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A lacrosse father once asked me if I could tutor his son on
shooting. I told him that if he wanted to shoot hard, he should
grab a bag of balls and shoot until his arms fell off. "He
does that," the father told me. "I just want to make
sure that he isn't reinforcing a bad habit." No amount
of hard work can help a player if his mechanics are poor. I
now try to make myself available to my players as often as possible
just to practice shooting. Hard work is great, but hard and
efficient work is even better.
While the mechanics of shooting are technical, I have simplified
them into six major points. Shooting a lacrosse ball has elements
of a batter's swing, a golfer's drive and a pitcher's throwing
motion. I hope you find these helpful.
1: Shoot Overhand
I
recently watched a group of middle school boys playing
lacrosse. Every player shot sidearm and every shot went
wide of the cage. When a player shoots sidearm, especially
in tight, the elbow stays close to the ribs and the ball
carries across the face of the cage. I witnessed this
mistake 30 times in a single half.
When a player shoots sidearm, he holds onto the ball longer.
One reason is that players keep their pockets as deep
as possible. Another factor is that players keep their
elbows in and push the ball rather than shoot it. As a
result, a right-handed shooter has difficulty finding
the right side of the cage. The sidearm shooter pulls
the ball and his trajectory is wide left. This simplifies
the goaltender's job. He can guess where the shot is going.
Furthermore, this is usually his strong side. |
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Coaches must practice eternal vigilance in the war against sidearm
shooting. Unfortunately, the sidearm motion is natural. Kids
want to shoot sidearm, especially when fatigued. Coaches need
to construct drills where players practice shooting overhand.
They need to immediately correct players who shoot sidearm so
that they recognize when they are dropping the head of their
sticks. The goal is to create an aesthetic appreciation of overhand
shooting. Players should not only feel uncomfortable shooting
sidearm; they should dislike the sight of it.
2: Hide the Head of the Stick
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Watch an efficient shooter. When he winds up, he exposes
his back to the cage and holds the stick head behind his
ear. I call this "hiding the head of the stick."
I assumed the reason was to make the goaltender's job
difficult. A good goalie will try to find the ball as
soon as possible. If he can see the head of the stick,
he need only follow the ball as it comes out. On the other
hand, if the head of the stick is hidden, the goalie cannot
find the ball until the last instant before it is released.
This makes the save difficult.
Think of the upper body as a spring. When the shooter
winds up, he wants to twist the spring. He rotates his
hips along his central axis as far as possible. When he
has maximum rotation, his back will actually be exposed
to the target.
A
good shooter does this when he hides the head of his stick.
He is twisting his body so that he has maximum recoil
in his hips and lower back. A baseball pitcher uses the
same motion in his wind-up when he exposes his back to
the batter. |
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For the uninitiated, proper shooting will lead to a sore lower
back. These muscles need to be stretched and strengthened to
assist in the shooting motion. A shooter should stand with his
feet perpendicular to the target. He should wind up in a sidearm
motion until his back is facing the target. He should stand
erect. His chest will be expanded and his jersey number should
be readily visible to anyone standing behind him. From the point
of maximum rotation, he should shoot overhand and let his hips
and back naturally unwind.
Hiding the head of the stick has two advantages. First, it incorporates
the strong muscles of the lower back and hips. Second, it makes
it hard on the goaltender trying to find the ball. A proper
motion will not only add velocity, it will also make the shooter
more efficient.
3: Extend Your Arms
Another sports analogy will make this point clear. What golf
club hits the ball the furthest? The driver. The drivers are
different from the other clubs in that they are the longest.
The longer the club, the longer the shot. This is simple physics.
Lacrosse players should be familiar with this principle. Taller
players are generally harder shooters than shorter players.
Why? They have longer arms. You can also see this when a defenseman
shoots with his long pole. If he follows the same motion and
is strong enough to wield the big stick, his shot will be harder
than a short stick's. We want to maximize the distance from
the fulcrum ( the shoulders) to the head of the stick.
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The shooter should extend his arms as far as possible.
The arms extend until the elbows are no longer bent. This
is easier said than done. The problem is that young players
want to hug the front elbow tight to the ribs. This is
why so many players naturally shoot sidearm.
Here is a good drill to teach players to extend their
arms: A player stands with his back to a wall. With his
feet perpendicular to the target, he should shuffle forward
keeping the stick head against the wall. When he cannot
keep contact and the stick finally moves away from the
wall, he should shoot. |
When he practices shooting, he should imagine himself coming
off the wall.
Young players sometimes drop the ball in this position. When
they extend their arms, the ball falls out the back. There are
two quick remedies to this problem. First, the player should
keep his back hand above his front hand. This is true of throwing
and shooting. A player who keeps the butt end of the stick above
the head will catapult the ball rather than snap his wrists.
The player should also learn that a few small cradles with the
top hand adequately keep the ball in the pocket.
4: Exchange Weight
Proper shooting
requires a player to sell out with his entire body. As a player
prepares to shoot the ball, all of his weight rests over his
back foot. His stick and arms reach behind him. His torso twists
and his chest and shoulders are behind his back leg. Some players
even lift their heads to exaggerate the motion. In fact, the
only body part not over or behind the back leg is the front
leg.
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As a player shoots, he whips his elbow over the top. His
stick and arms follow an arc directly over his head. His
shoulders and chest rotate until they are facing the target.
His hips and back recoil and urge the motion forward.
He plants his back foot and every part of his body goes
toward the target. A player who tossed his head back throws
it forward until his chin rests on his chest. After a
shot, a shooter's weight is redistributed so hard and
so fast that his back foot comes off the ground. If a
player has truly sold out, he will probably need to step
forward to catch himself as he falls.
