This lacrosse wall ball routine is appropriate for younger and beginner players. When introducing new players to wall ball it has been my observation that almost 100% of the time the player throws the ball at the wall in such a way that it comes back twice as fast headed right between their eyes; even after I have demonstrated just softly lobbing it up and letting it fall right back down. While I may be a crummy teacher, what any coach or parent needs to understand is that what seems simple and straightforward to an adult is maybe not to an 8-10 year old trying a new skill.
This is a good little routine for the younger kids and first timers at any age with a video to support the following explanation.
Sequence 1 – Throw the ball at the ground a foot or two before the wall, which will create a slow arcing rebound that can be caught overhand or underhand (depending on trajectory). This will help with hand eye coordination and confidence since no one will get a line drive to the face.
Sequence 2 – Throw the ball at the wall a foot or two above the ground, which will create a faster rebound, but still should be easy to catch.
Sequence 3 – After building a little confidence and timing this is just a basic “wall ball” – throw and catch nice and easy so it falls right back into the pocket.
Sequence 4 – Add a little stick handling. Without getting too complex or moving on to non-dominant hand we do what some people call “Canadian”. Throw and catch right, roll the stick over to a back hand (but still right hand grip) and toss, catch right and repeat (or vice versa).
Players can do this in whatever sets or repetitions they choose, but it is designed to be done in order.
Once a player gets the hang of this one, here is a more advanced wall ball routine.
