There are a number of keys to being successful in lacrosse. However, one of the most crucial points of all concerns shooting and goal scoring because, well, in order to win a lax game, a team has to score more goals than their opponent!
Our GameBreaker Lacrosse Camps are structured in such a way that we have specific periods of time during camp that focus on improving your shooting, but we also mix it into so many other areas of the game. Here are some of the skills our coaches will focus on at all locations across the country, like at our GameBreaker Lacrosse Camps: shooting drills, ground balls, defense (team and individual), fast breaks, dodging, stick skills, triangle offense, clears, face-off and wing play, and man up, man down.
If you’re a field player and you can’t wait until one of our Lacrosse Camps this summer to start improving your shooting ability, then you’re in luck! Here are a handful of tips to help get you moving in the right direction when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net, courtesy of Coach Callahan Kent of the Franklin Road Academy.
3 Tips to Improve Your Lacrosse Shooting
Seeing the Goal in Different Levels
A lacrosse goal isn’t all that big, but as a shooter, it’s important to divide it into high, middle, and low levels, along with using each of these levels to your advantage when it comes to deception. Giving yourself the best opportunity to score a goal is to get a goalie on their heels while you’re making a move. With that in mind, it’s good to focus on faking at a certain level and then actually shooting toward a different level of the cage.
Mixing Up Your Shots
Every attacker has one or two types of shots that they prefer to use more than others, but that doesn’t help with keeping the level of deception for opposing defensemen and goalies. To be a truly unstoppable force, you need a bunch of different types of shots in your back pocket that you can whip out at any particular moment depending on the situation. It’s obviously tougher for the opposition to know what they should be planning to defend when an attacker can shoot with power, finesse, to various levels, or by bouncing the ball.
Following Through Towards Your Target
This seems like a pretty simple tip, but it’s also vitally important to having consistent success. Following through with your top hand and having your stick head finishing in the same place you want the shot to end up will help make this happen. Momentum is also key when it comes to having as much power as possible on whatever shot you do end up taking. Being off balance and not in the best position to fire off a shot toward the goal makes it very unlikely that you’ll end up celebrating a goal once the shot itself has landed. Don’t fade away – those shots only work in basketball. Keep yourself moving full-steam ahead and stay aligned.
A Shooting Drill to Put It All Together: Berkman’s Bank
Once you’ve worked on those individual shooting fundamentals, the next step is to practice applying them within the flow of a real offense.
Salisbury Men’s lacrosse coach Jim Berkman is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA men’s lacrosse history. In his 25 years at the helm of the SU Seagulls program, the team has compiled 10 NCAA Championships, 25 straight NCAA Tournaments, and 17 CAC Championships.
While year in year out the Sea Gulls are a competitive team at both ends of the field, they play with a pace and depth many teams struggle to keep up with. A staple of Berkman’s teams is always a high-scoring offense. His players execute an up-tempo offense with precision and efficiency that every team should strive to replicate.
To help his players execute on game day, Coach Berkman has developed shooting drills he implements in practice that replicate the ball movement and player motion. Not only do these lacrosse drills challenge players in a new way beyond the standard stick skills and shooting drills many coaches use — they also reinforce basic motion offense principles.
The drill known as Berkman’s Bank is a great drill to work on feeding and finishing from the high and low crease area. Notice the rotation: as the middie dodges, the adjacent (ahead) player clears through, while the adjacent (behind) follows and fills. The various stick skills being demonstrated are also important to stress while using this drill at your practice.
Ready to take your lax game to the next level this summer? Find a GameBreaker Lacrosse Camp near you and register today!
Recent Blog Posts
How College Lacrosse Recruiting Has Changed in the Last Five Years
College lacrosse recruiting looks a lot different today than it did just five years ago. Timelines have shifted, evaluation methods have evolved, and the strategies that worked for previous generations of players no longer produce [Read More>]
How Lacrosse Players Can Train Smarter Without Overtraining
Lacrosse players face constant pressure to “do more,” whether it includes training harder, attending more camps, and participating in year-round programming. While dedication can lead to drastic improvement, there's a real difference between training smart [Read More>]
How Lacrosse Camps Help Players Transition Between Youth and High School Play
The jump from youth lacrosse to high school competition is one of the toughest transitions your child will face as an athlete. The game moves faster, opponents are stronger, and coaches expect higher-level skills/awareness. Lacrosse [Read More>]
