“Jay Motta is an amazing player from Lakeland HS in NY and U of Delaware. His father was my high school health teacher. I highly, highly, recommend training with Jay!”

Jay Motta is a former University of Delaware player and coach. He will be teaching the fundamentals and techniques of face [...]]]> Jay Motta Face-off Training Session #2

“Jay Motta is an amazing player from Lakeland HS in NY and U of Delaware. His father was my high school health teacher. I highly, highly, recommend training with Jay!”

Jay Motta is a former University of Delaware player and coach. He will be teaching the fundamentals and techniques of face offs. Jay coached and taught Alex Smith (Team USA 2010) the NCAA record holder for highest face off win percentage and most consecutive face off wins. Jay also helped the Barrage win two World Championships in 2006 and 2007. 

King of Prussia 
Wednesdays
7:00-8:00PM
Feb 16-March 23 - Registration

Downingtown 
Thursdays

9:00-10:00PM 2/17 & 2/24, 8:00-9:00PM 3/3-3/24

Feb 17-March 24 - Registration

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/04/instructional-archive-cutting-and-chemistry

Click on the link for the Pictures that did not work!

After an average freshman year at Johns Hopkins, Kevin Boland exploded as a sophomore and finished his college career as a three-time All-America and a third round pick in the 2004 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.

He’s not the biggest, the fastest [...]]]> Ryan Demorest February 4th, 2011

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/04/instructional-archive-cutting-and-chemistry

Click on the link for the Pictures that did not work!

After an average freshman year at Johns Hopkins, Kevin Boland exploded as a sophomore and finished his college career as a three-time All-America and a third round pick in the 2004 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.

He’s not the biggest, the fastest or the strongest player on the field, so he makes his mark with determination and exceptional field vision. In an overtime win over Navy his senior year, Boland hooked up with Conor Ford four times, including the hoop that sent it into OT with 48 seconds left. That’s just one example. When all was said and done, Boland sat 10th in career assists at Hopkins.

Here, with the help of former JHU teammates Matt Rewkowski and Kyle Barrie, Boland spreads the wealth of his knowledge on off-ball movement.

The keys to becoming a good off-ball player are constant motion, timing your cuts and having some kind of chemistry with the person who’s feeding you the ball.

There are so many players today who rest when they don’t have the ball and need the ball in their stick in order to be successful. If you commit yourself to becoming an off-ball player and work really hard without the ball, there is no question you can double your offensive production.

Think about it from a defensive standpoint. When you’re guarding someone off-ball, it’s exhausting if your man won’t stop moving. It’s also very helpful to know what the defense is trying to accomplish. Always know what your defender is trying to do and take advantage of the fact that he’s not only trying to cover you, but he’s also worried about sliding and helping his teammates.

Game Example: Down the Back Pipe

When someone is dodging from behind the goal, a great time to cut is when you see the back of your defender’s helmet. A lot of times when you’re inside on the crease, defenders get very worried about sliding, forget about their man and watch the ball. This is an ideal time to cut on an angle to the backside pipe or right behind your defender.

Again, some kind of eye contact and chemistry with your teammate who is feeding the ball is key. Defense is very difficult to play perfectly, and no matter what, there is bound to be some kind of breakdown.

Game Example 2: Sneaking to the Back Side

The same goes for up top. When the ball is up top, it’s very difficult as a defender to guard a player behind the goal, simply because the goal gets in the defender’s way. A great time to cut is when a player dodges from up top down the side. When you see your teammate dodge down the side, cut hard to the opposite pipe with your stick ready to shoot. Again, the point is to not stand still. If you’re moving, this is a great way to catch your defender ball-watching and to get an easy goal.

Also, when you are off-ball, always have your stick in a position where you can catch the ball and get a shot off. For example, never have your stick at your feet or down by your waist. Have your stick in a position where the feeder can see it and can feel confident that he can get you the ball in a dangerous position.

In order to become a better off-ball player, you can practice these scenarios over and over with your teammates. These looks should be open in games as long as you communicate with your feeder.

