U.S. Naval Academy Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
8x National Championship Coach at Maryland (seven consecutive),
2x National Coach of the Year, 400 career victories;
all-time winningest coach in Division I Lacrosse history
and Josh Dionne,
U.S. Naval Academy Assistant Women's Lacrosse Coach; 2x All American at Duke University
and Gabby Capuzzi,
U.S. Naval Academy Assistant Women's Lacrosse Coach; All-American at Ohio State University
Middies must be versatile in all aspects of the game. Eight-time national championship coach Cindy Timchal and her staff at the U.S. Naval Academy shares the key attributes and training necessary for developing midfielders. Every drill shown will help your athletes master midfield play.
Coach Timchal and her staff show a series of drills for progressing midfielders in their development. She begins by instructing individuals, then introduces group drills, and finishes with live, game-speed drills. This "Individual > Group > Live" method will build confidence in your players by allowing them demonstrate proficiency in their skills before advancing to more complex situations.
Individual
In order for the midfielder to be successful, they must begin with a foundation of skill and recognition. Assistant coach Josh Dionne discusses and demonstrates a skill progression for training middies to dodge down the alley and make a play. The progression includes finding open attackers, re-dodging and shooting.
These drills are performed without live pressure to train situation recognition and speed of thought. If your players can think less and play faster, your offense will be much more successful.
Group
To ensure your players can perform their individual skills in a live game, they need acclimate to the speed of a live game. Using group work will help players make this critical transition. Building on the individual drills, you will learn how to add defenders to the drills to create controlled, but more game-like situations.
By developing these concepts in a controlled situation, your athletes will be more comfortable with making effective decisions once they're in a game setting.
7v7 Live
The drill progression continues by creating transition within a 7v7 setting. You will learn how to simulate transition using one simple drill. This drill will help athletes carry over what they've learned in previous practices into a live, game-like setting.
Extra Player Offense
In addition to midfielder work, Coach Timchal provides principles and ideas for man-up opportunities. You'll gain insights into:
- key concepts for taking advantage of one-up situations
- playing against a man-down zone
- the 52 Extra Player Offense
This video has instruction suitable for coaches of all skill levels. By implementing drills with an "Individual, Group and Live" structure, you will be able to build confident midfielders with all the skills necessary for elite play. Through a drill structure that progressively challenges players, you will be able to tailor midfielder training to concentrate on the areas your team needs to improve the most.
63 minutes. 2015.
LXD-04857B: with Cindy Timchal,
U.S. Naval Academy Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
8x National Championship Coach at Maryland (seven consecutive),
2x National Coach of the Year, 400 career victories;
all-time winningest coach in Division I Lacrosse history
and Gabby Capuzzi,
U.S. Naval Academy Assistant Women's Lacrosse Coach; All-American at Ohio State University
Controlling the draw is one of the most important aspects of lacrosse. This video focuses on the importance of selecting the correct personnel for your draw team, then developing proper technique and strategy for both individual and team success.
Cindy Timchal and her staff simplify the draw technique into four basic types, which are determined by the intended outcome. Individual coaching points and key concepts are first practiced with the players performing the draw. Next, the same techniques are further tested against a partner. Finally, the draw instruction is fine-tuned in a live exercise.
Individual Techniques and Drills
Assistant coach, Gabby Capuzzi, identifies the characteristics of an ideal draw specialist and examines four types of draws. Capuzzi then runs through the technique used in draw controls (push or pull) with emphasis on hand position and the movements associated with these two techniques.
You will learn specific drills and coaching that will develop players' confidence and ability when performing the draw. These drills are intended to develop the reaction time, speed, strength and endurance necessary to be a successful draw artist.
On the field, Coach Capuzzi shows a series of draw progressions. The series begins with individual reaction drills to improve wrist speed and strength, then moves on to working with a partner to improve technique.
Team Techniques and Drills
Winning the draw is a team effort. Each player is responsible for supporting the efforts of the player performing the draw. Emphasis is given to selecting the right personnel for your draw unit, and key concepts for each player are explained in an effort to give the offense the advantage they need.
The concepts covered include boxing out, being quick off the line, running through the ball and providing outlets. You will learn drills that include 3v3 on the Circle, as well as full field 12v12 to work on outlets and offensive transition off the draw.
This video is a fantastic resource for coaches of all levels looking to build the skills of their draw player. Through the use of draw calls and adding individual responsibility, this video emphasizes the roll of the team in winning more draws.
46 minutes. 2015.