College coaches across the country have identified box lacrosse as a
great way to increase lacrosse skills and IQ. Legendary college coach
Bill Tierney (Princeton and University of Denver) has been quoted as
saying, “If I was US Lacrosse, I wouldn’t let any kids play field until
they were 10 or 12 years old.” Canadian youth players start playing box
lacrosse first and do not transition into field lacrosse until middle
school or higher and have become some of the top players in the U.S
college game. Canada is rapidly turning out some of the most dominant
players on every collegiate level (i.e. DI/DII/DIII). In 2010, ten of
the top thirty point scorers in NCAA Division I lacrosse were Canadian,
yet less than 5% of the Division I population are Canadian.
The benefits of box lacrosse are evident:
• The ball is
never out of play. Box lacrosse players touch the ball more often, no doubt about
it. In a field lacrosse game with a 10 v 10 scenario, your player
may never touch the ball. In box lacrosse, your player is guaranteed to
touch the ball a few times per game with only 5 players on the field
per team and the boards to keep the ball in play.
• The small nets in box lacrosse (4' x 4') encourage players to take
higher percentage shots, work to find creative ways to get to the goal and improve their shooting
accuracy.
• The tighter confines of a box lacrosse rink improve a
players stick handling skills and gets them used to passing and
catching in traffic.
• Box lacrosse emphasizes fundamental defensive footwork since no one
is using a long pole. Defenseman can work on their stick skills and
even have some fun scoring goals!
• Box lacrosse encourages the
development of off ball movement and the 2 man game. Players learn a
higher level of reading the defense.
Sign up now for the DBLL! The season is right around the corner and the benefits of box are boundless!
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