16 From 12 We’ve Heard that Before

At Johns Hopkins, I had great chemistry with Conor Ford. He was so smart off-ball that he made my job as a feeder that much easier. I always knew where Conor was when I dodged, and before I fed him the ball, we always made eye contact. There were times at Hopkins when Conor was barely open and I’d find a way to get him the ball in a perfect position where he could score. The reason was that I had so much confidence in him as a shooter and he had so much confidence in me as a passer. That was the key to our chemistry. We practiced together every day and did the same things in practice over and over, which translated directly to game day.

Without Conor’s finishing ability I wouldn’t have had the career I had at Hopkins, and vice versa. If you look at Conor and myself, we are not your typical big, strong, fast athletes. But our chemistry, unselfishness and commitment to off-ball play was what set us apart. That’s the beauty of lacrosse.

Practice Drill: Move Your Feet and Finish

This drill is pretty simple, but don’t underestimate its effectiveness. All attackmen and middies should work on this fairly regularly.

Start with two feeders behind the goal (one on each side) and a shooter on the crease. Each feeder should have a pile of 15-20 balls.

The shooter, starting about five yards above the crease, cuts to one feeder, catches and shoots. Then, without hesitating, he turns and cuts to the other feeder (making sure to switch hands with his stick), catches and shoots. Continue cutting back and forth until all of the balls are gone.

A couple things to focus on: always keep your stick by your ear in a ready position to catch and shoot; make sure you get back up high before beginning the next cut; and perhaps most importantly, don’t get sloppy when you get tired. Catch every single pass and finish strong. That way, you can do it in a game.

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/01/instructional-archive-finishing-fundamentals-fakes-and-flair

During his illustrious career, Tom Marechek has scored righty, lefty, overhand, underhand, sidearm, behind the back, around the world, between the legs and probably a few others so ridiculous they can’t even be described. Through it all he’s had lacrosse fans ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ more than a Price Is Right crowd [...]]]> Ryan Demorest February 1st, 2011

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2011/02/01/instructional-archive-finishing-fundamentals-fakes-and-flair

During his illustrious career, Tom Marechek has scored righty, lefty, overhand, underhand, sidearm, behind the back, around the world, between the legs and probably a few others so ridiculous they can’t even be described. Through it all he’s had lacrosse fans ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ more than a Price Is Right crowd during the Showcase Showdown.

In his four years at Syracuse, the Canadian sensation embarrassed opposing goalies for 182 goals, earning All-American honors four times along the away. Nicknamed Hollywood for his flashy style, Marechek retired this winter from the NLL after 12 seasons, standing third all-time with 773 career points. Most recently, he put up 55 points this summer with the MLL Champion Baltimore Bayhawks.

Here, Hollywood helps shooters with advice ranging from basic fundamentals to some difficult-but-sweet trick shots sure to baffle opposing goalies. (Inside Lacrosse would like to apologize in advance to goalies across the nation.)

THE QUARTER-TURN FAKE

To me, this is the only fake worth doing, for a lot of reasons.

First of all, it lets you keep your stick in close to your ear. You rarely have a lot of time and space to throw fakes, so letting the stick get too far from your head is a good way to get checked from behind. In fact, this is the first thing a defenseman looks for when he’s been beaten—a careless attackman who hangs his stick.

Second, since it’s such a small, quick movement, you are always in a position to shoot. I often see shooters make big fakes, using their bottom hand to turn the head of their stick out and away from their heads. To take a shot after throwing that fake, you need to pull the stick back into shooting position. This takes time, and by the time you’ve recovered from your fake, so has the goalie. With a simple quarter-turn fake, by the time the goalie recovers, the ball will be in the back of the net.

So how do you do it? Well, it’s about as simple as it gets. Using my top hand (for me it’s my right hand), which is about halfway down the shaft in good position to shoot, I simply roll my fingers and wrist in a quick, snapping motion. The head of the stick turns in toward my face. At the same time, I give a short, quick snap with my right elbow and shoulder which moves the stick forward just a couple of inches. As I do all of this, I let the bottom of the shaft twist in my left hand. I use a very light grip with my left hand; it barely moves at all.

I’m a firm believer that high-to-low is, and always has been, the best shot in lacrosse. So after a good quarter-turn fake at the top portion of the goal, snap your wrists and elbows and fire the ball into the bottom corner. A little push-pull motion can generate a lot of speed. Push with your top hand and elbow, and pull with your bottom hand. It’s not necessary to get your shoulders and hips into it. From close range, you don’t need to shoot hard, especially if you’ve thrown a good fake.

