There are many ways a coach can be effective in directing and controlling their camp. Running a camp or practice with 20 plus young student-athletes who have their own ideas on how lacrosse is played and have their own agendas on how they themselves will play can easily take even the most skilled coaches camp from running smoothly to a stand still in seconds. Here are some quick tips I have learned from running a few BRIDGE camps that should help keep your camps running smoothly.
Tip 1: AIR HORN/WHISTLE
The volume and controlled chaos it can create may be just what you need to bring you camp/practice back together. An air horn or whistle causes all the student-athletes who are off doing their own thing or not really focusing on the drills or games at hand to be distracted by a very loud noise, they will try to figure out where the noise came from and that opportunity can be used perfectly to regain control and bring the student-athletes back together.
Tip 2: Pre-Planning is Key
Walking into a camp with a game plan and a structure that can be implemented immediately is great because it shows your volunteers you know what you’re doing and will also speed up the process of setting up and getting the players to their drills faster and in more control.
Tip 3: Let Volunteers Modify the Drills
Letting volunteers have some creative control on your drills can lead to drills that are more fun and sometimes even more educational for the student-athletes. Some of the volunteers I have worked with play for some of the best high school and club teams not only in Texas but in the country. Combined, they have thousands of times more lacrosse knowledge than I do and all of them have their own technique in teaching this knowledge. If given a little creative licensing they can take an average drill to something car interesting and enriching than the original drill. However, make sure that the focus of the drill stays on the original topic, don’t let a shooting drill get turned into a shooting/ground ball drill and then progress into a full game, keep an eye out and make sure the focus stays on what your idea is.
Tip 4: Demonstrate
Many of the student-athletes who come to the camps to learn to play lacrosse have never spent time studying or playing lacrosse and will have no clue what you are telling them to do in a drill if you just tell them using lacrosse vocab. The players really need a full visual demonstration on every aspect of the game by the coaches and volunteers to fully understand the game. These 4 tips should help your camp run smoother and allow the players who are there to learn the sport of lacrosse and begin their love of it get the most out of their time at the camps.
Former Intern and Current Leadership Board Member | Drew Carey
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