5 Essential Tips for Mastering a Faster Lacrosse Shot: Boost Your Game Today

How can you hold the lacrosse stick for maximum shot speed. What role does core strength play in improving lacrosse shots. Why is the correct hand placement crucial for powerful shots. How does the release point affect ball speed in lacrosse. Can momentum significantly enhance your lacrosse shooting technique.

The Art of Grip: Unlocking Speed with a Looser Hold

Contrary to intuition, a relaxed grip on your lacrosse stick can be the key to unleashing faster, more powerful shots. Many players instinctively tighten their grip, believing it will generate more force. However, this approach often leads to rigid movements and reduced shot velocity.

To optimize your shot speed:

• Consciously loosen your grip on the stick
• Pay attention to your wrist joints, keeping them relaxed
• Practice shooting drills with a looser hold to build muscle memory

By allowing for more fluid motion in your wrists and arms, you’ll find that your shots naturally gain speed and power. This technique may feel counterintuitive at first, but with consistent practice, it will become second nature and significantly improve your shooting performance.

Core Strength: The Foundation of Powerful Lacrosse Shots

While arm strength is important, the true power behind a fast lacrosse shot originates from your core. This includes your abdominal muscles, back, and legs. Developing a strong core provides the stable foundation necessary for generating explosive power in your shots.

Effective Core-Strengthening Exercises for Lacrosse Players

1. Planks: Start with 20-second holds, gradually increasing duration
2. Russian twists: Enhance rotational core strength
3. Medicine ball throws: Mimic the shooting motion while engaging the core
4. Cable rotations: Build twisting power for improved shot speed

Incorporate these exercises into your regular training routine to see noticeable improvements in your shot power and overall lacrosse performance. Remember, a strong core not only enhances your shooting ability but also improves your balance and agility on the field.

Perfecting Hand Placement: The Key to Shot Accuracy and Power

Proper hand positioning on the lacrosse stick is crucial for maximizing both the power and accuracy of your shots. Many players struggle with what coaches often refer to as “alligator arms” – keeping the arms too close to the body during the shooting motion.

To optimize your hand placement:

• Extend your arms away from your body as much as comfortably possible
• Practice this extended position to build familiarity and comfort
• Focus on maintaining this arm extension throughout your shooting motion

While this posture may feel awkward initially, consistent practice will lead to improved shot mechanics. The extended arm position allows for a fuller range of motion, translating to increased power and better control over shot direction.

Mastering the Release Point: Timing for Maximum Ball Speed

Understanding and utilizing the optimal release point is essential for maximizing ball speed in lacrosse shots. Think of the stick’s position in relation to a clock face to visualize the ideal release point.

Understanding Release Point Positions

• 12 o’clock: Straight overhand shot
• 6 o’clock: Straight underhand low-to-low shot
• 1:30 (recommended): Three-quarters release for optimal power and accuracy

Experts suggest aiming for the three-quarters release position, approximately 1:30 on an imaginary clock face. This release point offers the best balance between shot power and accuracy. Practice releasing the ball at this point consistently to develop muscle memory and improve your overall shooting effectiveness.

Harnessing Momentum: The Dynamic Approach to Shooting

Unlike sports such as basketball where stationary shots are common, lacrosse requires players to utilize body momentum for powerful shots. Learning to shoot effectively while in motion is a crucial skill for any lacrosse player looking to improve their game.

Tips for Shooting with Momentum

1. Practice turning towards the goal from a back-facing position
2. Incorporate running shots into your training regimen
3. Focus on maintaining accuracy while shooting on the move
4. Gradually increase your running speed during shooting drills

By mastering the art of shooting while in motion, you’ll not only increase the power behind your shots but also become a more versatile and unpredictable offensive player. This skill is particularly valuable in game situations where quick, powerful shots can catch defenders off guard.

Analyzing Your Technique: The Power of Self-Assessment

One of the most effective ways to improve your lacrosse shooting technique is through careful self-analysis. By recording your practice sessions, you can gain valuable insights into your form, identify areas for improvement, and track your progress over time.

How to Effectively Analyze Your Shooting Technique

• Set up a camera at an angle that captures your full shooting motion
• Record multiple shots from different positions on the field
• Review footage, paying attention to stick handling, hand position, and body movement
• Compare your technique to that of professional players or instructional videos
• Make note of specific areas that need improvement and develop targeted drills

Regular video analysis allows you to spot subtle flaws in your technique that might be difficult to notice in real-time. This practice can be particularly beneficial when working on new skills or trying to break bad habits in your shooting form.

Advanced Shooting Drills: Pushing Your Limits for Faster Shots

To truly excel in lacrosse shooting, it’s essential to challenge yourself with advanced drills that push the boundaries of your current abilities. These drills are designed to improve various aspects of your shooting technique, from power and accuracy to versatility and quick decision-making.

Challenging Drills to Enhance Your Shooting Skills

1. Long-distance accuracy: Practice shooting from increasingly greater distances to build power and precision
2. Rapid-fire drills: Work on quick stick skills by attempting multiple shots in rapid succession
3. Off-hand shooting: Develop ambidexterity by practicing with your non-dominant hand
4. Moving target practice: Have a teammate hold a target that moves unpredictably to improve accuracy under pressure
5. Time-pressure drills: Set a timer and try to score as many goals as possible within a short time frame

Incorporating these advanced drills into your regular practice routine will help you develop a more comprehensive shooting skill set. Remember to start at a comfortable level and gradually increase the difficulty as your skills improve.