BODY LANGUAGE

This is every bit as important as keeping your stick in tight. Growing up in Canada shooting on 4-by-4 goals, stick fakes alone weren’t enough to get the goalie out of position. You had to use deceptive body language. Outdoors on 6-by-6 goals, it makes a big difference too.

By instinct, goalies tend to match what the shooter’s body language does; they follow the head of a shooter’s stick with their own stick. So as a shooter, you want your body language and stick position to lead the goalie where the shot is not going to go. Sounds simple enough, but shooters have instincts and tendencies too, and unfortunately sometimes shooters tend to look and lean where they’re going to shoot.

So, practice the art of deception. Whenever you work on your shooting—which should be often—look high, stand tall and shoot overhand or three-quarters when you shoot low. Dip your shoulder and look low when you shoot high. It’s a little uncomfortable at first, but with practice you’ll get used to it. And once you put it to use in a game, you’ll absolutely love it.

You can see in the photos that when I’m throwing the quarter-turn fake and shooting to the low corner, I keep my head and shoulders high. I almost exaggerate how tall I’m standing and I try to hold that even after I release the shot. If you can stand tall and shoot low to the corners, I don’t care what goalie you’re facing. It could be Greg Cattrano, and he’ll still have a tough time stopping it.

The same goes for shots from farther out when you have time and room to wind up. If I want to bury one high, I dip my head and shoulders down low. Most goalies will bend their knees and drop their hands and shoulder a little bit when I do this. I’ll release a sidearm shot, which makes the goalie drop his stick as well. By the time the goalie realizes the shot’s actually going high, it’s too late.

This is especially important for shooters who don’t have much velocity on their shots. You can make up for a lack of velocity with deception. I can put some heat on a shot when I need to, but good body language is more important.?I can remember one shot from last season with the Bayhawks. We were playing Rochester and I had an open shot with time and room against goalie Tillman Johnson. I stood tall and threw a couple of head fakes high. I knew he was frozen high, so I released a slow low shot that scored even though it was only about 40 miles an hour. I almost felt bad. But it just goes to show how much of a difference good body language makes.

THE SHUFFLE STEP

Up until recently I didn’t even realize I was doing this, but certain people pointed it out to me: When going 1-on-1 with a goalie, I take a big shuffle step to the right across the front of the goal and then drag my left foot across.?Now that I realize I’ve been doing it, I’m glad that I do. And I’m sure other good shooters do it as well. Whenever you have a chance to go 1-on-1 with the goalie, whether you’ve beaten your man from the wing or caught a cross-crease feed on a fastbreak, you have to keep moving your feet and come across the goal. This gets the goalie to come off the near pipe and move across the mouth of the goal, which gives you more options as a shooter.

By taking normal, straight-forward steps across the crease, your legs and hips are pointed at the sideline. You need to turn your chest and shoulders toward the goal to shoot. One advantage to the shuffle step is it allows you to square your entire body to the goal. You’ll be in a more comfortable position to shoot, which should improve your accuracy.?Another advantage in taking such a big sideways step is that it forces the goalie to move quickly. Taking a few normal steps across the crease will make the goalie follow you, but he’ll do it in small steps as well. When you lunge across the front of the goal, the goalie has to do the same. Once his momentum is moving in one direction, it’s awfully tough for him to make a save in the other direction.

Still another advantage is that it turns your back to most of the defenders on the field. With the exception of maybe the cross-crease defender, anyone who hits you will be serving one minute for a push from behind.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS…

If the quarter-turn fake and some deceptive body language aren’t enough to beat a hot goalie, then by all means congratulate him after the game. But before you give up and start throwing the extra pass instead of shooting, try these shots. Very few goalies can anticipate these.

BEHIND THE BACK

For beginners and more conservative players, this is a trick shot. But for a lot of us in MLL, it’s not much more difficult than a regular overhand shot. With practice, you can become prolific with it as well.

