Why Transition Drills Should Dominate Your Practice Plan

 

Why Transition Drills Should Dominate Your Practice Plan 2

By Mike Muetzel, LaxCoachMike.com

After more than five years of interviewing top NCAA Lacrosse Coaches regarding their practice plans we are sold on transition drills. Whether you might be coaching U11 or NCAA level lacrosse -- the transition drills do more to improve stickwork, scoring and recognition than any other vehicle you might implement in your practices. And with a little creativity, the options are endless.

Please understand we are not focusing on traditional fast breaks, but mini-snapshots of games where a loose ball goes down, a player gets beat, a dropped pass, a rebound off a shot, an effective ride, or the many other possibilities that create a man advantage of some sort even if it is only for three to six seconds…

1. Scoring Goals – According to NCAA Lacrosse Coaches over 80% of all goals scored in lacrosse games occur in some type of unsettled situation. Scoring goals in an even 6V6 situation is very difficult, yet many coaches spend most of their practice time in 'even' scenarios; this is perhaps 'old school' coaching. It is far better to not only focus on offensive transition fundamentals but equally as important to focus on defensive slides and recovery in transition, as that is not only where we will score more goals but where our competitors are scoring most of their goals as well. Does this make more sense?

An "Even Scenario" is truly important, usually as much in 4V4 as 6V6, but working at a higher percentage in transition will result in better offense, more scoring, and quicker slides and recovery on defense.

2. Fun – Working in transition drills is far more fun for the players in practice than traditional 'even' time. It might surprise you, but almost all of the coaches we have interviewed suggest that players improve faster, and stay engaged when the drills are fun and competitive, even at the college level.

3. Effective – Whether your a top rated HS team, or a U11 Rec Team, by practicing more in transition settings, the players know there is always somebody who is open or not covered, to pass the ball to. We need to find him and find him quickly. Do you struggle with players not passing to teammates? Then you may want to run more transition as the drill by definition reinforces 'one more' pass.

4. Fast Paced – By now you know that NCAA Lacrosse Coaches run their drills only seven to ten minutes each, then on to the next drill, and the drills in transition run the reps lightening fast. Since most of the players we coach have very short attention spans, (they are not insubordinate, it is just the DNA of today's world), drills that include a ton of touches and run six to ten seconds in duration of each rep, play to the characteristics of our players. Fast paced is the way to keep the players engaged.

5. Roster Size, Skill Levels – Most coaches love to go to coaching clinics by top coaches. Then when they try and adapt the drill to their HS Varsity or U15 team they find they do not have enough players, or the ball is always on the ground. The beautiful thing about transition drills is that they can be run equally as effectively with an 18-man roster as a 40-man roster. In addition, if we keep up the quick pace, players do not have time to focus on a drop or a mistake as the next rep is already underway…

6. Progressions -- This is an interesting discussion. For younger teams, and teams that are not well skilled, we recommend running the transition drills in 'progression'. You might begin with a 2V1 drill, then a 3V2 drill and so on… building up to 4V3 for these types of teams. (For teams that are younger, or less experienced stay with 4V3 as the top level for these drills, as it leaves the field more open for passes and player recognition)

It is interesting that most college lacrosse coaches used to run their transition drills in progression. However in the last year we have seen a shift in NCAA Lacrosse practice plans, now many coaches are mixing the pattern and field space. For higher skilled teams, they might jump into a 5V4, then 2V1 in a small space then 6V5 in a 70 yard drill etc… The philosophy is that by changing the order and progression, they are doing a better job of preparing their players to react to the fluid nature of the game with scenarios, always changing, and certainly never in the same order…

Love to get your thoughts! mike@laxcoachmike.com