New to Lacrosse Guide

​Here are basic tips & advice for parents of lacrosse players. This advice will help you to enjoy the game and to improve your child’s lacrosse success. It also examines some of the controversies involved in youth & club lacrosse (in order to prepare parents for some of the “headaches” of lacrosse). This page is supposed to act as an unofficial lacrosse guide or lacrosse handbook for parents.

Advice For Lacrosse Parents

• Enjoy yourself! Lacrosse is a fun & exciting sport. It is a million times better than watching spring baseball where your child stands around for most of the game and only gets a few times at bat.
• Try to start your child early (i.e. in first grade lacrosse) because this sports requires strong stick skills.
• Attend your child’s games and practices! This is not a baby sitting service where you can drop off your child while you get your coffee. You need to watch your child in order to learn the areas where he needs improvement. Moreover, your child will love it when you are cheering for them versus focusing on your next errand.
• You can’t just rely on the coaches to get your child ready. They are dealing with 100 other kids & their demanding parents. You need to go out and practice lacrosse with your child.
• Learn the words and terms used in lacrosse. You will gain a better understanding of the game and… be able to decipher what everyone is yelling from the sidelines!
• Work on your child’s agility & endurance as this game involves lots of running. Participating in off-season sports such as track, basketball, soccer and/or football can help build up your son’s footwork, speed, agility & endurance for the spring lacrosse season.
• If you are not an athletic superstar and/or have never played lacrosse before, consider using a tennis ball (versus a regular lacrosse ball) when practicing with your child or have them roll the lacrosse ball back to you (so you don’t get smashed in the face by a hard lacrosse ball).
• Also have your kids practice with full gear on so they get comfortable passing/catching while wearing their equipment. The lacrosse gear will also protect them for any errant passes (because even a miss-aimed tennis ball hurts… and a lacrosse ball is far harder than a tennis ball).
• Have your child join a summer lacrosse camp and/or fall & winter program in order to work on their skills. At a minimum, your child should participate in a local lacrosse school’s final winter session before the regular spring lacrosse season in order to shake off any rust and prep for the upcoming season.
• Wall ball is the quickest… and cheapest way to improve your player’s stick skills. Your player will get many more “touches” (i.e. chances at practicing his passing & catching) versus regular clinics or games. Visit beginner lacrosse wall ball page for training ideas.
• Don’t worry if your kid isn’t an automatic lacrosse star in 1st grade or just started playing lacrosse in 4th grade. Kids mature at different rates. Every year, new lacrosse stars seem to come out of nowhere.
• Be prepared to deal with the issue of coaches kids… as there are many assistant coaches who volunteer to help run lacrosse program and of course, they are looking out for their own kids.
• Also be prepared for lacrosse “ball hogs”. While your player is playing the game correctly and looking for the open team mate, you will see some kids refusing to pass because they just want to score (despite having to go throw a million defenders and thus usually losing the ball). Don’t worry because most coaches deal with this “me first” attitude and these kids don’t last long in lacrosse if they don’t put the team before themselves. However, if this is a major problem during scrimmages, you should consider asking the coaches for a one or two pass rule (where the kids have to make one or two passes before a goal counts) in order to reduce ball hogging.
• By 5th or 6th grade, you will probably have to decide on your kid’s primary spring sport as coaches will no longer accept “absences” for other sporting events… especially, if you want your child to make your town’s lacrosse travel teams.
• Don’t carpet bomb coaches with emails (i.e. Why isn’t my kid getting playing time?). Remember most coaches are unpaid parent volunteers, have regular jobs and have their own overwhelming family lives. They also have to deal many demanding parents. So please give them a break and think twice before sending off that complaining email.
• This sport can be expensive due to the equipment (i.e. $200 helmets) and clinics. So shop around for the best price as many lacrosse retail websites run sales and there are occasionally big differences in equipment prices between sites. Also check out our equipment page for gear rental program.
• Attackmen usually favor lighter sticks and defensemen favor stronger sticks (i.e. titanium shafts). To save money, parents of beginners should consider cheaper aluminum shafts until your children are truly committed to playing lacrosse.
• Volunteer as the local lacrosse programs always needs help. This will also help you to learn more about lacrosse… and thus you can be an even better lacrosse “coach” for your child.
• Talk to & bond with the other parents on the sidelines. They can provide you with advice and/or help with car pooling to lacrosse games & practices.
• Lacrosse games are usually outside and often lack stadium seating. So don’t forget to bring a lightweight “camping” chair, sunscreen, a hat and plenty of water (in order to keep your child hydrated).
• Watch free lacrosse instructional videos online in order to learn how your child can improve his game. Some of the key elements that beginners need to learn are catching (no one will pass to your son if he can not catch… in order to avoid a costly turnover), cradling, passing, ground balls, shooting, dodging and defending.
• Beginners in lacrosse do not have to be super tall (unlike basketball) or super muscular (unlike football) in order to be very good at lacrosse. Small and average-sized kids can the best on a lacrosse team if they have superior stick skills (gained through hard work and practice) and plenty of hustle. Lacrosse is a great sport where a kid can be a star by outworking the other kids (versus needing to have a superior natural athletic ability).

