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Get JACKED! with Coach Scott Umberger

Get JACKED! with Coach Scott Umberger Want to improve your game? LacrosseAllStars has just what you need. Get a weekly program of workout recommendations and tips from a professional.
This Week’s GET JACKED!  Scott Umberger talks about changing your  practice routine to get more game-specific skills.  No more standing around!

 

 

Practice Like You Play

 

 

 

 

 

 

Practice Like You Play

 

Scott Umberger > GET JACKED!

 

 

 

 

Quote of the Week:

 

 

 

 

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
-Vince Lombardi

 

How many times do you shoot without someone hacking the living sh*t out of you? How many time do you pass to a teammate that is standing still or wide open? How often do you get to pass while YOU are standing still and not getting pressure from the defense?

Goalies, how many shots do you take on when there isn’t someone partially screening you or the shooter? You may have a half-clean look but rarely is it a clear 1 on 1 shot where you can play him honest. I can’t believe I just said “honest” referring to a Lax guy! Ha!

Scott Umberger TipsThe answer to these questions is basically never. Recently, I asked a female college soccer player about how she practices on their own in the summer. She told me that 90% of her practice shots were penalty type kicks. No screen, no distraction, nothing on the run. The kick in the ass is that on her team there were like 5 penalty shots taken all season long. Only one girl on her team took those shots! Even if this girl was the one taking the PK shots, why spend 95% of your time practicing shots that comprise 1% of your game snipes? It just doesn’t make sense. Apply this thought process to any sport.  Lacrosse players especially can benefit from practicing like they play.

This summer, I had one of our senior captains apply some of these principles and  the difference this year has been awesome! Take this in mind; After starting out with 8 goals in 3 games, he’s been head hunted by opposing defenses. Since the Bellarmine game (6 goals), he hasn’t had a clean look at the net and still has put up some solid numbers as well as opening up the field for his teammates. In addition, take in mind that his team has played at least 5 teams that are ranked amongst the top 25 teams in the country.

There are still a few games remaining in the season. He’s shot more but also has had more attention paid to him which means he had to create more opportunities:

create more opportunities

What did we work on?

Practice "hyper focus" aimPractice “hyper focus” aimHe used the one man sled from the football team and set it up between himself and the net. He would dodge a cone then drop a shoulder on the 1 man sled and then shoot. That’s a great idea Scott, right? For a mere mortal yes. For a soon to be bad ass that no defense in the country can stop.. nope not good enough!

If you have seen the movie “The Patriot” you have heard the phrase “aim small miss small.” That’s the idea here. If you have a “shot doctor” or whatever the hell they’re called, you aim for a hole. So the idea is that you aim for an area that a football could fit through (bare with me). If you miss by 6 inches you miss the net or hit the goalie in the shoulder. No mas, ace!

So what are you saying, man??? What does it all mean? If you are a baseball pitcher, you would aim for the R in Rawlings on the glove or the metal bottom on the chest protector of the catcher.

I am telling you to tie a ribbon or something of color to the net in the proper holes (5 to 11 or so ribbons). Now aim for the tip of those ribbons. If you miss by 6 inches, you’re still on net. If you can enhance your ability to “hyper focus” while being off balance and distracted then there isn’t a defense in the country that could stop you. Take in mind that you already need to be a decent athlete (and train like one). This takes practice and a great deal of patience. You won’t turn into a freak overnight. You have to practice in order to get good at mastering this skill. Once you get good at focusing, it will become second nature in the game and in practice. At that point you’ll become pretty dirty!

A Message from Scott Umberger to LaxNation about The Lacrosse Manual:

Thanks to the comments that I have received! There were some interesting thoughts so thank you! Seriously though, for the rest of you- don’t be a lazy ass! Take literally 3 minutes and drop me a line with some feedback.

Thus far I’ve covered a lot of training topics. I’ve received some great questions via email. I’m in the process of writing a Lacrosse Training Manual and I need your feedback. What would you want included in the manual? Here are my ideas so far:

#1– I was going to explain my training methodology in English and not Coach-speak.

#2– Talk about weight training and conditioning

#3– Diet and supplements

#4– Efficient skill training for Lax

#5– Have 8-10 weeks of training programs with weight and conditioning

I was thinking of explaining everything via a private video connection to the manual. For example, exercise would link to a members only website (free to those that purchase the manual) where there would be a video example of the exercise. You opinions would be greatly appreciated. In the reply let me know your age so that I can get a feeling for what stage of development that you’re in. You can reply to this post, email me, and/or make a comment on my website (www.scottumberger.com).

If you’re on the following media platforms, connect with me:

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Scott Umberger is the owner of Umberger Performance and can be reached through his website or email at scottumberger@gmail.com

Scott Umberger has worked with high school, college (athletes from 20 different NCAA schools), and professional athletes(MLL, NHL-ECL, MLB, CHL, NFL, NBA, World Championship Games, and Arena Football I & II), 3 All-Americans (track, swimming, hockey), a Biletnikoff Trophy Winner (top DI Football Receiver), 2 Hobe Baker Trophy Finalist-top 3 and top 10 (Heisman Trophy of College Hockey), a top 10 NCAA scorer in Men’s Hockey, a member of the USA U-22 Woman’s Team, FINA Master World Championship Qualifying Swimmer, current Olympic Hopeful Javelin Thrower, ECAC/IC4A qualifying track hurdler.