Cradling Drills
Source:
Coach Rachel - Crossroads Lacrosse
@laxcoachrach
Practice drills to get comfortable with cradling and to help put the technical pieces together. Great for beginners!
Drill Description:
A series of drills that runs through all technical aspects of cradling, in isolation
1) Top hand low cradle- notice I use my wrist AND my shoulder to move the stick and ball in the crescent shape
2) Top hand curl- relies on wrist and BICEP
3) Slow crescent moons- shoulder to shoulder, make sure you can see the ball the whole time!
4) 2 hand curl to rest- make a FULL loop with the ball. This will exaggerate the wrist motion
5) Face to shoulder cradle small- think about having a parrot on your shoulder, take her off and say hi, place her back! Use your whole arm to help.
6) Fast feet, slow hands- this is harder than it looks! But this is a key breakthrough in lax level. Like patting your head while rubbing your belly (same brain power needed!)
7) Ladders with slow hands- pick any footwork drills here!
8) Box cradling- focused on cradling while changing direction. Try to keep your ball always facing you!
Bonus: “walk the dog” flat and flipped!
Variations
Skills Practiced:
Cradling
Changing hands