Grade Level Expectations 3/4

At this age, catching and throwing is a very hard task to accomplish. Focus on the fundamentals you can control. Spend time on stick work drills but make it a point to have the boys work on wall ball outside of practice. Have wall ball tests to make sure the boys can accomplish certain things in a certain amount of time. This should be done at all ages.

Emphasize ground balls, cradling technique, and dodging. On defense understand the principles of how to guard someone; giving ground and approaches. Team defense will be hard to teach.

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GROUND BALL TECHNIQUE

  • Both Butts Low
  • Importance of Quick Cradle on Ground Ball
  • Head and body down, bring it to your ear, make a phone call

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CATCHING AND THROWING

  • Importance of proper fundamental throwing - compare to baseball pitcher, opposite foot forward, hands away from your body, put keys in pocket
  • Overemphasize rotating when throwing! Turn your torso
  • Soft hands! No death grip. All fingers!
  • Quick Stick right and left - (start early with both hands!!!!!)
  • 10 yard throws - Both hands
  • Canadian left and right
  • Over the shoulder

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CATCHING

  • Very soft hands, top hand never on plastic, catch with fingertips. Pressure should be light enough to knock stick back to passing position

ROLLING AWAY FROM PRESSURE

  • Importance of moving away from pressure and punching hands out away from defender

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DODGING

  • Importance of dodging full speed on all dodges
  • First step at defender
  • Changing speed and direction
  • Dodge 5-10ft away depending on person guarding you to create space
  • Dodges to master (Importance of footwork in dodging:
    • Bull dodge - Compare to an in and out dribble in basketball - player explodes off of opposite foot to explode back to their stick side
    • Split Dodge - Compare to crossover in basketball - player explodes off of same foot the stick is in to change direction - hands are changed late to make sure player shields stick with body

CRADLING

  • Proper technique
  • Functional to getting the ball out of your stick faster - vertical by your ear

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DEFENSE

  • Giving ground
  • Proper approaches - banana approach
  • Poke check
  • “pop” and what the importance is
  • Controlling offensive player - you control where he goes
  • Help defense - knowing how to clog up lanes of other dodgers, “showing”
  • Zone help

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OFFENSE

  • Clearing through - When someone is dodging, know to get out of the way if you’re adjacent
  • Coming to the ball!!! Easiest pass is two players running toward each other, no flat feet!!!! CANNOT STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS
  • Full understanding of 3v2
  • Partial understanding of 4v3

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