A COMPLETE SYSTEM

The Team 3 Training Concept & Design:

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We fill in the gaps in player development and sharpen the skills required to succeed....

 

The Team 3 Player Development program is designed to give players access to elite coaching and consistent programming. Becoming an elite lacrosse player takes passion, commitment and structure. Players in the Team 3 program benefit from 45 minute block-scheduling designed to give developing players the skills necessary to compete at the highest level.  Much of what we do is driven by what youth, club and HS coaches cannot do. We focus on the elements of the game that aren't covered in a typical practice session. Our role in the growth process is to fill in the gaps in development that exist in every player. 

We use a part-to-whole methodology that breaks the game into smaller, more specific movements that can be drilled in a very direct way. For example, when a lacrosse player dodges a defender and shoots the ball, we do not teach that as one specific skill (dodge & shoot). In our model, we break the dodge and shoot into 3 specific components:

 

• First, we teach the dodge as it's own, distinct movement. Teaching the dodge requires a lot of time and teaching points. Most athletes think they are doing something very different than what is actually happen. We work on body, head and hand placement and we use very specific drills to emphasize body movement and truly influencing a defender. Our "stacking" method gives players a very specific, non-negotiable body position that is guaranteed to get a defender to move.  We could spend hours teaching the dodge and breaking it into the smaller components that come together to create a movement that creates separation and allows the offensive player to create their own shot.

• Secondly, we teach the "transition". The transition is the period of time in between when the player finished his/her dodge and is ready to shoot the ball. The transition includes everything the player needs to do in order to be ready to shoot the ball, and finishes when the player has their hands in the proper shooting position.

• Finally, we teach the "shot". When it comes to shooting, our motto is "reps, not steps". When a player is learning to shoot the ball, especially on-the-run, most methods of instruction require the athlete to run 10-12 steps for each shot. The result is that the player takes 10 steps for every shot they take. Using a 10 to 1 step-to-shot ratio, players will take 100 steps running in order to take 10 shots. Most athletes are physically tired before they have taken enough shots to actually improve their shooting form. Our system breaks the "shot" into it's own class, and we use drills that allow us to narrow the step-to-shot ratio down to 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1, depending on the drill. In a typical 45-minute class, our athletes will shoot the ball more than 300 times!!!

 

Our curriculum is designed to supplement what lacrosse players already do, while helping them become more complete, confident players. We want them to understand the game in a new way, and we want to give them a better understanding of what they are trying to accomplish in each movement.