Practice Planning Guidelines

U9

U9 Overview

Practice planning is a coaching art form that develops over many years of trial and error with your programs and players. Our goal with this document is to give coaches a guideline for what should be included in a practice plan at the age level they are coaching. Be aware that as a coach it is your job and privilege to develop, design, and implement the practice plans in a manner that fit your assessment of your team and goals. Be sure to innovate through practicing on a daily basis and looking for ways to get better at this coaching art form.

U9 Player Development

Players at the U-9 Level fall under the “FUNdamentals” stage of LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development Model) which states this phase of athlete development should spend the majority of time on developing physical capacities and movement skills.

Developmental Considerations

Conditioning exercises are not necessary at this level of play Practices should last between 45 minutes to 1 hour in length 1-2 Practices per week

Goals for U9 Practices

Goals for U-9 lacrosse players at this level should be as follows:

-- Basic fundamental skills introductions (Scoop, Catch, Throw, Shoot)

-- Basic transition play and game play (passing options)

-- Understand basic lacrosse movements and rules

(Body defense –on ball, small game offense 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 )

-- Game and equipment safety

-- Have fun

Planning Template

The following is a basic U-9 Outline for practice planning to help coaches understand timing and what could be included in practice:

-- Team meeting

-- 5 minute warm up

-- 15 minutes of base skills

-- 15 minutes of base technique

-- 15-20 minutes of free play or game play

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U11

Overview

Practice planning is a coaching art form that develops over many years of trial and error with your programs and players. Our goal with this document is to give coaches a guideline for what should be included in a practice plan at the age level they are coaching. Be aware that as a coach it is your job and privilege to develop, design, and implement the practice plans in a manner that fit your assessment of your team and goals. Be sure to innovate through practicing on a daily basis and looking for ways to get better at this coaching art form.

U11 Player Development

Players at the U-11 Level fall under the “Learning to Train” stage of LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development Model) which states this phase of athlete development should spend the time to learn and focus on all fundamental skills needed to play the game successfully. In addition, a 70:30 ratio of practice to competition is recommended.

Developmental Considerations

Conditioning exercises are not necessary at this level of play Practices should last between 1 hour to 75 minutes in length 2-3 Practices per week (1 game per week)

Goals for U11 Practices

Goals for U-11 lacrosse players at this level should be as follows:

-- Understanding of fundamental skills (Scoop, Catch, Throw, Shoot, Dodge – and combination of skills)

-- Transition play and general game play (off-sides and game play rules)

-- Understand lacrosse movements and rules

(Body defense –on ball, small game offense 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 )

-- Game and equipment safety

-- Having fun

Planning Template

The following is a basic U-11 Outline for practice planning to help coaches understand timing and what could be included in practice:

-- Team meeting

-- 5 minute warm up

-- 15 minutes of base skills

-- 10 minutes of instruction

-- 15 minutes of base technique

-- 15-20 minutes of free play or game play

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U13

Overview

Practice planning is a coaching art form that develops over many years of trial and error with your programs and players. Our goal with this document is to give coaches a guideline for what should be included in a practice plan at the age level they are coaching. Be aware that as a coach it is your job and privilege to develop, design, and implement the practice plans in a manner that fit your assessment of your team and goals. Be sure to innovate through practicing on a daily basis and looking for ways to get better at this coaching art form.

U13 Player Development

Players at the U-13 Level fall under the “Training to Train” stage of LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development Model) which states this phase of athlete development should spend the time to develop the athletes overall physical capacities (focus on aerobic conditioning and fundamental movement skills). In addition a 60:40 ratio of practice to competition is recommended.

Developmental Considerations

-- Conditioning is added at this level of play thru length of practice and speed of drills

-- Practices should last between 75 and 90 minutes in length

-- 3-4 Practices per week (1-2 games per week)

Goals for U13 Practices

Goals for U-13 lacrosse players at this level should be as follows:

-- Fine development of fundamental skills (Scoop, Catch, Throw, Shoot, Dodge – and combination of skills)

-- Some Settled offense and defense development

-- Transition skills and tactics start to come into play

-- Game and equipment safety

-- Having fun

Planning Template

The following is a basic U-13 Outline for practice planning to help coaches understand timing and what could be included in practice:

-- Team meeting

-- 5-10 minute warm up

-- 15-20 minutes of skills

-- 15 - 20 minutes of technique

-- 15-20 minutes of instruction

-- 20 minutes of free play or game play

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U15

Overview

Practice planning is a coaching art form that develops over many years of trial and error with your programs and players. Our goal with this document is to give coaches a guideline for what should be included in a practice plan at the age level they are coaching. Be aware that

as a coach it is your job and privilege to develop, design, and implement the practice plans in a manner that fit your assessment of your team and goals. Be sure to innovate through practicing on a daily basis and looking for ways to get better at this coaching art form.

U15 Player Development

Players at the U-15 Level fall under the advanced level of “Training to Train” stage of LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development Model) which states this phase of athlete development should spend the time to develop the athletes overall physical capacities (focus on aerobic

conditioning and fundamental movement skills). In addition a 60:40 ratio of practice to competition is recommended and moving towards faster paced games and game play.

Developmental Considerations

Conditioning is now a development and evaluation tool

Practices should last between 90 and 120 minutes in length

4-5 Practices per week (1-2 games per week)

Goals for U15 Practices

Goals for U-15 lacrosse players at this level should be as follows:

-- Focus on advancement of fundamental skills (Scoop, Catch, Throw, Shoot, Dodge – and combination of skills)

-- Settled offense and defense development and strategy will start

-- Transition skills and tactics are constant

-- Game and equipment safety

-- Having fun while working hard for results

Planning Template

The following is a basic U-15 Outline for practice planning to help coaches understand timing and what could be included in practice:

-- Team meeting

-- 5-10 minute warm up

-- 15-20 minutes of skills

-- 15 - 20 minutes of technique

-- 20 minutes of instruction

-- 20 minutes of free play or game play

-- 15 minutes situational play

-- 10-15 minutes of conditioning/strength work

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****SEE SAMPLE PRACTICE PLANS FOR EACH LEVEL BELOW****