NS Coach Newsletter Vol 2(4) May, 2013

Volume: 2 Edition (4)

Posted: Monday, May 27^th, 2013

“If we can make things better, how cool is that!”

News: “Goalies United Again!”

A series of goalie clinics are now being run at Shannon Park Arena for new and returning goalies from 5pm-6pm every Sunday: June 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th & 23^rd and July 7^th. Cost is $10 per session or $35 for the five remaining clinics. Coaches, do feel free to show up and gain some tips from our very impressive clinicians. Also, sharp shooters are always needed to test the goalies, just get in touch with the Technical Director. Strong goalies and coaches attract players.

News: “Second Round of NCCP Box Coaching Clinics”

At this time, Community Development and Competitive Introduction box coaching clinics will be held at East Dartmouth Community Centre, Dartmouth. Both courses will run a classroom session on Friday, June 14^th from 6pm-10pm and a gym session on Saturday, June 15^th, from 9am-3-pm. Coaches should bring a computer to access WIFI and CLA online workbook.

News: “Coaching with an Edge”

The Atlantic Coaching Conference held last month was a huge success and very informative. A key take-home message from keynote speaker, Dr. Stephen Norris, was to put our expectations in check regarding the “age-group” players we work with. Dr. Norris used car steering wheels to demonstrate the gap between our “age-group” players to true elite, world class athletes: His examples ranged from cruise, gear and audio controls to $30,000 Formula 1 WIFI interfaces with 26 dials, buttons and switches. Dr. Norris also touched upon the Long Term Athlete Development program, the benefit of multiple sports at a young age and gave his two best book recommendations for coaches: Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s “Leadership” and Robert Sutton’s, “The No Asshole Rule”.

News: “Milk in May”

The annual spring Milk Sports Fair was held in Berwick this year from May 1^st to 3^rd and what a spectacular new hockey facility to hold it in. Thanks to coaches Clark Oliver and Bruce McCullogh hundreds of students got to enjoy a few moments shooting at portable box nets and test their skills. The timing of the Milk Fair was just right for the Valley Thunder to hold a Free Try Lacrosse session at the arena on the last day. Over this month the Valley Thunder and Digby Admirals will face-off against each other at two Jamborees.

News “School Field Lacrosse Graduates First Year Class”

Eight high schools teams competed in two divisions over the last month-and-a-half crowning D1 Champions, CEC Cougars and lining up North Nova against Pictou Academy for their D2 Championship game. The two divisions can boast graduating a significant number of new lacrosse players, guys and gals, as well as doubling the number of certified field officials.

A big hand has to go out to Brendon Smithson for organizing the program over the past two years and the coaches and teachers who volunteered their time. Look for even more schools to participate next year, perhaps even a junior high division.

Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”

Finally, after two years working as the Technical Director I have had a chance to sit down and observe MMLL players in action during the first three weeks of league play. With iPhone in hand and my Dartfish EasyTag app set up to record passes, catches, shots and goals, it’s been an eye opener.

To give you a bit of background, I asked CLA directors a while back for any data they’ve collected over the years during National team tryouts regarding “measurables”: Game-like stats regarding key skills that would help players identify strengths and weaknesses, or be key indicators of what the country’s best players can achieve. Unfortunately, lacrosse doesn’t have any at the National level, so I looked elsewhere.

Pulling out a stack of peewee and bantam box National DVDs, I sat down and started recording passes, catches, shots on net and goals from the first period of about a half dozen Team Ontario games and the resulting numbers where quite interesting. Ontario peewee teams during four games racked up a first period catching rate of 82-94% after 61-92 passes and 17-24 shots on net. Ontario bantam teams during four games racked up a first period catching rate of 88-96% after 68-103 passes and 15-32 shots on net.

Not only where Team Ontario’s numbers impressive, so was the lack of stress passers and catchers where under because of their constant motion during offensive play. There weren’t a lot of heroic passes or catches, just easy “flip” passes to players constantly cycling through low, or crease, gives-and-goes.