Lacrosse Advice for Beginners

• ​Practice, practice… PRACTICE!!!! If you only pick up a lacrosse stick in the Spring, you will fall behind your peers. The best players practice year round even if it is only wall ball. Therefore if you want to excel at lacrosse, you need to join a off-season lacrosse camp, practice with a friend or brother, play wall ball, find an empty lacrosse net at your local school, buy a lacrosse rebounder/bounce back, etc.
• Practice using both hands (i.e. catching lefty and righty). You need to be proficient with both hands in order to excel in lacrosse. If you are only good with your dominant hand, opponents will find it easier to defend you. Wall ball is a simple & easy way to become more ambidextrous (i.e. practice shooting & catching with your non-dominant hand).
• Build up your endurance as there is lots of running in lacrosse. The best players are able to out hustle their opponents when everyone else is tired. Playing off-season sports such as football, soccer, basketball and track will also help to build your overall endurance.
• Lacrosse is a team sport. If you score a goal, don’t go off hot dogging and celebrating your “awesomeness”. You should go and congratulate the person who feed you with the assist… especially if you want them to pass it to you again!!
• Watch as many free lacrosse instructional videos as you can because you will learn new lacrosse skills & techniques and discover what your opponent may use to stop you.
• Some of the key elements to learn as a beginner are catching (no one will pass to you if you can not catch in order to avoid a costly turnover), cradling, passing, ground balls, shooting, dodging and defending.
• Speaking of catching, beginners need to make sure their top hand is next to the head of the lacrosse stick (so the head is almost like a baseball glove – an extension of your hand). Too often, you see beginners with their top hand halfway down the stick and thus they have a difficult time catching a lacrosse ball (as they have a hard time judging the appropriate distance between the “further away” head and ball).
• Ground balls win games… because a ground ball “victory” gives your team possession of the ball and a chance to score. If you hustle and fight for every ground ball, your coaches will love you! Tip – Practice using your feet during a battle for a loose ground ball (as you can kick it out of the scrum and into position for an easy pickup). Also learn how to use your hips/butt to “box out” (screen out) an opponent in order to win loose ground balls.
• For accuracy, lacrosse beginners should focus on shooting overhand (versus sidearm or underhand).
• Most beginners should aim low when shooting on the goal. It takes beginner goalies more time to move their stick down from the ready position (up near their head) and thus they are less likely to block a good low shot (i.e. aimed at the bottom right or left of the goal). Also a low shot can ricochet off the ground and into the goal (often at a strange angle which makes it even tougher for a beginner goalie). In contrast, a high shot will sail over the goal and thus there is no chance for a ricochet goal. Visit our lacrosse shooting page for more shooting tips & advice.
• Learn the penalties in lacrosse because you will cost your team if you make repeated mistakes. For beginners, slashing to the head seems to be the biggest problem (as they try to dislodge a ball from an opponent’s stick with a mighty swing but miss and hit their opponent’s helmet). Beginners should be encouraged to use poke checks versus a “tomahawk” chop with their lacrosse stick.
• Beginners in lacrosse do not have to be super tall (unlike basketball) or super muscular (unlike football) in order to be very good at lacrosse. Small and average-sized kids can the best on a lacrosse team if they have superior stick skills (gained through hard work and practice) and plenty of hustle. Lacrosse is a great sport where a kid can be a star by outworking the other kids (versus needing to have a superior natural athletic ability).