The Role of Equipment in Shot Speed: Choosing the Right Gear

While technique is paramount, the equipment you use can also play a significant role in your ability to generate faster lacrosse shots. Selecting the right stick, head, and stringing can make a noticeable difference in your shooting performance.

Key Equipment Considerations for Faster Shots

• Stick length: Longer sticks can generate more leverage for powerful shots
• Head design: Wider heads often allow for quicker release, while narrower heads can increase shot accuracy
• Pocket depth: A deeper pocket can hold the ball longer, potentially increasing shot power
• Stringing pattern: Experiment with different stringing styles to find one that complements your shooting technique
• Shaft material: Carbon fiber or composite shafts can offer a good balance of weight and stiffness for powerful shots

It’s important to note that while equipment can enhance your shooting capabilities, it should never be seen as a substitute for proper technique and regular practice. Experiment with different gear options to find what works best for your individual playing style and shooting preferences.

Mental Preparation: The Psychological Aspect of Fast Shooting

The mental aspect of lacrosse shooting is often overlooked but plays a crucial role in achieving faster, more accurate shots. Developing the right mindset and mental strategies can significantly enhance your shooting performance under pressure.

Mental Techniques to Improve Shooting Speed and Accuracy

1. Visualization: Regularly visualize yourself executing perfect, high-speed shots
2. Positive self-talk: Use affirmations to boost confidence in your shooting abilities
3. Breathing exercises: Practice controlled breathing to maintain composure during high-pressure shooting situations
4. Focus drills: Incorporate concentration exercises into your training to improve shot focus
5. Mindfulness: Develop awareness of your body and surroundings to make split-second shooting decisions

By incorporating these mental preparation techniques into your training regimen, you can develop a more resilient and focused approach to shooting. This mental fortitude will prove invaluable in game situations where quick, decisive shooting can make the difference between victory and defeat.

Nutrition and Recovery: Fueling Your Body for Optimal Shot Performance

While often overlooked, proper nutrition and recovery play vital roles in developing and maintaining the ability to shoot fast in lacrosse. A well-fueled and rested body is capable of generating more power and maintaining consistent performance throughout games and practice sessions.

Key Nutritional and Recovery Strategies for Lacrosse Players

• Balanced diet: Ensure adequate intake of proteins, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats
• Hydration: Maintain proper fluid balance before, during, and after training or games
• Pre-game meals: Consume easily digestible foods rich in carbohydrates 2-3 hours before playing
• Post-training recovery: Consume a mix of protein and carbohydrates within 30 minutes after intense sessions
• Adequate sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night to support muscle recovery and cognitive function
• Active recovery: Incorporate light exercise and stretching on rest days to promote blood flow and reduce muscle soreness

By paying attention to these nutritional and recovery aspects, you’ll ensure that your body is always primed for peak performance. This holistic approach to training will not only improve your shooting speed but also enhance your overall lacrosse performance and reduce the risk of injuries.

Integrating Technology: Using Modern Tools to Enhance Shot Speed

In today’s digital age, lacrosse players have access to a wide array of technological tools that can aid in developing faster and more accurate shots. Leveraging these technologies can provide valuable insights and help track progress over time.

Innovative Tech Solutions for Improving Lacrosse Shots

1. Shot speed radars: Measure and track the velocity of your shots over time
2. High-speed cameras: Analyze your shooting technique in slow motion for detailed form assessment
3. Virtual reality training: Practice shooting in simulated game scenarios
4. Wearable sensors: Track body movements and stick positioning during shots
5. Mobile apps: Access training programs and track your shooting statistics

While these technological aids can provide valuable data and training opportunities, it’s important to remember that they should complement, not replace, traditional practice methods. Use technology as a tool to enhance your understanding of your shooting technique and track your progress, but always prioritize on-field practice and real game experience.

The Importance of Consistency: Building a Regular Shooting Routine

Developing a faster lacrosse shot isn’t achieved overnight; it requires consistent, dedicated practice over time. Establishing a regular shooting routine is crucial for seeing substantial improvements in your shot speed and accuracy.

Creating an Effective Shooting Practice Routine

• Set specific goals: Define clear, measurable objectives for your shot speed and accuracy
• Schedule regular practice sessions: Aim for at least 3-4 dedicated shooting sessions per week
• Vary your drills: Include a mix of stationary shots, running shots, and game-like scenarios
• Track your progress: Keep a log of your shot speeds and accuracy rates over time
• Gradually increase difficulty: As you improve, challenge yourself with more complex shooting drills
• Seek feedback: Regularly ask coaches or experienced teammates to observe and critique your technique

Remember, consistency is key when it comes to improving your lacrosse shot. Even on days when you can’t engage in full practice sessions, try to find time for at least a few minutes of shooting practice. This consistent effort, combined with the techniques and strategies outlined in this article, will lead to noticeable improvements in your shooting speed and overall lacrosse performance.

