The summer and fall club lacrosse seasons are incredibly impactful for player development, whether an athlete is just starting out or deep into their high school career. Club programs have an obligation to develop players as a whole, handing them back to their high schools in a better spot than when they left. It should not matter whether you are one of the worst or best teams in the state for your respective high school. Club lacrosse should be focused on building universally better lacrosse players.
There is a huge issue in the club lacrosse landscape right now, and it comes down to the purpose clubs actually serve. Many club programs today feel like they are the highlight of the athlete’s lacrosse career and treat it that way. There seems to be a disconnect. Clubs are no longer focused on building the athlete for their high school season. Instead, they position themselves as the primary lacrosse outlet for these players. This is wrong in so many ways, and I think it defeats the entire purpose of what club lacrosse is supposed to be.
Club lacrosse should be an outlet for players to come together from different backgrounds and high school programs to learn how to play lacrosse together. Both club and high school programs have become too specialized in their systems and the way they operate, which ultimately limits player growth. You should be able to take six offensive players and six defensive players from twelve different high schools, put them on one field, and run a successful lacrosse game. The best comparison I can make is pickup basketball. You can grab ten players from different schools, put them on the same court, and they will still have a natural feel for the flow of the game.
In my opinion, this is what club lacrosse should be focused on, not high school. High schools are always going to be more tailored toward X’s and O’s and specific schemes because they are trying to compete with rivals and win playoff games. Club lacrosse, on the other hand, should be about getting players to understand the game at a higher level and, more importantly, at a universal level. This lack of development is often hidden because there are usually a few really strong players on a given team. Just like in any sport, glaring issues can easily be covered up if a few players can carry the team.
There are three major things that club programs should be teaching on both sides of the ball that would drastically improve a player’s ability to play universal lacrosse, not just a style that fits their club or high school team. The number one thing that is not taught enough is spacing. We all know the feeling of watching someone dodge downhill while their adjacent offensive outlet is either standing in the way or is completely out of position. The same issue pops up when a dodge happens from X and everyone else is standing still, not creating opportunities. Dodgers and goals cannot happen at a high rate without good spacing across the board.
This connects directly to my second point — winning dodges and creating advantages. There are far too many high school players who do not truly understand what it means to dodge. On the surface, sure, it’s an attempt to go score a goal. But many players think that is the only advantage that comes from a dodge. There is no higher-level thinking about where the slide will come from, how to move the ball forward when that slide happens, and especially what to do after the dodge is over. There are way too many six-on-six possessions where teams pass the ball around once or twice, get it to their best dodger, and make one dodge before the possession ends with either a goal or a save. That’s not universal lacrosse. Honestly, it’s not even good lacrosse.
That brings me to my last point — shot selection. Too many programs rely on one dodger who is given the green light to do whatever they want. Players are not taught how to think critically about shot selection or where their shots are coming from on the field. A lot of times, players get yelled at for taking a bad shot, but they may not have a clear understanding of what actually makes it a bad shot. Shot selection is something that is universal. Every player should be able to look at a shot and understand whether it is a shot you can live with or a shot you can’t. You can see this disconnect when a player takes a great shot that gets saved and suddenly they’re discouraged from ever taking that shot again. On the flip side, a player might take a 20-yard step-down shot, hit the net by chance, and get applauded simply because it resulted in a goal.
Overall, club lacrosse coaches have to do a much better job of developing players to play universal lacrosse. These athletes spend too much time working on their craft to walk away from their club seasons without a better understanding of how to play with just about anyone — regardless of their club or high school system.
