LACROSSE THROWING FUNDAMENTALS
BECAUSE THROWING IS FUNDAMENTAL KID!
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BASIC THROWING INSTRUCTION
The first stick skill that a beginner must learn is throwing. Throwing a ball with a lacrosse stick is surprisingly similar to throwing a baseball or any other object with your hand. Picture throwing a baseball: one must take the ball in their strong hand, step forward with their opposite foot, extend the arm that holds the ball, and then snap that arm and wrist over to release the ball. This is why a beginner should first learn to throw a lacrosse ball with one hand on his stick. First, it teaches the beginner how to throw correctly. Too many lacrosse players throw with their hands too close to their body. This is a terrible habit to develop as it decreases accuracy and speed in passing and shooting. In describing this habbit a common metaphor compares this limited arm extension to “having alligator arms”. By learning to throw one-handed first, beginners can pick up good habits like extending your arm away from your body, getting your elbow up, snapping your wrist over, stepping with the opposite foot, and rotating your upper body. So, the first thing a beginning lacrosse player should do is simply throw against a wall or with a partner with one hand on his stick.
If the player is right-handed, he wants to start with his right hand on the middle of the shaft. Then he wants to extend his right arm away from his body so that his right elbow is almost as high as his right shoulder. All beginners should first learn to throw with an overhand motion, so the stick should be pointed straight up in the air. He wants to have his thumb pointing up on the side of the shaft (this helps control the stick and keep it balanced in the player’s hand). Then he steps with his left foot and snaps his wrist forward. Many players, when they first try this, push the stick with their entire arm. The ball comes out slow and falls to the ground. When the player learns to snap his wrist, then the ball comes out quickly and on a line, which is what you are looking for as a coach. Learning to throw one-handed not only encourages correct habits for passing and shooting, but also strengthens the forearm muscles, possibly the most important muscles in the game of lacrosse. Professional players have extremely hard shots both standing still and on the run because their forearms are strong and they use every muscle in their body in unison.
After working on throwing one-handed, beginners can then move on to throw with both hands. After throwing with one hand, throwing with two hands feels much easier. Basically, all the motions stay the same, but the bottom hand acts as a guide for the stick. As the top hand snaps the stick over as described when throwing one-handed, the bottom hand pulls the bottom of the stick down. Thus, the top hand pushes the top of the stick forward as the bottom hand pulls the bottom of the stick back towards the body. If a player is throwing right-handed, then he starts off with his right hand halfway up the shaft of his stick and his left hand at the bottom of the shaft. His stick should start parallel with the ground just off the right shoulder. His hands are extended away from his body. We call this the “ready” position. He then steps with his left foot and snaps his right wrist over while simultaneously pulling his left hand down.
Proper throwing motion utilizes push/pull motion whereby the top hand snaps the stick over while the bottom hand pulls. The head of the stick should follow a steady arc that is perpendicular with the ground (straight overhand motion). When the ball is released, the head of the stick should follow through towards the target. It is especially important to properly follow through as a beginner. If beginners do not follow through properly, they will struggle with advanced throwing techniques. Furthermore, a good follow through is more consistent and will ultimately result in less errant passes.
The instructions outlined above are simply reversed when the player is throwing with his left hand. When learning to throw with two hands, the player throws the ball softly and tries to put some “air” under the ball (put some arc on the ball). As the player becomes more comfortable and gets more accurate, then he can try to put some more power and speed on his passes and use both hands equally. It is essential that players learn to use both hands early in their development. The less time spent learning early on, the more difficult it becomes down the road. It seems counter-intuitive that an older player would struggle to develop their off-hand, but history has proven this is the case.
After you learn how to throw well utilizing these fundamentals, then you can move on to some of our more advanced skills and drills on this site and by checking out our VIDEO section.
KEYS
1 | Start Positions: top hand at middle of shaft; bottom hand at the bottom
2 | Extend arms away from the body with the butt end of the stick pointing at the target
3 | Step towards the target
4 | Snap the top hand over
5 | Follow through towards the target
6 | Bad Habits Warning: Alligator arms, flicking instead of a smooth follow through, dropping the head of the stick for side-arm passing, and stepping with the wrong foot.