How to Shoot Fast in Lacrosse – 5 Tips

Simple Secret to a Faster Lacrosse Shot

Contrary to popular belief, lacrosse is less about strength and a lot more about being agile. To be a master lacrosse player, you must start working on perfecting your shot which requires you to take note of various components including the rotational strength from your body, flexibility and control over the lacrosse stick. Understandably, beginners would require initial familiarity with such aspects. But intermediate and tournament players must incorporate and work on the mentioned aspects to be able to get better at the sport with each passing day.

Offensive lacrosse players must practice playing faster shots. Acing your offence shall give you an upper hand in the game and enhances your chances of bagging a win. But remember, you will have to get down to the basics of stickhandling to gradually establishing yourself to be the master player. For a faster, powerful and more agile lacrosse shot, you have to have more control over the stick, enhanced strength in your core, and balance over your posture. 

If you are wondering how to start improving your lacrosse shots the right way, this article is all you have to read and understand. Here is a compilation of 5 tips for a faster lacrosse shot, helpful for beginners and advance players alike.

Hold The Stick Loosely

It is a common tendency to tighten our grip on the lacrosse stick to be able to shoot more powerful shots. However, holding your lacrosse stick looser can help you make quicker and more powerful shots. We often tense up and get into a rigid posture but identifying the force of your grip on the lacrosse stick and adjusting your grip to hold your stick looser may help you accelerate the velocity of your shot.

Keep a check on your wrist joints and ensure that you let your wrist joints loose while gripping the stick. Practising with a loosened grip can eventually help you increase the shot speed.

Focus on the Core

Taking powerful lacrosse shots not just requires your arm strength but also the strength of your core which is inclusive of your abs, legs and back. You can talk to your gym trainer to help you get on with exercises that build your core strength. Planks are the DIY way of building core strength if you are training without weights.

There are various tutorials on how to rightly do a plank on the internet. You can refer to any of them and see if you can hold on to a plank for 20 seconds straight. Rest for the next 10 seconds and try holding another plank for 30 seconds. Try to increase the duration as you go along. Repeat 10 times.

Place Your Hands Right

Shooting powerful shots has always been about hand positions and stick grip. You can practice improving your shot by bringing your hands as far from the body as you comfortably can. The posture in itself may be discomforting at first but with continuous practice, you can improve on your hand posture. When you have your arms in close as you pass the shot, the shot is more likely to go bad. Coaches call it ‘alligator arms’ and you must avoid that to be able to take measures to correct the arm posture.

Right Release Point

Using the right release point means handling the stick from an angle that maximizes the ball speed. Maximizing ball speed with the right use of release point would mean that compare the position of your stick to hands in a clock. Therefore, the straight overhand shot would look something like 12 O’clock while the straight underhand low to low shot would look something like 6 O’clock.

Analysts recommend the practice of 3 quarters release which would be around 1.30 on the clock as the position allows you to strike a perfect balance of power and accuracy. 

Use Momentum While Shooting

Shooting the ball in lacrosse is much different from shooting the ball to the goal in other sports like basketball. In context to the latter, you can shoot the ball straight with the flip of the hand. However, in lacrosse, you must follow through as you shoot. It means that you would have to gain some momentum before you take a shot.

Ensure that your back is facing the goal and turn around to use your momentum as you shoot at the goal. You can practice shooting on the run and ensure that you can get the ball into the goal often. Focusing on improving on shooting as you run will enhance accuracy while providing you with the momentum you need to shoot the ball.

An essential part of practising any sport the right way is to identify the areas where there is some scope for improvement. It is, therefore, a good idea to film yourself as you practice. Place the camera at an angle that visibly captures you as you shoot at the goal. This will help you take note of how you handle the lacrosse stick, your hand position and agility. You can practice playing power shots by moving a few steps back. You may also change hands to have more flexibility around handling the stick.

Lacrosse is a high-intensity sport. Perfecting your sporting skills would not only require you to learn and incorporate some tricks but also incorporating disciplines like running, dodging, jumping etc. To make workouts more interesting, you can try cross country running, exercises like log jumping, hill training, tempo training and interval training. The idea is to mix high and low-intensity workouts to improve running speed and build core strength.

Regularise practising goal shots when you are practising alone. You can mark a goal for yourself and try hitting the target. Investing around 30 minutes a day on wall practice would improve accuracy and help you get better on the field.

Challenge yourself to maintain a regular streak of the routine workout and dedicate 30 minutes a day for lacrosse practice to be the master lacrosse player you so desire to be.

3 Stretches Guaranteed To Add MPH To Your Lacrosse Shot – 3Sixty Athletics

There are two major ways to improve the speed of your lacrosse shot.

1. Improve your technique.
2. Create more power.

What if I told you there was something extra you could do that would drive improvements to both technique and power therefore exponentially improving your shot? What if it was so easy you could do it anywhere, every day, either when you wake up, before practice, after practice, or before bed?

You’d be sold.

So what’s the secret? Stretching and mobility work.

Listen, I know stretching has been hammered to death by coaches and trainers. But this is not just another boring ass stretching article telling you to touch your toes so you don’t get hurt.  None of that. I promise.

I will explain the exact stretches you need to do in order to add MPH to your shot, so hear me out.

But first, let’s look at shooting technique.

