Here in Portland, Oregon, we just received about a foot of snow within the span of a couple of days. It’s the most snow that I’ve ever seen in the few years I’ve been here! It reminded me of times when I would practice inside the house, whether it was because of the weather or because I was living far from a park or greenspace. Either way, there were definitely times when I was stuck in the house. However, being confined to your home doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t practice. You might just be a bit limited to what you can do. So, here are a few tips on practicing lacrosse on a rainy day.
Indoor lacrosse practice safety tips
Just a couple of quick tips regarding safety if you are going to practice lacrosse drills inside. Remember that practicing lacrosse cradling with a tennis ball is a much safer way to go than using a real lacrosse ball. If you do happen to lose control, you’re much less likely to break something with a tennis ball.
Also, just use common sense. Don’t do crazy stick tricks near lamps, vases, and mirrors. Also, watch out for your baby brother or sister, and the dog!
Cradling drills for lacrosse indoors
No matter how good you are, I think you can always be cradling. Like I always say, you can never be too comfortable with your lacrosse stick. It’s an extension of your arms, and you should feel as confident as possible when you’re carrying the ball. Cradling in lacrosse is also one of the easiest things to practice.
You can practice cradling while watching TV, listening to music, or talking on the phone. Practice all the different types of cradling: shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to ear, cradling off to the side as if there’s a defender marking you. Play around with where you hold the ball, it can help with getting comfortable with cradling near a defender, wherever they may be.
When you do practice, make sure to shake things up a bit. Rather than just practicing your dominant hand, throw in a couple of switches. Practice making the switch as seamless as possible. You should be able to do it in the blink of an eye. It should become muscle memory so you won’t have to think about it should a defender surprise you on the field.
And make sure to practice on your non-dominant side as well. This is super important. You should be able to cradle on both sides with the same level of comfort and confidence.
Have fun with cradling! You won’t practice if it isn’t fun for you. Honestly, just sitting in front of the TV and simply trying to keep the ball in your stick while you move it around is a good exercise in itself. I’ve even practiced cradling over my head just for fun!
Lacrosse stick tricks
Another way to get comfortable with your stick and ball control is by practicing stick tricks. Not only does it help with ball-handling, but it also helps with hand-eye coordination as well. Whether you look up stick tricks online or you come up with your own, this will always help with getting comfortable with your stick. Some of my favorite tricks involve throwing your stick in the air, so make sure the room you’re in has enough clearance, and always be cautious of breakables!
Some common tricks are tossing the ball up in the air directly in front of you, bumping it on your shaft, the butt of your stick, or even your sidewall, and then catching it as it comes back down. Another trick similar to this is called the pretzel, where you throw the ball up and catch it between your legs or behind your back. To make the pretzel even harder, try throwing the ball over your shoulder by passing the head of your stick between your legs and tossing the ball up behind your back.
My favorite trick, however, is what I called the rainbow. Hold the ball in your stick at your side, make sure to find the balance point, it should be pretty close to the head. Throw the stick over your head to your other side, and see how many stick revolutions you can get in the throw without dropping the ball!
Dodging
Practicing lacrosse on a rainy day doesn’t have to be limited to only cradling and stick tricks. Try involving your whole body, and maybe even a friend or two.
This might be especially fun with another person in fact, but you can always practice dodging by yourself too. Use a chair or a coat rack as a defender, and try to get around them in as many different ways as possible. Some common dodges are the face dodge (which might be better with another person, just so you can see what is a believable fake and what isn’t), the roll dodge, and the switch dodge.
Face dodge
The face dodge is simply a fake. As you are running towards a defender, step dramatically to one side so the defense locks their hips in that direction. After you see them commit to one side, quickly switch back to the other side and run past her. Because the defender has, hopefully, locked her hips, it’s going to be much harder for her to switch back and catch up with you as you switch directions.
One important thing to keep in mind is to not lock your own hips, stay square to your defender. This dodge can be a half switch with your stick, so you almost go all the way to switching hands, or it can just be a quick dodge with your face. This usually looks like jerking your head in the direction you want the defense to go.
Roll dodge
The roll dodge involves planting your non-dominant foot across your running path, where your dominant food would plant, and then turning your back to the defender, and spinning in front of her, and running out the other side.
To help you visualize this here’s an example. I am right-handed, so for you lefties, flip this! As I’m running at the defender, I’m going to plant my left foot right in front of her left foot. I pivot on my left foot and switch hands as I turn my back to her. Now we should be facing the same direction, with her facing my back. From this position, I turn to our right and run off of her. Keep your stick tucked close to you, but still legal because if you do this quickly enough she won’t be able to keep up and check your stick as you roll.
Switch dodge
The switch dodge is basically just switching fast enough in front of your defender that she won’t be able to keep up. This is why getting comfortable with your stick is so important, it can help you get out of sticky situations!
Lacrosse workouts for inside the house
Of course, another thing you could do is work out on a rainy day. Staying in shape is important during the season. You could make your own workout by doing rounds of pushups, situps, jumping jacks, and squats, or you can look up the many, many workouts that are online.
If you’re like me and get antsy when you’re stuck in the house with nothing to do, working out can definitely help get rid of that restlessness. However, snowy days aren’t too common here, so make sure to just enjoy that snow if you get any!
Wrap Up
Whether all your teammates are busy, you don’t live near a field, or it’s a rainy day, practicing lacrosse drills inside can be great. And practicing lacrosse on a rainy day doesn’t have to be complicated or dull. It can help your coordination and ball control, not to mention it can be fun to pass the time. Also, if you’re just starting out with lacrosse, maybe start off with a tennis ball. 😉