Key Position Skills Young Players Should be Developing
By Duke University Men's Lacrosse Coach, John Danowski

Too often, we hear that young players in many sports just don't have (or even understand the importance of having) fundamental skills. For those of us who have been around the game, the reason for having excellent fundamental skills is easy to understand: The better your fundamentals are, the more fun you will have playing the game.

And while you can have a lot of fun playing without the development of some basic fundamental skills, you will ultimately get frustrated as you compete against more experienced or more athletic opponents or teammates.

What are those fundamentals?

When it comes to lacrosse, the game can be divided into four parts: attitude, athleticism, stick skills, and understanding the game (game sense).

Let's first talk about two of the four together — that is attitude and athleticism. Athleticism is something that can be worked on in the weight room, on the track, or by playing other sports. Attitude is your frame of mind. It affects the amount of time you practice, the quality of the time that you put in. You become a better athlete with great attitude — If you have a great attitude, your level of athleticism can and will improve.

These two fundamentals go with any position on the field. Stick skills and game sense can vary a bit more by position.

Attack Play: As an attack man, you are expected to have the best stick skills on the team. As is demanded by any position, stick skills, scooping, passing and catching with both hands are the foundations to becoming an extremely sound player. Dodging, shooting and feeding are specific offensive skills and are the next to be built on for your foundation.