As MLL MVP and lacrosse legend Paul Rabil describes in the video below, a properly executed time and room shot should include a wide stance and rotation through the torso. Remember that.  Wide Stance.  Rotation through the torso.

Team USA and Duke Head Coach John Danowski used to always tell us during shooting drills to, “get your hands back.” It’s something you’ll hear every good lacrosse coach saying at practice, during film, or in timeouts during games. Check out former Duke Blue Devil and current Chesapeake Bayhawk midfielder Myles Jones and ND midfielder Sergio Perkovic mid-shot. These two guys know what it’s like to shoot fast.

Wide Stance. Torso Rotation. Hands Back.

So, according to Paul Rabil and Coach Danowski, with support from Myles and Sergio, in order to have a high quality, fundamentally sound time and room shot, we need to use a wide base, rotate through the torso, and get our hands back. Those are four lacrosse legends all saying the same thing.  We better listen up.

Creating More Power

Now, let’s look at adding speed to our shot by improving our rate of force development.  AKA developing more POWER.

When looking for exercises to increase power that will translate to our shot, we want exercises that allow us to use our entire body as one system, in the rotational plane, at high velocity.  Two of my favorite exercises that fit this bill are rotational slams and rotational throws with the medicine ball.

So, how does stretching fit in to all this?

I’m glad you asked.

If you look closely at all of the photo’s and video’s above, whether we are talking technique or power production, they all demand a high level of flexibility at certain parts of the body.  If we don’t have the ability to enter into certain ranges of motion, we can’t possibly get the most out of our technique or power.  Even worse, our body will then enter an unsafe range of motion to compensate, leaving us at risk for injury.

You want to step into that same wide stance as Myles or Sergio? You had better have great range of motion at your inner thighs.

You want to rotate from your torso like Paul says? You’d better have mobility at your T-spine, unless you risk low back pain.

You want to get your hands back like Coach Danowski always preached? Well, you’re shoulders better be loose enough to reach back there, other wise you’ll be shooting like t-rex forever.

You want to get the most out of your power drills? We better do them correctly.  And in order to do that, we need flexibility in the right places.

So let’s get loose, add MPH to our shot, and put the ball in the net more this season. A lot more.

Exercise: Quadruped Adductor Stretch

Sets And Reps: 2 Sets, 4-6 Reps Per Side

Keys: Stretching leg stays straight.  Rock back until you feel stretch.

Area Targeted: Inner thighs

Influence On Shot: Allows us to step into a wider stance

Exercise: Side Lying T-Spine Rotation

Sets And Reps: 2 Sets, 3-5 Reps Per Side

Keys: Knees bent at 90 degrees and connected to fist.  Rotate with shoulders first.  Thumb leads the way high and away.

Area Targeted: Torso

Influence On Shot: Allows us to rotate safely through the midsection

Exercise: Floor Slides

Sets And Reps: 2 Sets, 6-8 Reps

Keys: Core Tight. Elbows, wrists, and hands all as close to the floor as possible.

Area Targeted: Shoulders

Influence On Shot: Allows us to get our hands WAY back

3 Drills to Increase Shooting Power

One of the most underdeveloped skills that we see in lacrosse players entering the college game from high school is shooting ability. Shooting ability is what separates a scholarship player from a walk-on for many coaches. By far, it is the thing we work on the most at Providence College with our new players.

We break shooting down into three areas and, depending on the goal of a drill or task, we can work on one of the three, two of the three, or all three components at one time.

For us, the three areas of shooting are; shot selection, shot placement and shot power. To build a shooting skill set, we try to build on the latter first, with the idea that we can facilitate selection and placement once the player has learned how to shoot with power. This article focuses on just that, developing shot power in time-and-room shooters.

Shooting power is defined by shot velocity and is generated from three areas–footwork and leg strength, torso rotation, and arm extension. Since we develop both time-and-room and shoot-on-the-run ability, we develop each skill with the same progression; however the drills will vary slightly to incorporate the specific skill. This is our time-and-room progression:

Shadow Shooting

Shadow shooting is a drill that mimics the actual shooting mechanics but is done without a ball. Using shadow shooting allows a player to develop shooting footwork and motion without having the component of velocity or placement impeding his attention.

For time-and-room shooting, we put a goal on the sideline facing the middle of the field and dissected by the restraining line. We have players stand on the restraining for a right handed shot by placing both feet on the restraining line with their left shoulder towards the goal.

When they start their shooting motion for a right-handed shot, we ask them to drop their right foot behind the left foot, planting that right foot behind the line. This “crow step” as Chip Casto, assistant coach at Bergen Catholic (N.J.) calls it, allows the front shoulder to close so that the shooter’s back is facing the direction of the shot. Once the right foot plants, the arms pull the ball forward in an overhand shooting motion as the player steps into the shot with their left foot.

Once the task is perfected we start to teach them to whip their hands through the shooting motion so they can hear the whipping sound of the stick head against the resistance of the air, which shows stick head velocity. The last step in shadow shooting is having the player take multiple crow steps into the shooting motion, covering more ground and causing a louder whipping action.

