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Lax Out Loud Quick Sticks
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Lax Out Loud: Quick Sticks

Editor’s note: Thanks for checking out the latest installment of Lax Out Loud, LaxAllStars.com’s newest educational series made possible by the fine folks at SISU Guard. Drew Snider stresses the importance of flawless communication while moving the ball quickly and shuffling your feet in Quick Sticks!

[mks_dropcap style=”letter” size=”52″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#0c7578″]Q[/mks_dropcap]uick Sticks has to be one of the greatest three-man drills to help you work on your communication, moving your feet and practicing soft hands all at the same time! Team USA and All-MLL midfielder Drew Snider is going to take us through another one of his hand-picked favorite drills!

Quick sticks might be a common phrase in lacrosse for moving the ball quickly, but we’re going to take it up a notch, Drew Snider style!

An introduction to ‘Quick Sticks’

There’s three things about Drew Snider that you can’t argue: he’s got quick feet, quick hands and a quick stick. Whether it’s dodging, cutting or hightailing it down the field, Drew leaves defenders in his dust. Threw a crappy pass? Don’t worry, Drew snagged it. And when it comes to stick speed, Drew’s head-speed is crazy quick, allowing him to catch and release a shot before the goalie even knew what hit the back of the cage!

Good for Drew! But how can I harness some of his greatness? Grab two friends and make a triangle, and follow these simple steps!

Start slow and focus on passing accurately, taking no more than one cradle (if necessary) and moving the ball quickly.

Drew Snider Team USA box lacrosse WILC 2015

Moving forward and backward, side to side, work on keeping your feet from crossing or clicking and stay moving with the back. You should get the hang of the drills in each direction before moving on.

“Quick Sticks” is the ideal drill for working on ideal verbal communication, engraining the habits of talking, and talking loudly, to teammates to move the ball. All three members of the drills should work on their calls of choice, either: help; yeah; one more; or another similar phrase.

Key Requirements

Gear: Mouth Guard, Game Shoes, Stick, Pads (Optional)
Time: +/- 10 Minutes
Members:
Communication Points: Shouting “help,” “yeah” and “one more!”

Get Started

  • To begin, choose one person to be the main focus of the circuit. Offense #1 will call for a pass from Offense #2, quickly catch and pass the ball bak to Offense #2.
  • Offense #1 will then do the same for Offense #3.
  • After two touches, Offense #1 will announce a direction and the group will shuffle that way, repeating the passing sequence.
  • After about 4-6 touches in one direction, Offense #1 calls back and the triangle retreats, still in the passing sequence.
  • Back at center, Offense #1 will pick a new direction and the drill will repeat.
  • Once Offense #2 finishes with both chosen directions, it will become Offense #2’s turn to be the focus of the drill.
  • Offense #2 will repeat the same series as Offense #1, but choosing different directions.

Everyone on the team should be working on this drill together. It’s perfect for attack lines to get used to each other’s flow, but it is also a great drill to mix in goalies, poles, face-off guys and everyone else. Quick, soft hands are a must for a lacrosse player to take his skill to the next level.

If we’re sounding like a broken record, it’s still better than you playing with broken teeth! Everyone in the episode, including Drew, wore a mouth guard during the filming of the Quick Sticks. It’s a rule that we must wear our mouth guards the entire time we are on the field in games, so why wouldn’t we practice in them?

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We hope some of Drew’s knowledge rubbed off in this episode of Lax Out Loud! Chris O’Dougherty will be back next time around to teach us what he calls Scoop and Chase!

[mks_icon icon=”fa-bullhorn” color=”#d32129″ type=”fa”] LaxAllStars.com members get 10% off mouthguards at SISUGuard.com! Join now to receive the coupon code on our Member Benefits page!