Volume: 3, Edition (1)
Posted: Tuesday, January 28th, 2014
Twitter: @Lawrenc70370068
“Help
them become the people they want to be
through
exceptional life experiences like lacrosse”
News: “NCCP’s New
Look”
Coaches, take a look at your NCCP, “The Locker”, account and check your
status on the “Certification” tab. As of January the format and look of the
webpages has changed. If you have completed NCCP clinics for other sports
and/or multisport events, you will need to play around with the buttons above
your status notes. Note: Some 2013 clinics are still not appearing on The
Locker, but hopefully the system will catch up soon, as every clinic was logged
and forwarded to CLA.
Certified Competitive Introduction coaches should also note that
Professional Development (PD) tallies will now be viewable on your status page
on the right side. Coaches will also be able to “Self-Report” and receive one
PD point for coaching a team (Only one point per year regardless if you coach
more than one team in a year).
News: “Coach
Workbooks”
Did you complete a coaching clinic last year? Still have an outstanding
workbook. March 31st is not far away and the deadline for completing
workbooks. Don’t forget that you will need to complete the online pre-clinic
work before you can start the online workbook. If that is the case, as soon as
you complete the clinic portion, notify the Technical Director so that your status
can be updated and then you will be able to start the online workbook.
News: “Try Lacrosse”
It is that time of the year across Canada, box lacrosse season is just
around the corner and online registration with many Nova Scotia clubs will
start in about two weeks. So don’t wait to be asked, see how you can help
promote and help run a Try Lacrosse session in your area. This is a great
opportunity for coaches to meet new players and help provide a great life
experience.
News: “Online
Lacrosse Fix”
Need your fix of competitive box lacrosse with the best players in the
world? Check out www.nll.com and go to the
“Schedule” link for live online game coverage and archived games. The new
shorter roster of runners has changed the face of the game and despite the
early leads many teams have had this year, many of the games have ended up in
one or two goal differences, even in overtime. If this year’s season is
anything like last year, look for teams who build slowly during the year and
peak for the playoffs.
The Lacrosse Network (TLN) has stepped up its coverage of NLL games from
last year and even though teams like the Mammoth have been struggling, if
you’ve missed some of John Grant Jr’s moves, you’ve missed some spectacular
goals and assists. It’s not clear yet whether CLAX, www.canadianlacrosse.com, will have any of
its games online but with the NCAA season just about to start, look for US highlights
and games on TLN.
News: “Atlantic
Coaching Conference”
It’s back for a second year, the annual Coaching with an Edge 2014
Atlantic Coaches Conference that will be held at The Westin Nova Scotian from
April 25th-26th. Early bird rates are available between
February 1st to March 31st at $150 (Full Fee $195) and
registration will be available through The Locker (Get in touch with LNSS’s
Technical Director if you do not have an NCCP number to access The Locker,
which is free and doesn’t require having completed an NCCP clinic or event. Or
do it yourself by going to www.coach.ca and linking on “My
Locker”).
This conference is not just for “high-end” coaches but for every coach
no matter what experience or competitive level. Presentations will feature
speakers like Dr. Wade Gilbert, a leading expert on coaching effectiveness and
Gardiner MacDougal, UNB’s Men’s hocky coach and 4-time CIS National Champion.
There will also be a host of experts like: Olympian Ann Dodge; exercise
physiologist Leo Thornley; strength and conditioning coach Scott Willgress;
Sport pshychologist Ryan Hamilton; and many more.
Don’t forget, Certified Competitive Introduction coaches will receive Professional
Development pointsn for attending the conference, which for lacrosse requires
twenty over five years. For more conference details go to www.coachingns.com.
News: “Lacrosse World
Here”
There are some very big events south of the boarder this year like the
US Lacrosse Convention and the World (Men’s Field) Lacrosse Championships, but
in our very own backyard this coming October, the lacrosse world will be
beating a path to Saint Mary’s University.
For three days (October 2nd-4th) Saint Mary’s
University will host the Transnational Lacrosse Conference which will feature
academic papers and presentations, an Iroquois Nationals anchor game,
traditional stick making, mini-camps, an exhibitor’s section and more. This
will be a very special event that will conclude with a traditional Mi’kmaq
Feast. For more details and updates go to the new website @ www.transnationallacrosse.com.
Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”
My thoughts after attending three very full
days of coaching seminars and demonstrations at the 2014 US Lacrosse
Convention: Preparation, preparation, more preparation and testing. Now some
may say, sure, when you’re listening to the head coaches of Duke, Brown and
Notre Dame Universities, who are full-time, paid coaches, they should be well
prepared. But from my experience attending this convention over the past two years
it hasn’t made a difference at what competitive level the presenting coach came
from the passion, effort, thoroughness and preparation was very apparent. Any
element a coach could control, whether as part of a season planner, a specific
offensive or defensive strategy, or running tryout sessions, they prepared for.
In regards to testing, physical conditioning
is an obvious target and a key measure coaches use to gauge the effectiveness
of conditioning programs, of individual player development and are a valuable tool
within the tryout process. As mentioned in last month’s newsletter regarding
testing recovery strategies, I would highly recommend coaches participate in
the Competitive Development modules that can be found on The Locker, which are
open to any coach of any level.
Last month I attended a “Developing Athletic
Abilities” module which reviewed the energy systems that fuel an athlete’s key physical
and motor abilities: Aerobic stamina, flexibility, speed (endurance and
strength), strength, agility, balance and coordination. By their “nature” track
and field events are always measuring (Time or Distance) performance, but what
do we measure? If you attend Leo Thornley’s seminar at
the Atlantic Coaching Conference, you will likely here him stress the
usefulness of testing and more testing to monitor short and long-term gains,
whether they be lacrosse skills or athletic abilities. To view dates of the
Comp Dev clinics, go to the “Calendar” link on your The Locker account.
Column: “Tips from the Crease”
Here’s a game younger players may like and it should
help them with one and two-handed cradling. “Chicken Tag”: All you need is a
bunch of rubber chickens, or similar soft objects, that players can throw at
each other without hurting one another. The idea is that those who are trying
to tag their fellow players with the chicken must cradle a ball at the same time.
“Taggers” will likely use their dominant hand to throw with and their weaker
hand for cradling. For those trying not to be tagged, they will likely mix up
their hand positions and spin and dodge to avoid the flying chickens (They
should be cradling a ball and if you have enough, try two balls per stick).
Depending on the number of players, make the
playing area of appropriate size, then if you want to make things more
challenging, reduce the size of the playing area. To increase the pace of
dodging and hand switching, require the taggers to hit the stick rather than
the body of their opponents. All-in-all, this game should help players work on
observing and predicting where free safe space is available, develop cradling
skills to the point where they don’t think about the skill and taggers
shouldn’t be stuck for long periods with the chicken.
News: “Next Month”
Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s
website newslider and calendar.
- Comp Dev Leading Drug-free Sport, February 21st
- Comp Dev Managing Conflict, Febrary 22nd
- Senior & Masters Winter Lacrosse, Facebook
- Provincial Head Coach Meeting, February 4th, Sport NS, 7-9pm
“Players should expect the best - We can
deliver”
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