Description of Phases and Discrete Events of the Lacrosse Shot – The Sport Journal

Submitted by John A. Mercer and Jason H. Nielson

Abstract

The lacrosse shot is a vital skill of the offensive player. Despite the growth of the sport of lacrosse, there is a paucity of research on describing the biomechanics of lacrosse specific skills. The purpose of this commentary is to describe the phases and discrete events during a lacrosse shot. Phases are logical groups of movements used to accomplish a common goal whereas discrete events are specific actions that occur during a movement. For the purpose of this commentary, the lacrosse shot described is one that is taken with the intent of shooting as fast as possible. Through inspection of practice, game, and publically available video (30-1000 Hz) for a variety of ability and ages, this lacrosse shot can be described using the following phases: Approach, crank-back, stick acceleration, stick deceleration, follow through, and recovery. Each phase is defined by specific discrete events that indicate the beginning/ending of the phase. This paper forms a frame work for research on the lacrosse shot as well as coaching tips for enhancement of the shot. The end-goal of this work is to assist coaches and players in identifying the critical features of the lacrosse shot that are important for achieving a high-velocity and accurate shot.

Introduction 

Although the sport of lacrosse has a long and rich history, there is a paucity of research on the movements and skills that are part of the game. Participation in lacrosse has grown 10% per year on average from 2001 to 2010 (18). The total increase in number of players (male and female) has grown from 253,931 players in 2001 to 624,593 players in 2010 with the greatest growth in youth and high school levels (18). Overall, youth lacrosse growth has outpaced the growth of any other sport.

Along with this growth has come a need for coaching expertise to teach players critical skills and game play strategy. Interestingly, the sport is lacking in even basic kinematic description of certain key movements. For example, even though some research on lacrosse is emerging on injuries (4, 7, 8, 9, 12), conditioning/testing techniques (11, 15), accuracy (14), passing (13) and shooting (6) kinematics, ball (5), and player (16, 17) characteristics and some early work on teaching lacrosse skills (2, 3), there is no kinematic description of the phases and discrete events of the shot.

It makes sense to develop a description of certain key movements that are part of the shot in order to identify critical features that increase performance and/or skill acquisition. For example, baseball pitching has a strong body of research that includes description of phases and discrete events of the baseball pitch. Kinematic and Kinetic data are often analyzed within a phase in order to compare and contrast different types of pitches, for example (e.g., 10). Presently, there is no such description of the phases and discrete events of the lacrosse shot.

Part of the challenge in forming a model of the lacrosse shot is that there are many different techniques for shooting a lacrosse ball. For example, some players shoot overhand, some underhand, or side arm. Likewise, there are many game situations where the shot technique is unique due to the position of the player shooting as well as the interaction with the defender and/or goalie. For example, players may be positioned just outside the goal crease and will receive a pass and shoot in one continuous motion (i.e., “quick stick”). Likewise, during a game, players are often dodging defenders and shooting on the run while being checked, jumping, and/or having movements hindered in some manner by the defender. For that reason, it is difficult to fit all lacrosse shots into a single descriptive model. Nevertheless, it is important to form a model of the lacrosse shot as a framework for research to identify the critical aspects necessary for an accurate and high speed shot. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the phases and discrete events of the lacrosse shot.

The Lacrosse Shot

For the purpose of this paper, we will describe the phases and discrete events of a situation where a player is shooting at the goal with maximal velocity. In this scenario, the player is allowed to take approach steps. This would be analogous to a player shooting from the perimeter of the box with no defender hindering or restricting movement in any way. This type of shot is common in a game, especially off a fast break when a face off is won or during a man-up situation (i.e., the opposing team is playing with one less defender due to a penalty situation).

To gain an understanding of the kinematics, we reviewed game, practice, and publically available (YouTube) video taken from a wide range of ability and ages of players that used a variety of recording speeds (30-1000 Hz). In these videos, the camera placement was often unique which allowed for viewing the shot from different perspectives. Overall, the movements could be grouped into logical phases consisting of approach, crank-back (wind-up), stick acceleration, deceleration, follow-through, and recovery. We also felt it was important to further break down the crank-back phase into two smaller phases (i.e., A and B) since we think the preparatory movements in each of these sub-phases are important to shot performance.

In order to describe the phases and discrete events of the shot, it is necessary to first define some lacrosse specific terminology. Figure 1 is an illustration of a player in the act of shooting. We will use the term ‘stick’ when referring to the combination of two main equipment components: The shaft and the head. The head is firmly connected to the shaft (however, the head can be removed and placed on a different shaft). In this illustration, a short stick is used. There are times when a player is shooting using a long-pole or goalie stick; in these situations, the phases and discrete events are the same as presented here, but the movements in each phase may be unique due to the characteristics of the stick (e.g., length, mass, moment of inertia).

Figure 1: Illustration of a player in the act of shooting.  Top arm, Bottom arm, Drive leg, and Lead leg are all illustrated.

For player specific terminology, we will use the phrase ‘bottom arm’ to refer to the entire limb distal to the shoulder (i.e., upper arm, forearm, hand) in which the hand is gripping the shaft near the end the shaft. We will use the phrase ‘bottom hand’ when referring specifically to the hand of the bottom arm. We will use ‘top arm’ and ‘top hand’ to refer to the arm/hand that grips the shaft between the bottom hand and stick head. A right handed shot is one in which the right arm is the top arm; a left handed shot is one where the left arm is the top arm.