Back to our players, I had a chance to watch some novice and select games, but I’ll be the first to admit that my stats don’t statistically represent the groups I watched, just a snap-shot of early season play. After recording three novice games, catch rates after three periods ranged from 20-30% (there was one @ 9%) after 22-58 passes and 20-54 shots on net. What surprised me was the total number of catches, 5-18, after three periods.

In regards to our minor select teams after observing one game each (Totals from three periods of play): Peewee catch rate 62-65% after 75-76 passes and 33-44 shots on net; bantam catch rate 70-74% after 89-107 passes and 42-43 shots on net; and, midget catch rate 61-73% after 100-112 passes and 44-60 shots on net.

From the Team Ontario game footage, it’s clear that catching and offensive success is not mutually exclusive: Higher catch rates create more effective motion offense and more motion offense creates more passing-catching opportunities. And at the elite level, the Formula 1 steering wheels of box lacrosse, the NLL (Referring to “Coaching with an Edge” above): In one period at this year’s NLL Championship game the catch rate was 91-94% after 65-88 passes and 18-20 shots on net.

News: “Provincial Program”

Provincial box coaches have been working hard over the last month to select their rosters and at this time, all minor teams are now set. Major box teams are still in development as are the U16 and U19 field teams, which must juggle MMLL and ECJLL schedules. With the pending box Competitive Introduction clinic, June 14^th-15^th, Head Coaches are also working on Assistant Coach staff rosters.

News: “April Coaching Clinics”

Congratulations to Greg Nussey, Matt Kent, Jordan Coyle, Scott Bonn, Kerwin Hynes, Ryan Morris, Daniel Buchanan, Chad Mombourquette, Chris Morrison, Chris Musial and Mark Falkenham for completing the Box Community Development clinic. Congratulations also to Nick Horne, Brandon Newton, Chris Clarke, Todd Umlah, Jon Goguen, Mitch Hannigan, Glen Holmes, Lou Christian and Sean Carrigan for completing the Box Competitive Introduction clinic.

Column: “Tips from the Crease”

“Stats to Play With”

Stats can help develop and monitor your coaching efforts. Here’s a few you might want to have a parent and/or assistant coach record:

• ·         Passes (Total for both teams per period)
• ·         Catches (Not including pass from goalie or bounce passes)
• ·         Shots on net (Whether they score, hit the goalie or miss the net)
• ·         Power Plays (Can pad pass-catch stats, you might want to separate from 5v5 play)
• ·         Loose ball pick-ups (Ball control wins games)
• ·         Number of picks and rolls

Observations you might want to make:

• ·         Are multiple pass-catch sequences occurring or pass, catch and shot on net?
• ·         Are gives-and-goes being used for transition or a single player running up the floor?

Video footage goes a long way.

• ·         Allows you to show your players what they’re doing
• ·         Lest you go back and answer more questions
• ·         Camera should follow the ball’s path
• ·         Try and keep most of the players in the field of view
• ·         Note whether players squeeze the defense during power plays by whether the camera can be zoomed in, but still keep all the players in the field of view

If you have any tips you’d like to share, email them to lacrossetechdirector@sportnovascotia.ca

News: “Next Month”

Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider and calendar.

•  NCCP Box Competitive Introduction Clinic, March 14^th-15^th
•  NCCP Box Community Development Clinic, March 14^th-15^th
• Lobster Trap Tournament, June 27^th-30^th
• MMLL Tyke Jamboree

“Players should expect the best - We can deliver”

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NS Coach Newsletter Vol 2(2) February, 2013

Volume: 2 Edition (2)

Posted: Monday, February 25^th, 2013

“If we can make things better, how cool is that!”

News: “Catch the Early Bird”

We are two weeks away from the Early Bird deadline, March 8^th, to register for the 2013 Atlantic Coaches Conference, Halifax, April 26^th-27^th (Friday & Saturday). Leading edge topics will include how to build a world class program, measuring performance, mental imagery & visualization, coaching female athletes, developing your coaching philosophy and much more. The full schedule of events and registration can be found at the following link:

https://sportnovascotia.ca/snsreg/PublicRegistration/Register.aspx?id=105

This is a very special event that`s going to inspire you and provide networking opportunities to elite coaching educators, which you can apply to all your coaching duties, lacrosse and beyond.

