Hold, cradle, scoop
Ready when: nothing, this is the first card.
What you are learning
Holding the stick with the hands apart, cradling (a gentle rocking of the stick that keeps the ball in the pocket while moving), and scooping a ball off the ground. These are the first skills of every version of lacrosse.
Words on this card Stick, Head, Shaft, Cradle, Scoop, Off-hand, Pick
- Stick
- The lacrosse stick: a shaft with a head at the top.
- Head
- The head is the frame at the top of the stick; the pocket is the net inside it that holds the ball.
- Shaft
- The long handle.
- Cradle
- Gently rocking the stick to keep the ball in the pocket while moving.
- Scoop
- Picking a ball up off the ground with the stick; a ground ball is a loose ball on the ground.
- Off-hand
- Throwing and catching with the hands swapped on the stick.
- Pick
- An attacker standing still to block a defender's path for a team-mate.
Show it first for the one teaching
- Hold the stick with the top hand just under the head and the bottom hand at the end of the shaft.
- Put the ball in the pocket and rock the stick gently from side to side with soft wrists as you walk: the cradle.
- To scoop, bend the knees low, lay the stick almost flat and push it through under the ball, then lift it up to the face.
Your part while they practise
Show the grip with both hands apart on the stick and the cradle (a gentle rocking of the stick to keep the ball in).
Step by step
- Cradle while walking, then jogging.
- Scoop a still ball by hand first (pick up low).
- Then scoop with the stick.
- Then scoop on the jog.
How much: 6 of each 8 min a session 4 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Carry relay
Carry the ball in the stick round the cones and hand over to the next player.
Who plays: 2 or more players in teams, or the child against their own best time.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Set 4 cones in a line, 3 m apart
- Scoop the ball from the start line, cradle round the cones and back
- Drop the ball on the start line for the next player to scoop
- 3 runs each
- Fair play
- A grown-up runs with the stick in the off-hand.
- Points
- 1 point for each cone passed with the ball in the pocket; 2 bonus points for a run with no drop.
- Fouls
- Go back to the start line
- Touching the ball with a hand
- The ball falling out and not scooped straight back up
- Knocking a cone
- Winning
- The most points after 3 runs each.
- 10 points for 1 star
- 18 points for 2 stars
- 26 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Walk.
Jog, change direction.
What you will see, and what to say
- the ball falls out
Rock gently, keep your wrists soft
Small, smooth rocks. - the child scoops with the stick high
Get low, scoop through
Knees bent, stick flat.
Self-check
Cradle 15 steps without losing the ball.
Stop and get a coach when
Pain in the wrist or forearm.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains cradling, scooping.
awiseathlete.com/sports/lacrosse/lacrosse-b1