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 Massachusetts 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.
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 a 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 balanced 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.