with Scott Marr,
University at Albany Head Coach;
6x America East Coach of the Year ('02, '07, '13, '14, '16, '18); 2007 USILA Coach of the Year;
10x NCAA Tournament appearances; 9x America East Tournament titles;
2018 Iroquois Nationals Assistant Coach - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Bronze medal);
2006 US National Team Assistant Coach - 2006 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Silver medal):
coached the first-ever back-to-back male recipient of the Tewaaraton Trophy (Lyle Thompson);
played for collegiately for Johns Hopkins (1987 NCAA Champions)
University at Albany's Scott Marr has put together a video including some of the best team drills to build your lacrosse team's offensive and defensive approach. Marr and his coaching staff cover a total of 13 practice drills, as well as full field action, that lay out full transition opportunities using skills covered in the exercises throughout the video. Every drill is explained with white board diagramming before being demonstrated on the field to give you a full sense of how to run the drills with your own team.
Practice Drills
Coach Marr showcases drills that stress the importance of tempo, toughness in unsettled situations, off-ball movement, defensive rotations, clearing, riding and communication. There are a number of exercises that simulate game situations and include multiple variations so you can keep raising the bar on what you expect from your athletes.
You'll begin with a partner passing progression that Coach Marr utilizes to promote crisp passes and clean receptions. Players complete the drill and focus on activating their wrists in order to snap the ball to the target. Next, Marr and his team showcase an individual drill on the field that helps build muscle memory when retrieving ground balls.
The signature drill in this video is Marr's "Scrappin' Drill", which is designed to start off a practice session with high energy.
"Scrappin' Drill" trains:
- Team toughness in the crease area
- Tight space stickwork
- Team communication
- Defensive work while outnumbered
Film Review
Perhaps the finest part of this video is the film review segment provided by Coach Marr. In it, you'll see drills explained from both an offensive and defensive coach's perspective. This technique of listing out key points on what coaches on each side of the ball want from the drill is rare in instructional videos.
This video from Coach Marr will give you a complete tutorial for how he uses practice drills at the University at Albany. Many of Marr's exercises can be adapted to any level of play and are sure to boost your team's performance on game day!
74 minutes. 2019.