Depending on your view of life, trying something new can mean one of two things: it can either be incredibly exciting, or it can be a little unnerving. Sometimes, it feels like a combination of both. And guess what? That’s completely normal!
Even if you’ve given the beginning your journey into the sport of lacrosse plenty of thought and voluntarily decided that it was the right thing to do, that won’t prevent you from being nervous the first time you step foot on the field. There’s nothing wrong with feeling this way – it just means that you’re human and you care.
What’s important to remember is that you probably won’t be incredible at lacrosse the first time you pick up a stick and step foot on a field. It’s all about progression, though – as long as you can get better each time you practice, you’ll be amazed at the progress you’ve made when you look back at your first day in a few months. As long as you keep the right mindset throughout this entire process, it’s going to be a lot of fun!
With that said, we know how helpful it can be to have a few tips in your back pocket as you go through this introduction process to such a great game. Here are three tips to keep in mind during experience as a beginner:
Beginner Lacrosse Tips
Keep it Simple
There’s a lot of strategy that goes into being successful on the lacrosse field, but at the end of the day, the goal is pretty simple. Don’t lose sight of that. It’s not necessary to try and make things harder than they need to be, especially when you’re a beginner. There’s no reason for you to try and hit a teammate with a pass 50 yards downfield when there’s another one 10 feet or so away from you. As you continue getting confidence and building up your skills, maybe can make that pass, but it’s not going to happen overnight.
Learn What Good Communication Looks Like
You have a lot to learn in lacrosse as an individual, but one of those things is how to work within a team. No lacrosse team can be successful unless there’s buy-in from everyone on the field and the sideline. A key to being part of a good team is knowing how to communicate with one another.
There’s no reason to be shy – if you take some time to go and be a spectator for any lacrosse games, you’ll hear constant talking. There will be certain occasions when you know your teammate well enough to know their next move before they make it, but that’s more of the exception than the rule.
Perfect the Art of Cradling the Ball
Cradling the ball in the pocket of your lacrosse stick is one of the most basic parts of lacrosse. That doesn’t mean it should come naturally the first time you do it, though. This is something you can practice as much as you want without it interfering with your every-day life. Walk around the house and cradle the ball in your stick as long as necessary so you can get to the point where you don’t have to look and see if the ball is still in there. Getting this skill down will make it a lot easier to move with the ball and keep your eyes ahead of you on the field.