course, this also helps build up a player’s leadership skills. That’s good because nobody is actually a “natural born leader” – those qualities are come with time and effort. Some players may have the type of personality that would make a great leader, but those abilities need to be nurtured into actually becoming a great leader – both on and off the field.
Like most things in sports, it takes a lot of purposeful practice in order to see real improvement from the physical aspect of the game. If you’re a high school player with aspirations of continuing to play lacrosse in college, you know that the process of improving and getting to a point where coaches are interested in recruiting you takes a lot of time and effort. It’s easy to remember and pay attention to this during the offseason when you’re trying to prepare for the upcoming season, but in the middle of a lax season – which can be quite the grind – it’s easy to lose sight of it momentarily. That’s why we’re here to remind you about some!
Here are two simple tips that can help anyone – whether you’re a beginner trying to simply get more playing time or you’re getting recruited by colleges – take their lax game to the next level.
High School Lacrosse Tips
Set the Standard for Your Work Ethic
There are certain players who are just naturally gifted and can do a lot of wonderful things on the lacrosse field and with the stick in their hands. However, once you get to a particular level of play (which is typically in high school), that natural ability can only take you so far – if you want to reach the next level in your game, you need to put in the effort to do so.
Once you’ve decided you’re going to put in the effort to improve, seek out a coach or mentor that can give you an objective evaluation on your strengths and weaknesses, along with helping you make a set plan on how to turn those weaknesses into strengths.
Don’t Lose Focus on Conditioning
No matter how good you are as a lacrosse player, there will likely always be someone else out there that’s a little better than you. While this is a source of motivation to keep honing your craft, it’s also out of your control because you can’t keep tabs on what other people are doing 100% of the time. What you can keep control of, though, is your own conditioning and physical fitness. That doesn’t take any extra talent.
Set up a plan with an educated person – like a coach or personal trainer – when it comes to a fitness routine you’d like to keep. Being mindful of this will allow you to strengthen your muscles and endurance so you don’t get tired as easily and can run circles around the competition when everyone else is tired at the end of games!