LACROSSE SCOOPING FUNDAMENTALS
BEGINNER LEARNING ON HOW TO PLAY LACROSSE
MORE FREE VIDEOS ON PAGES THROUGHOUT THE SITE / ALSO CHECK OUT THE ICON VIDEO LIBRARY
BASIC SCOOPING INSTRUCTION
The next skill that a beginner must learn is how to scoop the ball effectively. The most important concept to teach for scooping is that the player needs to get low to the ground. As he goes down to scoop the ball, his stick should be almost parallel to the ground. Many beginners try to scoop the ball with their stick almost perpendicular to the ground. It is very hard to get a ball to stay in your stick when your stick is pointed toward the ground. If the player gets both of his hands low to the ground, he should be able to “shovel” right through as the ball slides right into his pocket. As soon as the ball goes into the pocket, the player brings the head of his stick close to his face. This is to protect the ball from getting checked away. Many times, if a defender tries to check the ball away when the offensive player has his stick near his head, the defender often checks him in the head, and a slashing call is rewarded to the offense. After a player picks up the ball and runs away from pressure with his stick protected, his next goal is to move the ball on. Many lacrosse players do not understand that much of transition in lacrosse comes from loose-ball situations. For this reason it is helpful for a young player to look to move the ball on to a teammate as soon as he picks up a groundball.
After you learn how to scoop 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 | Keep hands and arms low to the ground with the scoop of the stick skimming the ground
2 | Aim in front of the ball
3 | Pick the ball up to your head
4 | Run away from pressure and look to move the ball on