For the lower extremity, we will use the term ‘drive leg’ to refer to the leg that is planted on the ground pushing the player forward. Likewise, we will use the term ‘lead leg’ to refer to the leg that is planted in front of the player while shooting. Analogous terms for ‘lead leg’ are ‘plant leg’ or ‘blocking leg.’ When shooting right handed, the drive leg is the right leg and the lead leg is the left leg (vice versa for shooting left handed).

The phases of the shot and the discrete events separating each phase are described in Table 1 and described in more detail below.

1. Approach. The approach begins with the player initiating movement and ends when the foot of the drive leg contacts the ground. During this phase, the player is taking several steps advancing towards the goal with the intent to shoot. The number of steps, the style of the approach (e.g., stepping forward, sideways, backwards, cross-over, hopping, etc.), and the velocity of the approach varies between players. However, what is common among all the approach styles is that it ends when the drive leg contacts the ground.
2. Crank back. The crank back is analogous to the wind-up or cocking phase of throwing a ball. This phase consists of the preparatory movements that proceed accelerating the stick (i.e., angular motion) with the intent of releasing the ball towards the goal. The crank back begins with the foot of the drive leg contacting the ground and ends when the top arm reaches maximum elbow flexion. If a 3D motion capture analysis is completed, an alternative ending discrete event would be the moment when stick angular acceleration velocity is continuously in the same direction as during the Stick Acceleration phase (next). We have further sub-divided the crank back phase into two sub-phases (A and B).

o   Crank back – A. The Crank back – A phase begins when the foot of the drive leg contacts the ground and ends when the foot of the lead leg contacts the ground. This phase could also be described as a ‘drive step’ when focusing on the lower extremity.

o   Crank back – B. The Crank back – B phase begins with lead foot contact and ends when the elbow of the top arm reaches maximum flexion. The movements in this phase are still preparatory movements to accelerating the stick towards the goal and would still be considered ‘wind-up’ movements.

3. Stick acceleration. Stick acceleration begins when the elbow of the top arm has reached maximum flexion and then starts extending. This phase ends with ball release. The duration of this phase is very short and dynamic.
4. Stick deceleration. Stick deceleration begins once the ball release has occurred and ends when the elbow of the top arm has reached maximum extension.
5. Follow-through. The follow-through phase begins when the top arm has reached maximum extension and ends when trunk rotation has been terminated.
6. Recovery. The recovery phase begins with the end of trunk rotation and represents the movements the player needs to make to prepare for the next task.

Table 1: The phases and discrete events that describe the lacrosse shot.

Figure 2 is an illustration of the discrete events for the lacrosse shot in a time lapse sequence. Although this gives a good visual of the separation of phases, the figure is limited in that it does not give a sense of the duration of each phase. It would be helpful through future research to document the timing of the phases for different skill levels as well as when comparing left and right handed shots of an individual player.

Figure 2: Phases (bottom) and Discrete Events (top) of the lacrosse shot.

Discussion

The intent of creating a model of the phases and discrete events for the lacrosse shot is to create a framework for research as well as constructing coaching tips for the enhancement of shot speed and accuracy. For example, recently we investigated muscle activity of the top and bottom arms during shooting (1). In that study, we examined the muscle activity ½ second before and after ball release. Although it was insightful to identify the different roles of muscles when considering the top and bottom arms and that the wrist flexors/extensors were more active than suspected, the meaningfulness of that work would be more significant if muscle activity were described for each phase. This type of research would provide insight into the importance of timing of muscle contractions that led to a faster shot velocity. Likewise, that research would lead to developing training programs and drills to develop a faster shot that is also accurate.

The advantage of using the phases as a framework for research is that movements that share a common goal are grouped together. For example, it makes sense to understand muscle activity magnitudes and patterns during the crank-back phase of the shot independent of the magnitudes and patterns during the time when the stick is being accelerated to release the ball. In our previous work (1), the ½ second analysis before ball release likely represented muscle activity during both crank back and stick acceleration phases. We now believe that analyzing muscle activity within each phase is important in identifying the critical features of a shot that allow for high ball velocity at release and/or accuracy of the shot. For example, the initial inspection of elbow flexion/extension patterns has lead to the hypothesis that peak elbow flexion velocity during the crank back-B phase is important to shot velocity (1). It may be that elbow flexion preceding elbow extension during the stick acceleration phase elicits a stretch-shortening reflex that increases elbow extension velocity during the acceleration phase. The analogy is that elbow flexion during crank back-B would serve to function similar in the same manner as the downward (i.e., counter-movement) movement during a vertical jump. The implications of this observation, if it is substantiated by research, is that training programs should be focused on strengthening exercises that incorporate elbow flexion preceding rapid extension vs. simply strengthening elbow extension.

By creating terminology for phases and discrete events, not only will research be given a context of which to formulate description of kinematics and kinetics of the shot, coaching tips may be more directed and purposeful. For example, some players might be able to increase shot speed if unnecessary crank-back movements are eliminated and/or the stick is positioned properly prior to the acceleration phase (i.e., during crank back-B phase). Research is needed to compare and contrast the kinematics during each phase between players with different level of skill as well as between shooting left and right handed. This type of research would likely be helpful to coaches and trainers in order that there is a better understanding of which movements to reinforce and which movements should be eliminated during a shot to maximize speed.

