K Program Description

K Program Description The Kindergarten CO-ED program is designed with the goal of teaching the very basic fundamentals of the sport while striving to maximize player enthusiasm and a love for the sport. Unlike the older grades the Kindergarten players will use Fiddle Sticks. Each player will receive a Fiddle Stick and T shirt as part of the program cost. The Kprogram will be a skill based development programemphasizing fun. The Skills practice will be once per week (1 hour). Practices will be structured primarily in a “station format” with all kids receiving equal instruction. High School players will participate as coaches throughout the season. • Practices • One 60 minute practice per week • Start practice with group warm up. Have kids run to the midfield line, crease, side line etc. • Divide players into 4-5 stations • 2 coaches per station • 8-10 minutes per station. • Include fun games as part of stations. Ground ball contest, Water ballons (kids shoot on coach), relay races, and any other activities). • Finish with Ring Pop or Popsicle.

K Program Equipment Needs • Coaches: Ideally there should be a player to coach ratio of 8-1 or less. No lacrosse coaching experience is needed. • Fiddle Sticks and T – Shirts:Always order 20% more than final registration. More kids will sign up post registration period, and we always have a few sticks break. • Balls: Make sure you have buckets of balls. Use small foam fiddlestick balls, not regulation lacrosse balls. This age group has a very low attention span. Stations have to move fast. Last year we had about 60 kids and about 200 balls. We could have used more. • Cones: they are key to keeping kids in line and helping outlining all stations. 50 plus cones. • Nets: Not all drills will need nets. But, all kids love to shoot and score. 4 regular cages (they stop more balls). • Agility Ladder (2): Fun way for kids to do footwork drills. Many times it is followed by ground ball and shot or pass to coach. • Portable creases (2): Easier to setup stations and games in different parts of the field. • Treats: Finish every practice with popsicles or ring pops.

Coaches Do’s and Don’ts Do • Fill out a Cori Form (Required for all Coaches) • Keep it light and fun - For many kids this is first time playing a sport. They are very excited and scared. High 5’s and smiles go along way. • Ask for Volunteers - Invite parents to help coach, take pictures, bring treats for after practice • Come with a practice plan- These practices are always crazy, planning something on the fly will be a disaster. • Be very specific! - Example, never tell them to do a ball hunt without specifically telling them to bring the balls back and place them in the buckets. Other wise they will all get a ball and throw it back at same time. • Take at least 2 water breaks -. Always have them return to the station they left. That way you will be able to move them in groups. • Stress to players and parents this an introduction to lacrosse. There is NO contactor games. • We had roughly 60 kids last year, sometimes it seems like a lot more. It can get frustrating, always keep it positive. Don’t • Get Frustrated – The practice can get busy and hectic. Just remember the kids are there to have fun and burn off some energy, not to win a colleges scholarship • Let kids hit each other with sticks – First time = warning, Second time = sit on the sidelines for a few minutes • Give out any balls prior to practice – Once there are a few balls on the field the kids will chase each other around and not pay attention

Coaches Primer – Field Locations (Girls) End Line Crease 8 Meter Side Line Restraining Line 12 meter

Coaches Primer – Field Locations (Boys) End line Crease Side line Midfield Line Restraining Lines

Coaches Primer – Stick Pocket/Webbing Head Neck/Top of Shaft (Top hand position for Scooping & Catching) Middle of Shaft (Top hand position for Shooting & Passing) Butt End (Bottom hand position for Passing, Hooting, Scooping & Catching)

Coaches Primer – Passing • Top hand at mid-shaft, bottom hand on butt of stick • Hands back, out, and away from body • Elbows out • Opposite foot forward • Eyes on target • Rotate hips, torso and then stick • Pull with bottom hand, push with top hand, and point stick at the target

Coaches Primer – Catching • Top hand at top of shaft, bottom hand at butt of shaft • Present good target - Stick parallel to body with top arm extended toward passer • Watch the ball into the stick • Catch the ball with soft hands – Like catching an egg

Coaches Primer – Ground Balls • Slide top hand to the top of the shaft and bottom hand to the butt of the shaft • Both butts (their own butt and the butt of the stick) low to the ground • Scoop through the ball, being careful not to pop the ball up out of the stick • No “Raking” (Using head of the stick to roll balls back into the pocket)

