Q:
Hi my name is Ryan and I am 15 yrs. old. I played for the JV team for my high school lacrosse team and now I am on the varsity as a sophomore...but I'm backup (2nd string to be exact) I was wondering if there are any special warm-ups to move to the ball faster. I am pretty fast already but I still need some "tweaking". If there is anything please help...thanks
Also I do not have a backup stick yet... what is a good one and how should I string it?
Jonathan Writes: Ryan moving to the ball faster has everything to do with being stronger in the hips and the legs. So by hitting the gym and working on squats, lunges, etc. you will be able to move your body to the ball faster.
As far as warm ups to move to the ball faster, that's a good question. I will say this. Every time you step to the ball whether that's a warm up, visualizing stepping to the ball, or actually moving to the ball to make a real save you are reinforcing that movement pattern. I'll explain it like this, each time you move to the ball whether it's for real or in your mind you are in essence digging a trench. The more you do it the deeper that trench gets and the harder it is to stray from that direction the deeper the trench is. So you obviously want to dig a trench of good habits and not bad ones. The more efficient your movements are the faster you will be. Does that make sense?
Me best tip for getting better when you're the back up goalie is: Stand behind the cage, in line with the shooter, when the other goalie is getting shot on. You are basically getting twice the shots. Twice the conditioning. And when the other goalie is getting shot on you can focus on your technique without the stress of getting hit with the ball.
As far as back up sticks. I use the STX Eclipse with the mega mesh. It's super easy to string as you can just string it sidewall to sidewall and leave it there. I've written a couple other articles here about that. I probably have some articles on my Goalie Blog as well.
If you send me your email address I'll add you to my goalie newsletter that I send out monthly.
Hope this helps Ryan. If you've got me more questions just email me directly at jone94@shaw.ca. Let me know what school you're at as well.
Kick ass.
Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com