News: “Nothing Mellow with the Mellotones”

A great time was had by all who attended the Founders’fundraiser Saturday, February 16^th, with the Mellotones. The room was packed at the World Trade and Convention Centre, just like the dance floor. Congratulations to all those who volunteered and a big hand to Angela and Tony Quinn for their stellar effort. Hopefully this will become an annual event, it surely set the bar high for all fundraisers.

News: “Free Try Lacrosse”

St. Margaret’s Bay Storm kicked off the Club Try Lacrosse season with an All Girls event February 14^th. Do let potential players, aged 7-12, know about sessions in your area and the Super Session at Exhibition Park, Tuesday, March 12^th. Check www.trylacrosse.ca (“Dates” link) for your club’s dates, or if it’s not set, get in touch with you club/program President and offer to help out and get things rolling.

Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”

Over the past month I’ve had a few lines jump out at me at the meetings I’ve attended and I thought I’d share them.

A line that really struck home at last weekend’s Provincial lacrosse Head Coaches’ meeting was, “how do we get to the next level?” It doesn’t seem like a monstrous overachieving statement, but if you dig just a bit under the surface, you’ll soon realize how broad reaching a statement it really is: And after identifying a number of issues that would meet National standards, the second major statement emerged that struck a nerve. At this time we may not be able to match the offensive power of the Iroquois or team Ontario, but we should be able to set a fitness standard that is second to none.

I really enjoy my meetings with all the provincial and technical coaches from each athletic discipline, some of whom work with Olympic athletes, because their idea of moving to the next level can come down to millimeters or one-hundredths-of-a-second. When asked to develop a Gold Medal Profile, hard facts and stats play a crucial role. Test, retest and be consistent from year-to-year is a theme I’ve heard often. As part of the profile, coaches were also asked what their most successful athlete was capable of doing and could they communicate it in quantitative and qualitative terms?

During Cindy Tye’s Podium Performance presentation, “Men coaching Women”, the soccer Hall of Famer had some great take-home lines regarding coaching female teams, let them know “I saw you here today and care” and “I don’t do drama, so don’t bring it here”. On the subject of raising a team to the next level, Cindy’s motto is simple, positive and straight forward, “we will be better”.

Reaching the next level can involve very sophisticated technology and data crunching, but it’s been said that the coach of the Canadian Women’s National soccer team credited their Olympic success on a multitude of continuous small wins and gains. “We will be better”, seems to fit right in and the trick is to find every last one of those little gems within every element of your game and why I’m looking forward to a lot more stand-out lines at this April’s Atlantic Coaching Conference.

News: “First Round of Coaching Clinics”

The first box coaching clinics have been set for April 5^th-6^th and 12^th-13^th for Competitive Introduction and Community Development, respectively. The clinics will be held in Halifax, but the locations and times have not been set. Check LNSS’s website calendar for updates.

News: “Junior and Senior High School Lacrosse”

Most of this year’s Junior and Senior High schools that have created a men’s field lacrosse club team will be hitting the gyms and practicing for the up-coming season. This is a great first, as there will be two tiers for Seniors based on experience and a single division for Juniors. Brendon Smithson is leading the charge, but is still looking for some available coaches so if you’re interested do get in touch.

News: “Provincial Program”

Very pleased to announce that Brendon Smithson and Neil Ingraham are the Head Coaches for the Men’s Field U16 and U19 teams, respectively. LNSS is also pleased to have Patti Brown on board as the Provincial Coordinator.

Column: “Tips from the Crease”

“Lacrosse Crossfit”

Here’s an interesting link regarding Crossfit training for female lacrosse players. Some exercises have YouTube links with instructions on how to perform the drill. Keep checking ILWomen.com for more workouts from Marino as well as updates about the crossfit box she is planning to open.

http://insidelacrosse.com/ilwomen/news/2013/01/30/fitness-forum-marinos-crossfit-workout-time

“Soccer to Lacrosse”

We are always looking for new drills and this came from a soccer drill being run with grade three aged students. The basic game is 2-on-2 with fast transition. Two teams are created in which the first two players at the bench area closest to the goal-end of the line go onto the floor. The pair go up the floor and are challenged by man-2-man defense with no contact. There is no goalie and the goal can be of any size depending on the skill level. The goal could be a bench or a taped off area using painter’s green/blue tape.

