8/12/2021 - Optional Practice

Time	Drill
5 Min	Active Stretching Start with a warm up jog of a full length of the field and back Knee huggers (hamstrings): Hug each knee to the chest, moving hips forward High kicks (hamstrings, hips): Kick leg up and across the body towards raised hand on opposite side. Let leg free fall (lightly) backwards. Lateral slides (groin, hips, knees, ankles, lower back): *visualize a line of hurdles* move laterally while ducking under each hurdle. Heel scoops (hamstrings, lower back): Extend leg out in front with heel on the ground. Reach with both hands towards the heel. Come “through the leg” with arms all the way above the head. Toe touches (hamstrings, core): On one foot, reach down and across the body towards the foot on opposite side. Simultaneously reaching behind with unplanted leg.
5 min	Warmup jog three times around the field
7 Min	Star Drill
7 Min	Rhythm passing drill Use 5 cones Setup the cones in a box with a middle cone. Off the middle cone we go 6-10 yards out Kids stand on the middle cone, cut towards a cone and receive the pass Catch on the outside, cradle, turn and make the pass
7 Min	Ground Ball away to a defender, run up and box out to scoop up
7 Min	Floating Dodge from top wings From the top of the box on left and right Put your body facing inside to the island, stick top side Side step and move the stick to the inside, stutter step, two steps look to draw the double, if not rip it Work on getting the defender to freeze If defender moves down the alley jab step up top and rip it
10 Min	Star Recovery Drill Star Recovery Drill Interior cones mark out the “heart,” or most dangerous area of the field. Practice covering inside out and back again on-ball defenders have one responsibility: stop the ball carrier. Off-ball defenders need to worry about protecting the inside, keeping head on a swivel with assigned attacker, and be ready to cover open players should you need to slide Setup two sets of cones like in the diagram Kids start at the X's and approach and recover at each cone Exterior cones represent an offensive player preparing to dodge. Defender slides to cones on an angle, not a direct line. Stick should be up field when breaking down on the exterior cones. Stick should be to the inside (in passing lanes) at interior cones. Variation: Add offensive guys on the outside and one in the crease, pass the ball around, have the whole team defense approach and recover
15 Min	Diamond 2 Man Game This drill is an on the crease two man game with two defenders. The objective of the drill is to pass the ball around the goal and make a pass to an inside guy who is cutting or picking to get open. This drill involves at least 8 players Setup 4 players in a diamond pattern around the goal (with the top player near the top of the box) Put 2 offense and 2 defenders in the crease Add a goalie The 4 diamond passing guys pass the ball around the goal, holding it for a few seconds The inside offensive guys look to set picks, do picks and rolls, and to play the 2 man game Defense is reacting to where the ball is with sticks up The outside players look to feed an inside guy (they cannot shoot the ball) Players on the inside should play for about 45 seconds then rotate (if a goal is scored outside players grab another ball) Defense should keep sticks up, check sticks, look to intercept, talk to each other
10 Min	4 Man Ground Ball into a 3v3 This drill was invented by Paul Myers. The goal of the drill is to reward the player who wins the ground ball with the opportunity to play offense. Defensively, this drill helps players drop back to the hole quickly and to find a man to cover. Put a goalie in the net Have 4 lines of guys at equal distance around the box (one line in each corner) Have 2 additional lines of guys, one on each side of the box, in between the 4 guys fighting for the ball The coach rolls the ball out, the 4 lines battle for the ground ball. The winner of the ground ball must break out, protecting the stick and the 3 guys that lose are now on defense Upon possession, 1 guy from each of the middle lines runs out, and is on offense with the winner of the ground ball and the drill transitions into a 3v3
10 Min	2 v 1 buildup - must set a pick and roll/slip to score
10 Min	5 Man Clear into 3v2 Teaches clearing the ball and transitions into 3v2 Need 5 players and a goalie Setup 3 cones near the midfield line, 2 at the hash marks 1 in the center 2 Players are at the hash mark at GLE, 3 players are on the cones up top. Goalie clears to a GLE side, then pass to hash midfield side, then the middle As soon as the ball is in the middle, the drill turns into 3v2 Midfield players play on offense vs 2 defenders Variation: Have the defense clearing redirect it via a 40 yard pass across the field or back to the goalie