First of all, I’d like to say that calling it a “behind the back” is a little misleading. To actually shoot behind your back, you’d have to wrap the stick around your body, almost sidearm. This makes it difficult to extend your arms and get any velocity or accuracy with your shot.

A more appropriate name for it would be “behind the neck.” You can see in the photos that when I complete this shot, my top hand and stick are right behind my neck. To get good power on the shot, begin with your left hand at the bottom of the shaft, and your right hand halfway up with the stick parallel to the ground. Extend your right arm out to the side, then use that push-pull motion I talked about before. Pull with your right hand so your right arm goes from being almost straight to completely bent with your hand behind your neck. At the same time, push with your left hand so your stick ends up parallel to the ground again. You’ll have to turn your shoulders a little to do this, so your back should end up facing the target. It almost feels like a golf backswing.

I normally like to use this when the goalie has done a good job cutting off my shooting angle. Reaching back around my head is quicker than switching hands and still gives me a better angle. And, of course, sometimes I do it just for fun.

BETWEEN THE LEGS

Speaking of shots to do just for fun, this between-the-legs shot is about as good as it gets. I’m not sure Trevor Tierney appreciates it that much, since I put one past him in the MLL Semifinals in 2003. And I don’t think many high school coaches will like it much either if all of their attackmen start trying it in games.

But in your backyard or before or after practice are good times to experiment. That’s how I started it—just messing around. Then I got comfortable enough doing it so when the opportunity arose in a game, I took the shot. With time you can learn to shoot it high or low, and I once clocked mine at 57 miles an hour. So it’s possible to put some good heat on it.

First of all, you need to have some decent whip in your stick. If you’re an attackman that likes to carry the ball with the pocket in the bottom of the head, this shot is going to be very tough. You really need to be able to lock the ball right under the shooting strings.

I generally take this shot as I run across the goal from the goalie’s left to right. With your left hand at the bottom of the stick and your right hand about halfway down the shaft, start twisting the stick with your left hand so the head rotates from your right to left. Your right hand just lets the shaft twist. As you’re doing this, lift your right leg slightly to give yourself room to shoot. Quickly give your stick a good push-pull motion again, pulling down with your right hand and pushing out slightly with your left. You can see in the pictures that my left hand finishes close to my belly button and my right hand is directly below it. I actually hit myself in the leg with my stick sometimes when I do this, especially when I’m trying to shoot it hard.

This sounds like a lot to think about, but it really is all one motion. With a little effort, you’ll get it down, and then you can show off to all your friends. But keep in mind, I do it in games because I’m a professional and I want to entertain the fans.

There is no good time for you to try it in a game. If the game is close and you pass up a sure goal to try it, then you deserve to be benched. If you’re winning by a lot and you try it, then that’s terrible sportsmanship. If you’re losing by a bunch and you try it, then you aren’t taking the game seriously.

So again, keep the crazy stuff for your backyard, and maybe summer league. For your real games, stick to the quarter-turn fake and some deceptive body language. Your teammates and your goal totals will thank you.

By Ryan Rabidou – Somers Grad

Lacrosse players require a great deal of endurance, speed, and power. It is commonly believed that these qualities need to be trained separately. By addressing the speed at which relatively easy exercises (generally used to develop muscular endurance) are performed, speed and power can also be developed.

Don’t believe the hype [...]]]> www.insidelacrosse.com

By Ryan Rabidou – Somers Grad

Lacrosse players require a great deal of endurance, speed, and power. It is commonly believed that these qualities need to be trained separately. By addressing the speed at which relatively easy exercises (generally used to develop muscular endurance) are performed, speed and power can also be developed.

Don’t believe the hype about super slow reps or other training methods that encourage exercises being performed at sub-maximal speed. With the exception of jogging between sprints, is anyone on the field ever moving slowly? Of course not, so why train that way?

As a general rule of thumb, fast and powerful concentric contractions are best. Motor units are neurons that deliver messages from the brain to muscle fibers telling them to contract. Each motor unit controls a certain number of muscle fibers that are either slow twitch (small endurance muscles fibers) or fast twitch (larger stronger muscle fibers that fatigue quickly).

