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Boys Youth Week 1
Submitted by walax on Tue, 2006-03-28 13:36.
Youth Lacrosse Weekly Beat Article By Jim Anderson
March 21, 2006
I have been struck recently by the responsibility and opportunity that comes with coaching junior lacrosse. We have a unique chance to establish our club’s reputation in terms of style of play, sportsmanship, and character. We can become a club that teams look forward to hosting, or one that has a hard time finding teams to scrimmage against.
If you want to set up a scrimmage with the Lynnwood Highlanders, get in line.
In a few short years, coaches like Mark Thomas and Bruce Shaw have established the Highlanders as a club with high standards for both skills and sportsmanship. As weird as this my sound, the Highlanders are the kind of team that you can enjoy losing to.
You have to ask yourself, what is their secret? For some answers, I checked in with Mark Thomas.
WB: US Lacrosse tells us to coach in a way that will ‘Honor the Game’. What does this mean to you?
MT: - This is expected of all players, coaches and parents. We need to respect each other as a team, the referees, and our opponent at all times.
WB: The Highlanders seem to be growing smart. That is, your growth is steady and not overwhelming. What is your growth plan?
MT: - I welcome any player to our team who wants to try out. We have expanded from one 5th/6th grade team last year to add a 3rd/4th & 7th/8th as well.
WB: At our recent game, your team was short some players so we sent a middie line and a few defenders to make the game work. What has been your experience with lending players?
MT: We are thin on bodies so when we play Junior & Lightning games I have no problem borrowing to even the numbers out. I was on the flip side of this equation last year and we always loaned players. It's not all about winning, it's about getting kids playing time.
WB: I have never heard of a Highlanders team running up a score on an opponent.
MT: - I try to match up our talent evenly with our opponent. If we are blowing someone out then its time to move players around and work the ball around. I try to get the boys who have not scored a chance to do that by not allowing any more goals from my best players. They know to pass and then create opp's for someone else. If it's close I have asked the 3rd mid line if they want to go in, knowing the opponent has put in line #1 to catch up. We had an OT game where it was the 3rd middies up to start OT, and the team voted 100% to send in the #1's - at that point they wanted to win.
WB: Your teams play the speed and skills style of lacrosse. Guys pass and catch without focusing on knocking kids down. What is your secret?
MT: - We play finesse lacrosse. This is key to every practice. We run all drills that simulate game conditions - catch & throw on the run, ground balls, transition fast break, man up & man down. Not a lot of plays on offense, since you can create quick one-on-ones that force a slide and a dump pass, just like a fast break.
WB: What is your philosophy about playing time for new players?
MT: - Everyone plays. This is absolutely the policy, unless the game has gotten out of hand physically and safety is an issue.
WB: Speaking of safety, some junior games seem to get out of control. Teams have begun to earn reputations for being overly physical. What is your view of teaching players to focus on knocking opponents down?
MT: - No roughing - I want all kids to learn and enjoy this sport, as there is a place for all sizes at all levels. Young guys tend to have a lot of size disparity, so playing to hit is not good for growth of our game. It can get physical but I teach poke checks and lift checks only; I get on them for slap checks. No one on my team will ever get away with a takeout check, even if the officials miss it. They know they're headed for the bench for it and so it doesn't even come up.
We have been called a class act by our opponents from various organizations, so win or lose, I want our kids to hold their heads up and know they gave their best. If we lose to a more skilled team we will take something away from that game and learn from it. If we face a team that plays dirty and we lose but don't retaliate, my kids have won something far greater than a lacrosse game that day. The best of all worlds is to beat a class opponent in a nail biter and know you both have equal respect for each other when it's over.
Sportmanship, coaching, and parents
The evening of September 7th, renowned speaker Bruce Brown will be discussing “The Role of Parents in Athletics”.
He will be speaking at TBCS, 8905 208th Ave NE • Redmond, WA 98053 USA • (425) 898-1720
For those of you unfamiliar with Bruce’s background, the attached link has his biography http://www.proactivecoaching.info/bio.php