Watch a hard shot in slow motion. You will see each and
every part of the above in minute detail. Every part of
the body contributes to the shooting motion. If you drew
a dotted line down the middle of a player's body, every
part but the front leg would fall behind the line in the
wind-up and in front of it in the follow through. When
a player is policing his own motion, he should remember
this: Everything behind my back leg before, everything
in front of my front leg after. Remember, the entire body
should move with the ball toward the cage. |
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5: Lift the Front Elbow
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Although the entire body is involved in the act of shooting,
the lead elbow is the most important element. Players
want to dig that elbow in. The result is a pushing motion.
The player simply twists and untwists and the shot is
a little flick. The strength from the hips and arms is
removed from the equation. To prevent this, keep that
front elbow high. |
The
front elbow comes into the shooting motion at three separate
points. During the wind-up the player extends his front elbow.
While shooting, the elbow leads the hands and arms over the
top. Finally, in the follow-through, the elbow guides the body
toward its target. We have already discussed players' reluctance
to extend the front arm as part of the wind-up. The lead arm
should have as little bend as possible when the arms are extended.
As the player actually shoots, he brings his elbow over the
top. This can be tricky. The wind-up is a sidearm motion but
the stick does not come forward along the same path. We want
the shaft to come straight overhand. The front elbow leads the
shot by pulling forward. A player's elbow should bend as he
pulls it upwards toward his target. A terrific analogy is to
think of the bend in the elbow as the crosshairs of a rifle.
For a moment, the player sights up the cage using his front
elbow. He should be able to see the cage over the "V"
of his bent arm. A straight line is formed between the shooter's
eyes, his elbow and the goal. This technique is awesome. First,
it keeps the front elbow high. This is important because the
shooter will need to throw it down as he shoots. Second, this
will add accuracy, as the target is clear in the player's mind.
Finally, it guarantees a straight overhand motion. Players can
still shoot sidearm with the elbow high, but it is awkward.
Typically, the worst a player can manage is a three-quarters
motion.
The elbow leads the body toward the target. The player should
whip the elbow down toward the goal. The elbow throw starts
the recoil of the hips. It brings the arms and shaft forward.
By throwing the elbow, the shooting motion does not rely on
the arms. The shoulders and lat muscles jerk the elbow forward
toward the target and bring the arms with them. The elbow throw
jump-starts the motion of the arms. Do not throw the elbow without
regard to direction. The body's torque can pull the elbow across
the torso. The elbow is the crosshairs. Once a player has the
shot lined up, he should pull his elbow straight down. Exaggerate
the overhand motion.
6: Snap the Wrists
A player can master the shooting motion in a few days, but the
snap of his wrists can always get better. The nature of the
overhand shooting motion necessitates holding the stick, arms
extended, high over one's head. Ideally, a player wants to shoot
down at the goal. From the stick's high position, with the body
moving forward, the ball wants to travel over the goal. By snapping
the wrist, a shooter brings the path of the ball downward and
gives it one last push before it is released.
First, a player should have a proper grip. The shaft should
not be grasped in closed fists. If the fists are clenched and
the shaft rests against the palm, the player can only push the
ball. A player wants to grasp the stick with his thumbs running
up the shaft. This allows the shaft to follow the motion of
the wrist. Players can practice snapping their wrists in any
number of ways. They can grasp the stick properly and hit the
wall one-handed. They can toss the ball up in the air using
a short, crisp wrist snap. Instead of line drills, let your
players spend five minutes tossing a ball in the air. Once your
players master the shooting motion, they should be encouraged
to perform wrist curls in the weight room.
The players should next understand from where the ball is released.
Often players do not realize that they are shooting down at
the goal. The ball is just leaving the stick when it is high
overhead. A great drill invented by Maryland head coach Dave
Cottle has players shooting over one goal into a goal behind.
Players have a hard time when they first try the drill. They
see the goal between themselves and their target and they think
the shot is impossible. Soon, however, they grasp the concept
that the head of the stick is not where their eyes are. From
the height of its release, the ball will easily clear the front
goal. The challenge then becomes getting it into the back goal.
The only way that they can get the ball to come down is by snapping
their wrists. This final piece, the wrist snap, will add velocity
to the shot. The difference between a good shooter and a great
shooter is the wrist snap.
Players
should practice this motion frequently. The problem with shooting
is that young players want to stand still and crank the ball.
This may be good for a player just learning the motion, but
it is unrealistic. A good initial strategy quickly becomes a
bad habit. Players should shoot on the run. They should shoot
with both hands. They should take short-side drives and sweeps.
They should shoot out of dodges. It takes months to learn to
extend your arms with the stick in your off-hand. A great conditioner
is to shoot 10 left-handed drives, collect the balls and shoot
10 right-handed drives. A player who drills hard and runs full
speed will have no need for wind sprints. Finally, a player
should work on time-and-space shooting with a partner. He should
catch a feed with his stick by his ear and bring himself into
shooting position as quickly as possible. Again, this can be
very difficult with the off-hand.
Once a player has mastered the motion, the best assessment is
the shot itself. If a player misses the cage, I ask him what
he did wrong. If the ball sails wide of the cage, he probably
pulled his elbow across his body or dropped the stick sidearm.
If the ball sails over the cage, he needs to snap his wrists.
If the ball goes straight down or bounces short of the mark,
he needs to extend his arms. A player can make his own corrections
during the course of a drill. Of course, the best measure of
good shooting is goals scored. |