It is important to recognize that the phases and discrete event model presented is limited and there may be times when the model needs to be modified. For example, there may be some benefit to studying shot kinematics when there is no approach phase. This would be analogous to shooting while both feet are planted. Although shot speed is not maximized in this scenario, there are game scenarios when players have to shoot quickly vs. trying to shoot as fast as possible. In this case, the discrete events of drive leg and lead leg contact would need to be modified since both feet are in contact with the ground in this scenario. It is hoped that this commentary will stimulate further research on the lacrosse shot and other models of different styles of shooting are created.

There may also be a need to modify the discrete events used to define each phase. For example, depending on the instruments available to analyze the shot kinematics, the start of stick acceleration may be best defined based upon when the angular velocity of the stick is continuously in the direction of the shot (vs. maximum top arm elbow flexion). In order to capture that, either a 2D top-view or 3D kinematic analysis would need to be carried out. In the present model, we based the discrete event identification from a 2D camera placed either to the side or slightly behind/in front of the player.

It is important to also recognize that the discrete events themselves may not be critical movement characteristics. The importance of the specific discrete events, for this paper, is that they define the start and end of a phase. Biomechanical analyses can then be focused on maximum and/or minimum kinematic and kinetic parameters during each phase. We also believe that it makes sense to compare kinematics and kinetics of the upper and lower body at the occurrence of the discrete events. For example, the horizontal stick position at the moments of drive and lead leg contact may be important characteristics of the shot.

Summary

We have presented a model of the phases and discrete events of the lacrosse shot along with basic terminology (e.g., top arm, top hand, bottom arm, bottom hand, drive leg, lead leg) that can be used when describing movement characteristics during the lacrosse shot. The phases represent groups of movements that share a common goal that contributes to shot speed. Each phase is separated by a discrete event, which is a specific event that occurs in a brief moment in time. In the context of shooting the ball for to achieve maximum velocity, we described the shot using the approach, crank-back (A and B sub-phases), stick acceleration, stick deceleration, follow through, and recovery phases. This model will provide a frame work for lacrosse directed research as well as providing a context for coaching tips to improve shot speed.

References

1. Agnelli, C., McCllelan, J., Tarno, J., Nielson, J., & Mercer, J.A. (2011). Preliminary inspection of muscle activity during a lacrosse shot. Proceedings from the annual meeting of the Southwest Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, October.
2. Barrett, K.R., & Collie, S. (1996). Children learning lacrosse from teachers learning to teach it: The discovery of pedagogical content knowledge by observing children’s movement. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 67, 297-309.
3. Barrett, K.R., Williams, K., McLester, J., & Ljungkvist (1997). Developmental sequences for the vertical cradle in lacrosse: An exploratory study. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 16, 469-489.
4. Bowers, A.L., Horneff, J.G., Baldwin, K.D., Huffmman, R., & Sennett, B.J. (2010). Thumb injuries in Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 38, 527-531.
5. Crisco, J.J., Drewniak, E.I., Alvarez, M.P., & Spenciner, D.B. (2005). Physical and mechanical properties of various field lacrosse balls. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 21, 383-393.
6. Crisco, J.J., Rainbow, M.J., & Wang, E. (2009). Modeling the lacrosse stick as a rigid body underestimates shot ball speeds. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 25, 184-191.
7. Dick, R., Agel, J., & Marshall, S.W. (2007). National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System Commentaries: Introduction and methods. Journal of Athletic Training, 42, 173-182.
8. Dick, R., Romani, W.A., Agel, J., Case, J.G., & Marshall, S.W. (2007). Descriptive epidemiology of collegiate Men’s Lacrosse injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988-1989 through 2003-2004. Journal of Athletic Training, 42, 255-261.
9. Elkousy, H.A., Janssen, H., Ferraro, J., Levin, S., & Speer, K. (2000). Lacrosse goalkeeper’s thumb. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 28, 317-321.
10. Escamilla, R.F., Fleisig, G.S., Barrentine, S.W., Zheng, N., & Andrews, J.R. (1998). Kinematic comparisons of throwing different types of baseball pitches. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 14, 1-23.
11. Gutowski, A.E., & Rosene, J.M. (2011). Preseason performance testing battery for men’s lacrosse. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 33, 16-22.
12. Hinton, R.Y., Lincoln, A.E., Almquist, J.L., Douoguih, W.A., & Sharma, K.M. (2005). Epidemiology of lacrosse injuries in high school-aged girls and boys. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 33, 1305-1314.
13. Livingston L.A. (2006). Recent crosse designs increase ball velocity: Implications for injury in women’s lacrosse. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 9, 299-303.
14. Marsh, D.W., Richard, L.A., Verre, A.B., & Myers, J. (2010). Relationships among balance, visual search, and lacrosse-shot accuracy. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24, 1507-1514.
15. Pistilli, E.E., Ginther, G., & Larsen, J. (2008). Sport –specific strength-training exercises for the sport of lacrosse. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 30, 31-38.
16. Schmidt, M.N., Gray, P., & Tyler, S. (1981). Selected fitness parameters of college female lacrosse players. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 21, 282-90.
17. Shaver, L.G. (1980). Body composition, endurance capacity and strength of college lacrosse players. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 20, 213-20.
18. US Lacrosse (2010). 2010 Participation Survey. Retrieved from http://www.uslacrosse.org.

