Rick Sowell the head lacrosse coach at the United States Naval Academy talks about his time serving as an assistant coach under Hall of Fame Coach Dave Urick and Urickisms and provides great career advice for young coaches. But first Fred’s response to questions from listeners: Jayson, what’s appropriate to teach U 11 athletes about a settled offense? Byron, when do I put my child on a more competitive team?
Jayson, my response would be the same for basketball, soccer, ice hockey, or lacrosse, and I’ve coached all these sports to U 11 athletes. Keep it Simple—teach the players to prevent traffic jams, move the ball, keep possession, be a double threat to score a goal or assist a goal.
1. Move to open space to prevent traffic jams
2. Be a threat to shoot or assist a goal in open space
3. Keep passes and shots 5 to 7 yards
4. Shoot or pass within 3 to 5 seconds
5. Back up shots on goal to maintain possession
6. It’s harder to cover people who move then those who don’t
7. Pour on praise when they execute desired outcomes
In summary: Shoot or pass within 3 to 5 seconds, be a double threat to score or assist a goal, and it’s hard to cover someone who moves in those who stand still. Finally, a parallel principle is that as in life, great offensive players hustle and make things happen instead of watching things happen and the best offense is a great defense. Listen to the archived interview I did with Hall of Fame Coach Mike Messer at Fred Opie.com podcast link. He talks about teaching offensive concepts.

Byron if your son or daughter is fanatical about a sport and you have the ability to do it with cash, enroll them in a one or two day clinic attended by kids who are competitive and skilled and under the supervision of great coaches. Check the websites of top high school and college programs in your area and or ask people in your network who are in the know for suggested clinics. Watch your child play at the beginning of the clinic and before the end and read his or her body language to see if they are having fun. Ask them for their feedback about what they want to do next in terms of playing in a more competitive environment and/or team. This should give you the information you need to make an informed decision. Above all be sure your child is pulling you and you’re not pushing the child.

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Rick Sowell: http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/sowell_rick00.html

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