Lacrosse Skills, Tasks, and Trouble Shooting
Skill: Throwing
Hand Placement and Body Position
· Dominant hand in the middle of the stick
· Non-dominant hand is right above the butt end
· Side of body faces target (i.e. like a pitcher or batter in baseball)
· Dominant hand is 90 degrees, elbow is shoulder level
· Non-dominant hand is shoulder level, butt end faces target
· Weight transfer from the back foot to the front foot
· Toes point towards target
Teaching Cues (position yourself as if you were a pitcher or batter in baseball)
· Dominant hand is a wrist snap
· Non-Dominant hand is a pulling motion toward your dominant elbow
· Push/pull relationship
· Follow through to your target (toes and stick head faces target)
· Throwing is a top to bottom motion
Progression and Tasks (use a cement wall or the handball courts)
· Throwing with dominant hand only to develop wrist snap
· Non-dominant hand only to develop pulling motion
· Throwing against the wall at targets marked with chalk
· Partner passing stationary (10 yards apart)
· Partner passing while moving
***Trouble Shooting***
Common Throwing Errors:
1) The student consistently throws the ball low.
The student’s elbows are too close to their body or not at shoulder level. Get their arms “up and out” (both elbows shoulder level). Lower their dominant hand (choke down on the stick).
2) The student consistently throws the ball high.
Move the top hand a little higher on the stick and make sure they are following through to their target. The stick head should be pointed exactly where they want the ball to be (similar to the follow through in basketball)
3) The student “pushes” the ball out of their stick.
Have the student throw with just their top hand to get the “wrist snap” action.
4) The ball falls out of the pocket prior to the throw
Have the student bring the pocket no farther back than their ear.