Motor units that control fast twitch fibers are activated only during strong contractions.  Performing an easy exercise with average or slow speed will recruit only motor units controlling slow twitch muscle fibers, but by performing an easy exercise with explosive concentric contractions, we are able to activate both the motor units that control fast twitch muscle fibers and slow twitch muscle fibers. If performed with speed, even relatively easy exercises can be used to enhance muscular endurance, strength, and power. Not only are more muscle fibers engaged this way, speed is developed by performing light exercises quickly.

To understand the value of speed in the development of power we have to understand the difference between strength and power. Power is work divided by time; the combination of strength and speed. A person can be stronger, yet less powerful, than someone else. This is because power isn’t just about the resistance you’re able to overcome, it is also about how fast you’re able to overcome it. For example: if I can do a pull-up with 45 pounds hanging from my waist and my friend Ryan can only do a Pull-up with 35 pounds, then I am stronger. If Ryan can do a Pull-up with 35 pounds faster than I can with 35 pounds, than Ryan is more powerful.

The development of speed is critical in the development of power. Faster is better. When it comes to recruiting as many muscle fibers as possible and developing speed and power, perform even the easiest of movements quickly. Just remember to execute the exercises as fast as you can, not as fast as you can’t.

For more information about bodyweight training go to www.MarkLauren.com. A portion of the proceeds for You Are Your Own Gym go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

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By Ryan Demorest

Becoming an elite feeder is all about cutting out the middle man. Receiving the ball, going to the goal, field location, throwing a feed—these are all places where you can cut down on wasted movement and, in turn, sharpen the feeding aspect of your game.

But keep in mind that many of the techniques [...]]]> www.insidelacrosse.com

By Ryan Demorest

Becoming an elite feeder is all about cutting out the middle man. Receiving the ball, going to the goal, field location, throwing a feed—these are all places where you can cut down on wasted movement and, in turn, sharpen the feeding aspect of your game.

But keep in mind that many of the techniques we are about to discuss are advanced. You should already be extremely comfortable with your stick skills and knowledge of the game. These are not things you should be doing if you’re just learning how to feed, as they might not please many youth coaches.But if you’re entering a higher level of lacrosse—college or upper-echelon high school—and the game is going to speed up for you, these are some things that will help you keep up.

RECEIVING THE PASS

I was always taught that you when you receive the ball behind the net from the wing, you catch with the corresponding hand, then switch and go the other way with the ball. In other words, if the ball is coming from your left side, catch with your left, then switch to your right.

That is the technically sound way, the way that won’t get you in trouble. But if you want to cut down on wasted movement, you can move a little deeper behind the net, let the pass come across your face and catch it with your right hand. Doing this allows you to immediately rip off a pass to the crease, or go to the goal. It is also nearly a full second quicker than switching hands. And as you will find out, that second can mean an awful lot.

When feeding at a high level, that second can mean the difference between somebody being open on the crease and that same guy being completely shut off. More importantly, it can mean the difference between a goal and a turnover.

SPLIT DODGE FROM X

One of the most important moves in a feeder’s arsenal is the split dodge from behind the net. Most players will use this move to dodge and feed from the wing, but there are ways to make it a much more dangerous move.

First off, you should obviously be extremely comfortable with split dodging and carrying and throwing with both hands. That should pretty much go without saying.

1. The first thing you need to do after the split dodge from X is assess the situation. As you’re heading full speed to one side of the goal, you need to be aware of everything that is going on.

You need to have answers to all of the following questions: Do I have a step on my man? Should I go to the goal? Who is open? Who is going to be open?

2. The next thing to remember is that, as a feeder, you must maintain an ability to go to the goal. You have to always be a threat. After you dodge, whether you plan on going to the goal or not, you have to look like you’re going to the goal so the goalie has to hug the post and the defense has to think about sliding.

If you do have a step on your man, your first option is a crease drive. But let’s say the defenseman is staying with you. While you’re carrying the ball to the wing, you want to be assessing the position of the other five offensive players on the field. You’re not so much concerned with where they are now but where they are going to be. Because once you get to goalline extended, you’re going to roll back toward X and that’s when you’re going to look to feed.

3. Most players will simply feed right when they get to goalline extended. But by rolling back, you hold yourself out in numerous ways. First off, you protect your stick. By turning yourself away from your defender, you can shield against a takeaway check while also giving yourself separation to feed.

