Assistant Coach and Defensive coordinator for the US Women's National Lacrosse team,2x Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year
and Brooke McKenzie, Stanford University Assistant Women's Lacrosse Coach;
3x member of the Canadian National Team (scored 12 goals for the 2009 team that finished third in the 2009 World Cup Tournament), Four-year starting attacker at James Madison
In this All Access Video, Stanford Head Coach Amy Bokker provides three days of Cardinal lacrosse practices including dynamic warm-up exercise drills, stickwork drills, clearing pattern drills, defensive drills and shooting drills.
Coach Bokker and her staff continuously bring their accomplished experience to bear on the development of their players. Not only do they state in clear terms what the drills are intended to accomplish, but continuous coaching and guidance is provided to sharpen each player's efforts to correctly master the skills presented.
One of the best parts of this all access DVD is the emphasis on communication. Coach Bokker explains to the players the comprehensive importance of communication. Not simply the on-field communication between players but also the encouragement from the bench to the players on the field.
It is this continued positive reinforcement from each other, not just from the coaches, that will ultimately set the tone for how aggressive and successful your practice will be. By continuously encouraging each other, the team is elevated to a higher level of performance and intensity. By following this example, you can help your team get more out of your practice time and reach your highest potential!
284 minutes (3 DVDs). 2012.
Practice Outline
Practice Day 1, Dynamic Warm-up and Stickwork Drills Coach Bokker's staff organizes practice into different segments-focusing on skeleton and team play. Working in a skeleton environment helps develop game-like skills. During this session you'll see:
- Dynamic warm-up drills are demonstrated to show a sample of how the Stanford Women's Lacrosse team prepares for practice
- Clearing and transition are pivotal to success on the field. Clearing pattern stickwork drills are used to emphasize handling a pressure riding team.
- 3 v 3 v 3 Draw Drill creates a double team situation for all three players trying to maintain pressure in a reduced area of the field for 40 seconds.
- Shooting drills that require dodging, passing and proper cutting and flashing back to the ball for good shots. These drills provide opportunities to work on portions of plays to build shooting and feeding confidence.
- 7 v 7 session with focused formations and defenses to reduce freelancing. The "52" offensive formation is implemented and its effectiveness for game speed play is clearly shown.
- A series of stickwork drills (Post Drill, Ground Ball, Quick Stick/Over the Shoulder and Ground Ball Away) to develop confidence and stick handling skills.
- A Defensive Approach & Communications drill is used to encourage communication between two defenders and to force the attack players to their weak hand while continuously obstructing the passing lanes with the defender's stick.
- A progressive clearing pattern drill is used to work on successfully working against a pressure riding team. The drill begins with a 3v2 then 4v3, 5v4 and ends with a 7v7 clear. Strategies are presented from both the defensive and offensive points of view, with fundamentals such as spacing and on-ball communication continually stressed.
- A Competitive Ground Ball Drill 2v2 which allows players to work as a team both on offense and defense beginning with a ground ball. The drill moves through 3v3 and finishes with 4v4. This drill is used to get the players moving and competing at game speed.
Practice Day 3, Stickwork and Defensive Work This session includes stickwork drills, a defensive drill, clearing pattern drills and shooting drills. This practice features:
- Passing drills that focus on completing longer passes. Skillful clearing creates increased scoring opportunities. Drills including three lane passing, ground balls and trail passes using the full length of the field to provide conditioning.
- The Getting to the Attacker Drill which focuses on a defender's approach and pressure and emphasizes the importance of utilizing body position for defense rather than over-committing with their stick.
- A third day of clearing pattern drills utilizing the goalie with the defense in a 3v2 situations and progress to 4v3 and 5v4, which allows you to see the progressive development over the three days of practice.
- A 7 v 7 drill focusing on defensive clears and offensive scoring is used to put stick work and defensive drills used earlier to show development.
- An 8 meter shooting drill is used with two defenders against one attacker, to develop quick decisions.