The key, the team with the ball takes a shot and a Fast Break results for the defenders if a goal is scored, or they pick up the ball after a missed shot on goal. The shooting team must then run back to their bench area to release the next two players closest to their net. The shooting pair must both be past half in order for a goal to count. For larger gyms you could go 3v3 or 4v4, just figure out a way to make sure everyone gets a touch of the ball. Another soccer drill that could be adapted for lacrosse can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_YqRh3cVt4 .

If you have any tips you’d like to share, email them to lacrossetechdirector@sportnovascotia.ca

Column: “Alumni News”

Excitement continues to grow for the Lobster Trap’s 40^th anniversary. At this time several teams from Ontario are planning to come, one as far away as Sudbury. If you are interested in helping with the tournament, do get in touch (lacrossetechdirector@sportnovascotia.ca). Help is needed with the tailgate party, game operations, promotion and other tasks.

News: “Next Month”

Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider and calendar.

• Super Free Try Lacrosse at Exhibition Park, March 12^th
• Contact your club and see how you can help with up-coming Try Lacrosse sessions.
• More Exhibition Park, Halifax, lacrosse activity: Provincial ID Camps, Masters, Seniors and Privateers.

“Players should expect the best - We can deliver”

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LTAD & Minor Lacrosse

Core - Division & Ages

NS Coach Newsletter Vol 2(1) January, 2013

Volume: 2 Edition (1)

Posted: Monday, January 28^th, 2013

“If we can make things better, how cool is that!”

News: “Special! – Coaching with an Edge”

You are invited to the 2013 Atlantic Coaches Conference to be held in Halifax this April 26^th-27^th (Friday & Saturday). Leading edge topics will include how to build a world class program, measuring performance, mental imagery & visualization, coaching female athletes, developing your coaching philosophy and much more. The full schedule of events and registration can be found at the following link:

https://sportnovascotia.ca/snsreg/PublicRegistration/Register.aspx?id=105

Early Bird rate is $135 per coach before March 8^th, after which it`s $160. This is a very special event that`s going to inspire you and provide networking opportunities to elite coaching educators, which you can apply to all your coaching duties, lacrosse and beyond.

News: “Get Rock’n with the Mellotones”

Don’t forget, the Founders Cup team has booked the World Trade Centre Grand Ballroom for a "Spring Break Dance" with the Mellotones, Saturday, Feb. 16^th (Age 19 +). Tickets are printed and on sale for $25. The evening is being hosted by Tony Quinn, and there are great door prizes, balloon pop, raffles, 50/50 draw, a fun photo booth courtesy of Laugh It Up, and three hours of dancing with the fabulous Mellotones from 9-12pm. Doors open at 8:00pm.

Tell as many people as you can to make this a great success. If you want to book a table for 10, call Tony Quinn at 240-1284, or email tonyquinnmusic@gmail.com to reserve it for your group.  Tickets can be purchased at the Midtown Tavern, Halifax, or the Ticket Atlantic/Superstore. Come out and have a great time and show your support to these fine athletes.

News: “Box season is just around the corner”

Metro Minor Lacrosse League Clubs are now setting up their Free Try Lacrosse sessions for the up-coming box season. Do get involved in your club`s event to either help with check-in, gearing up the players, floor activities or the parent meeting. This is the BEST tool clubs and programs have to build their player base and you can scout the new talent. Check www.trylacrosse.ca (“Dates” link) for your club’s dates, or if it’s not set, get in touch with you club/program President and offer to help out and get things rolling.

Technical Director’s “My 2 Cents”

As a coach, it has been eye-opening going through the details within Lacrosse For Life’s LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development) objectives. As a result, I’ve created diagrams for all the minor age divisions (posted on LNSS’s website) summarizing the key points with the hope that the diagrams can be used to help plan practices and cover all key elements over the season (Feedback greatly appreciated).

