Lacrosse Skills, Tasks, and Trouble Shooting

 

Skill: Cradling

 

Hand Placement (2 handed cradle)

·        Dominant hand should be right below the throat of the stick

·        Non-Dominant hand should be right above the butt end

 

Teaching Cues

·        Dominant hand grabs right below the throat of the stick forming a fist (underhand grip)

·        Non-dominant hand grabs right above the butt end forming a fist

      (overhand grip)

·        Non-dominant hand is a guide hand (grip the stick loosely)

·        Dominant hand is an exaggerated bicep curl

-elbow next to your ribs

-wrist curls towards your jaw (knuckles facing your jaw)

-as the wrist curls towards your jaw, your forearm does a bicep curl.

 

***Troubleshooting***

If a student is having trouble cradling, it is because:

 

1) The student is not curling their wrist far enough so that their knuckles are facing their jaw.   

 

2) The student is trying to cradle the stick with the hand that is on the butt end.   

 

Progression and Tasks

·        Stationary Cradling (alternate using both dominant and non-dominant hands)

·        Cradle on the move

·        Cradle on the move changing directions and switching hands frequently

·        Cradling while someone has defensive positioning on you (protect the stick)

 

Switching Hands

·        If you are right handed, push your top hand down as your bottom hand comes up and switch hand positions.  

·        The head of the stick should move from the right shoulder across the torso to the left shoulder.

·        The inside of the pocket should be facing you at all times

  

Modified Cradling Games

 

·        Cradling on the Whistle

Each student has a ball in their stick pocket and start jogging in any direction.  When the students hear 1 chirp of the whistle, they change direction.  When the students hear 2 chirps of the whistle, they switch hands and change direction.  Students get a point for each time they switch directions if they are cradling and the ball stays in the pocket.  Students get 2 points for each time they change direction and switch hands without dropping the ball.  Students lose 1 point every time the ball drops or they do not cradle.

 

 

·        Partner Cradling Obstacle Course

Get the class in groups of two.  Have them spread out.  Partner 1 remains stationary as partner 2 cradles around as many stationary students as possible in a 30 second time period.  The stationary partner counts how many students their partner cradled around without dropping the ball.  No points are given if the partner just runs around other students without actually cradling.  They switch roles afterwards.    

 

      A = partner 1

      B = partner 2                           

 

^          A         B          A                     B               B     ^

                  A                     B          A         A

      B                      A         A                                 B

                                    A         B                                  B                     

                        ^                                                                                  ^

 

·        Cradling from Cone to Cone in a 45 degree Zig Zag

Line 10 cones in a zig zag approximately 5 yards apart.  The object of this drill is for the student to keep their stick in their outside hand and switch hands at each cone.     

 

    6^                *cone 5 to 6: use left hand

 

                                                                        5^        *cone 4 to 5: use right hand                 

*cone 3 to 4: use left hand                    4^                   

 

*cone 2 to 3: use right hand                                   3^

2^                                           

 

*cone 1 to 2: use left hand                                1^