You’re also giving yourself a better angle from which to feed and in turn making it easier for the receiver to catch and shoot.

4. But for that half-second when you’re rolling back, you’re also taking your eyes off the play. That’s why assessing the situation before you make the dodge is so important. Because when you come out of that roll, you want to have a picture in your mind of where everybody is so you can rip off a pass almost instantly.

So not only are you creating time and space with the dodge, you are also cutting down on wasted time because you already know where everybody is going to be.

It’s a very advanced way to look at the game and it takes a lot of experience to master. But hey, nobody said feeding was easy. If it was easy, everybody would do it.

PROPER WAY TO PASS

Throwing a pass in lacrosse is just like throwing a football or baseball. Without the proper technique, you increase the chance of an inaccurate throw. Except in baseball or football, oftentimes the receiver can adjust to a poorly thrown ball. In lacrosse you don’t always have that luxury.

That makes it even more important to develop good habits. The most common mistake I see nowadays is players throwing off their back foot. When feeding, your legs are just as important as your arms. And by throwing off your back foot you remove any balance you may have and force your arms to throw from a position that isn’t natural.

You want to step into a pass just like a quarterback would in football. But remember, the most important thing in feeding is throwing a catchable ball. So while you want to use your legs to generate power behind the pass, you don’t want to throw it too hard.

Remember also that throwing off your back foot can be a subconscious thing. Most of the time it comes from seeing a guy open and wanting to get the pass off as quickly as possible. But once you take off-balance passes out of your game entirely, your anticipation and field vision will adjust naturally.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

In feeding, where you are is just as important as how you throw the pass. If you look at the crease from above and then draw two more creases offset behind the net (diagram below) that will give you two hot zones to work from. Those areas should really become subconsciously ingrained in your mind as optimal places to feed from.

If you’re anywhere outside those zones, there will be some major obstacles to overcome. For instance, standing too close to the endline is the Cardinal sin of feeding. Not only are you giving yourself an extremely long pass to throw—over 20 yards if you’re just throwing it to the crease—but you’re giving your defender an extra advantage by pinning yourself against the out-of-bounds line.

Keep in mind that just because your primarily role is as a feeder doesn’t take away your job of always being a threat to score. This means keeping yourself in a position where the defense has to worry about you going to the goal—or distributing the ball.

If you’re not a threat to score then the defense doesn’t have to worry about sliding, and the goalie can play the pass. But if you’re a threat to beat your defender, the goalie will have to hug the post, the defense will have to think about sliding and more passing lanes will open up.

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Think again.

With an idea Wildcat coach Mike Messere calls the “teachable moment”, [...]]]> Think there’s just something in the water in Camillus, N.Y. that allows West Genesee’s lacrosse players to make quick decisions in the clutch time and time again? Think it’s just talent that has seen Genny through to 13 New York state titles since 1981?

Think again.

With an idea Wildcat coach Mike Messere calls the “teachable moment”, he grooms these guys to be clutch. Starting in youth lacrosse and all the way up to the big program, Messere and his innovative coaching staff make sure through practice that their players are comfortable making decisions on the fly.

Messere’s favorite way to do this is running small-field five-on-five scrimmages with simplified rules (no offsides) and no set plays.

“This lets the kids concentrate on playing the game, using their instincts and making decisions,” Messere says.

But when Messere sees what he calls a “teachable moment”—that point in the game where a player is forced to make a decision with the ball—he stops everything.

“We do a lot of stopping,” he says. “Then we try to recreate that moment. This is where a lot of teaching occurs. It’s that teachable moment where we show the kid what he did do, and what he could’ve done. Then the kids start to think about that while they’re playing and they begin to act intuitively and instinctively.”

And we thought the only thing Genny players do instinctively is win.

West Genny Lacrosse

The boy’s lacrosse team, coached by Hall-of-Famer Mike Messere^[8] is widely recognized as one of the premier high school lacrosse teams in the United States, finishing the season 1st in the national high school rankings 8 times since 1990.^[9]

The team has won 15 New York State championships, including four consecutive between 2002 and 2005^[10], and 27 Section III championships.^[11]

As of 2006, the program has produced 49 high school All-Americans since 1971.

State Championships