Straight Shooters: New Ways to Conquer Cradling?
by Lindsey Biles | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online | Biles Archive
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Jessica Taylor, Columbus,
Ohio:
I coach middle school, and every year we have an issue
instructing our girls on cradling. Some get the concept seamlessly,
and others find it more difficult. We teach the "open and close the
gate" technique that I was raised on. I've been trying to find
alternative ways of teaching cradling, and the only thing I can
find online are male coaches describing the gate technique as
archaic, but giving no solutions. How would you teach a girl who
has never held a stick how to cradle?
Lindsey Biles:
Even though it has been around for a while, I think that the
“open the door, close the door” method is still the
best for teaching the cradling concept for the first time. Whatever
the terminology, it’s all about teaching the same motion.
Some players will naturally pick it up more easily, and
that’s OK. You just have to emphasize the importance of it
and find as many ways as possible to incorporate cradling into your
practice drills.
I would start off, much as you’ve probably done, by teaching
your players how to hold the stick upright, placing their dominant
hand around six inches from the top and their non-dominant hand at
the bottom. (Depending on how long their sticks are, this may
create too much distance between their hands and be too awkward --
you may need to show them how to cut their sticks so that they can
better manage them.) Have each player start with her stick upright
in a vertical position with the stick head by her dominant ear in
front of her dominant shoulder.
Then have her “open the door/close the door” as you
mentioned, bringing her entire stick in a semicircle from her
dominant ear to her non-dominant ear and back, using her arms and
wrists to keep the ball facing her face throughout the entire
motion.
The key is to help your players understand the concept
-- that the semicircular motion is important,
because it creates centrifugal force that keeps the ball in the
stick head.
This full motion from one ear to the other can be difficult to do
while running and playing, so once the concept is understood,
it’s easier to use an abbreviated version. I would still have
each player begin with the stick by her dominant ear, in front of
her shoulder, but would instead have each end the cradle motion
halfway in front of her face rather than executing a full 180
degree semicircle. Make sure the stick is kept upright.
To practice, build cradling into as many drills as
possible. One of the best involves setting up cones
in a line with about 6-10 feet in between each cone. Players cradle
through the cones in an “S” motion. Each cone
represents a “defender,” so when a player passes by a
cone, she has to pull her stick and her cradle to the side of her
body opposite the cone to protect the ball while still maintaining
good form. This will help all of your players to become more fluid
and to feel more comfortable cradling on both sides of their body.
Throughout all of your drills, it is important to demonstrate
how critical cradling is to the game -- show them what a good
cradle looks like and how it is used to protect the ball and to
enhance ball handling when in motion.
If they understand the importance, hopefully they will practice!
ABOUT STRAIGHT SHOOTERS
We get questions all the time to which, frankly, we don't have
the answers. Luckily, we've got four pros on hand.
Matt Zash, a former Duke All-American,
currently plays for the NLL's New York Titans and MLL's Long Island
Lizards. Lindsey Biles a former Princeton
All-American and Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, ranks second all-time
among scorers there. Rashad Devoe is a
lacrosse-specific strength and conditioning coach that has worked
with some of the best players in the country for over 13 years.
Nathaniel Badder is the officials training and
education manager for US Lacrosse.
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