Lacrosse coaches should also take a look at baseball’s LTAD guidelines and programs like “Rally Caps”. Rally Caps is a reward program for players achieving specific skills and game knowledge. Anyone interested in developing a similar rewards program for lacrosse, do get in touch. Such a program not only rewards players for their efforts, but lets players and coaches know how they stand across the province.

Another interesting point from baseball’s LTAD program is the relative age of players on Provincial teams versus the pros. (See attached) Date of birth (DOB) of a player can influence their chances of being selected to a select/rep team or Provincial roster. Interesting though how within baseball, DOB doesn’t influence professional rosters and I’ve attached a figure showing 2013 DOBs for 8 of 9 NLL teams. No data at this time for NS provincial lacrosse teams, but would assume follow similar lines. Would be nice to see better equity, any thoughts?

News: “Great First Steps!”

At this year’s US Lacrosse National Conference, AIL (American Indoor Lacrosse Association) was promoting its First Steps program, which is targeted at children ages 2-6. The program works on basic body movements like those set out in LTAD’s FUNdamentals. Compared to mini-tyke programs now being offered by MMLL clubs, the First Steps program uses: mini goalie sticks, to help ease picking up balls; balls of several sizes and materials; and, work-shop goggles. More information can be found at http://www.ailacrosse.net/page/show/538114-first-steps-early-childhood-physical-literacy-program , which includes a short slide show. Notice during the slide show that sticks have two coloured pieces of tape (red and green) to help players with hand positioning.

Column: “Across Nova Scotia”

This is going to be another busy spring with lacrosse programs being planned right now for Middleton (coed field: after school, 1-day/week, 8-week program, April-May), Tatamagouche-River John-Wallace area (box program similar to Miners’ program), Truro-New Glasgow (summer Masters lacrosse), East Hants (summer box program) and Cape Breton (early summer box program). Box programs, Kentville, Valley Thunder and Miners lacrosse, are also gearing up again and starting to plan their Try Lacrosse sessions. There is also the Junior and Senior high school field lacrosse program scheduled for this spring between Truro and Halifax. If you reside in any of these areas or know someone who might want to get involved, do forward contact details to LNSS.

Column: “Tips from the Crease”

“Closing The Gap”

Johnny Mouradian, GM and Head Coach of the Philadelphia Wings, presented a great tip to attendees at this year’s US Lacrosse Nationals Conference called, “Closing the Gap”. Closing the gaps will add power and accuracy to a shot by closing the distance between the upper forearm and the bottom hand. Johnny makes reference to Closing the Gap in this YouTube video, http://youtu.be/g7buky4O9hU

“Bonus MPH per Foot”

David Huntley, (U19 Team Canada) who also presented at the US convention, raised a very interesting fact regarding adding “effective” MPH to a shot by stepping towards the goalie. A shooter can add 3 miles per hour (MPH) to their shot for every one-foot they step towards the goalie. Stepping forward doesn’t actually increase shot speed, but in relation to goalie reaction time, it effectively adds speed. So, if a player (typically in field lacrosse) is running across the field and takes a shot at net on the run, if he steps towards the goalie reducing the distance between himself and the net by three feet, the shot appears to increase by 9 MPH –A very neat trick!

If you have any tips you’d like to share, email them to lacrossetechdirector@sportnovascotia.ca

Column: “Alumni News”

Excitement is starting to grow as 40^th anniversary plans start ramping up for this year’s Lobster Trap tournament, July long-weekend. A number of players of older vintage have already come out of the woodwork, so do spread the word, as a display of articles, pictures and other memorabilia is planned along with lobster tail-gate party and more.

 

News: “Next Month”

Keep track of up-coming events on LNSS’s website newslider and calendar.

• Contact your club and see how you can help with up-coming Try Lacrosse sessions.
• More Exhibition Park, Halifax, lacrosse activity: Provincial ID Camps, Masters, Seniors and Privateers.

“Players should expect the best - We can deliver”

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