Coaches Primer – Shooting • Shooting is very similar to the motion for passing • Top hand at mid-shaft, bottom hand on butt of stick • Hands back, out, and away from body • Elbows out • Opposite foot forward • Eyes on target • Rotate hips, torso and then stick • Pull with bottom hand, push with top hand • Follow through until top hand is next to opposite hip

Group Warm Up • Call out area on field and ask players to run to that area (Midfield, Crease, Sideline, End Line). End line Crease Side line Midfield Line Restraining Lines End Line Crease 8 Meter Side Line Restraining Line 12 meter

Station - “Scoop and Shoot” • Coach rolls ball out. Line 1 scoops left handed, runs around cone and shoots left handed. • Coach rolls ball out. Line 2 scoops right handed, runs around cone and shoots right handed. • Focus is ground balls, and learning to play right and left handed. Try to discourage raking. Scoop C Line 1 Safety Tips: Players should not retrieve balls after shooting Players should not cross in front of the net, or stand behind the net Shoot C Scoop Line 2

Station - “Ladder w/ GB and Pass/Shot” • Player runs through ladder. • Coach rolls ball out. Player Scoops, passes it to coach. • Coach rolls ball out again, Player scoots and shoots. C Scoop/Pass Scoop/Shoot Line

Station - “W or Zipper Drill” • Each Player in line has a ball. • At each cone they perform a split dodge. When they master split dodge, change to roll dodge. • Finish with a hard over hand shot. • When each play goes through line, reverse direction. Players will then finish with right handed shot. • Objectives: Getting players comfortable changing hands. Practicing the most used dodge in lacrosse. Teaching the kids to change direction. Finish with hard shot. Left Handed Shot

Station - “Split & Rip” • Two lines. Each player starts with a ball in her stick. • Player will perform split dodge the cone, run towards goal and shoot. • Key is players learn to change hands as early as possible and shot strong and weak hand. • You can add targets in net. • Line 1: player starts with stick in Right hand, performs split dodge at cone, and shoots with Left hand. • Line 2: player starts with stick in Left hand, performs split dodge at cone, and shoots with Right hand. Line 1 Line 2

Station - “Soft Toss with Shot” • Coach starts with bucket of balls in the center. • Line 1 is right handed , line 2 is left handed. • Coach tosses ball to player, player catches and shoots. • Remember 3 P’s. Pull, Push, Point. • Key is keep stick vertical, soft hands. Similar to catching an egg. Line 1 C Line 2

Station- “Shooting Into Net, 3 P’s” • Pull,Push, Point! 3 P’s. • Hands need to be in proper position on stick. Hand should be above shoulders. Player must step with correct foot. • Player should be on each cone. They should have plenty of balls at their feet. • 4 minutes right hand and 4 minutes left hand.

Game – Race to the Crease • Players Are broken up into two teams • Coach rolls 2 balls out. • The first player in line from each team scoops up the ball and runs back inside the crease • First team to bring ball back to crease winsa point • Coach should roll ball 10-15 yards past the crease. C

Game- “Ground Ball Relay Race” • 3 -5 Players per line. • Player 1 scoops ball, runs around cone, places ball back to where they scooped the ball, returns to line (sits down), next player goes. First team with all players sitting wins. • Winning team should get a prize.

Game - Hungry Hungry Hippos • Divide players into even teams of 2-4 players • Each team should occupy a cone arraigned in a circle with a diameter of about 10 -12 yards • The Coaches spreads a large number of balls evenly within the circle • One the whistle P1 from each team runs into the circle, scoops up a groundball (1 only), returns to their cone, and drops the ground ball • Upon P1 returning to the cone, P2 from that team then runs into the circle, scoops up a ground ball and returns to the cone. • The drill repeats, alternating players until all balls have been scooped up • At the end, each team counts the balls at their cone in order to determine a winning team

Game - “GB Battle” • Two teams. Spread all balls out in middle of field (at least 100 balls). Team with most balls in there bucket /goal wins. • Place players in lines behind cones, no more than 4 players to a line. • Bucket to place the balls Team 2 Team 1

Obstacle Course • Set up 4 or 5 of these courses and let them have fun. Scoop & Shoot Changing hands 10-20 yards Burlap bag hop Balance beam Tunnel Crawl

K Program Description