4 Exercises to Increase Your Lacrosse Shot Power

A lacrosse shot is a full-body effort. The muscles in your lower body, core and upper body work together to explosively and precisely fire the ball. To improve this critical skill, you need to train your body accordingly.

Carl Christensen, strength coach for the Duke men’s lacrosse team and Performance Advisor for BridgeLacrosse, explains that strengthening the kinetic chain is crucial, not only for improving your shot power, but also for injury prevention. You could have the hardest shot on the team, but a hidden weakness could leave you sitting on the bench. “Some of our guys who shoot the hardest are very weak in areas you wouldn’t think,” Christensen says.

It all starts with the lower body. Strengthening your hips, glutes and other lower-body muscles allows you to drive off the ground to create the majority of the power for your shot. Christensen prefers single-leg exercises for this purpose, because they increase stability and balance strength in both of your legs so your shot is equally effective from either side.

RELATED: 13 Exercise Duke Lacrosse Dynamic Warm-Up

Core rotation exercises transfer the power from your lower body to your upper body. Finally, a strong back adds an extra boost of power to your shot and creates a solid foundation for your shoulders so they can move explosively with minimal risk of injury.

Christensen does not have his lacrosse players perform exercises that simulate a lacrosse shot. If you add resistance to a complex move, your technique may break down. Instead, go with exercises that develop the fundamental moves that contribute to the shot, such as hip extension, and hip and spinal flexion.

“There’s a saying that the more complex the skill, if you add resistance, you might mess it up,” Christensen says. “We do some things that may resemble a lacrosse shot, but it’s not exactly specific to the shot.”

To improve your shot power, integrate the following exercises into your program, scaled to your level of experience in the weight room.

1. Lawnmower Pull

Level: Intermediate to advanced

This is essentially a Split-Squat combined with a Single-Arm Cable Row. It’s great for shot development and single-leg stability. The split stance and unilateral row build strength that’s specific to lacrosse shot development.

2. Ropes – Figure-8

Level: Advanced

When you want a great metabolic finisher or need to increase shoulder, core, upper-back and grip strength—and stamina—incorporate battle ropes into your workout. The Figure-8 is great for lacrosse, because it is cross-sectional, not solely linear. Your legs, lower back and core are in an isometric hold, while your upper back, shoulders and arms battle the undulating movement of the ropes. This pattern of battle ropes will add zip to your shot.

3. Weight Vest Power Step-Up

Level: Intermediate to Advanced

This variation of the Step-Up uses a weight vest to spread the load across your entire body. Incorporate this explosive version into your program to develop lower-body power and endurance needed to maintain shot velocity and finish games strong.

4. Long-Lever Band Rotations

Level: Development to Intermediate 

This a great shot development exercise for athletes of all levels. Younger athletes can incorporate it into the main part of their workouts, while advanced athletes can use it as pre-game or pre-workout activation.

To learn more about the program and get custom lacrosse workouts created by elite experts, go to BridgeAthletic.com.

(PDF) Lower Extremity Muscle Activity During a Women’s Overhand Lacrosse Shot

16  Lower extremity muscle activity during a women’s overhand lacrosse shot

Journal of Human Kinetics volume 41/2014 http://www.johk.pl

laboratory setting allowing specific measurements

to be made in a way to understand the critical

features of achieving a fast and accurate shot.

Using this model, Mercer and Nielson (2012)

provided a description of the lacrosse shot that

included six phases of a shot: Approach, Crank

Back Minor, Crank Back Major, Stick Acceleration,

Stick Deceleration, and Follow Through/Recovery

(Table 1).

Considering the movements in this

model, it would seem that the lower extremity

movements are critical in developing shot speed.

However, there is no research on how active

muscles are causing the movements during a shot.

Furthermore, there are no data on females

shooting a lacrosse shot. Since the shaft and head

for women’s vs. men’s lacrosse, it makes sense to

study each group individually.

Given the paucity of research in this area

and based upon some pilot work, it was decided

to investigate muscle activity of the lead leg (i.e.,

the forward most leg planted during the shot) for

female lacrosse players shooting a lacrosse ball.

Specifically, the purpose of this study was to

describe lower extremity muscle activity during

the lacrosse shot for women. Furthermore, the

intent of this research was to compare how active

select lower extremity muscles were between

phases as well as between two different shot

speeds.

Material and Methods

Participants

Participants (n=5 females, age: 21.8 ± 2

years, body height: 162.6 ± 15.2 cm, body mass:

63.7 ± 23.6 kg, years played: 7.2 ± 14 years, hand

dominance: right (5), lead leg: left (5), primary

position: defense (2), midfield (1), offense (2))

were free from injury and had at least one year of

lacrosse experience. All participants read and

signed a university approved informed consent

form before participating in the study.

Instrumentation

Muscle activity was measured using an 8-

channel telemetry EMG system (TeleMyo 2400T,

G2; Noraxon USA Inc., Scottsdale, AZ; 1500Hz).

Duel electrodes (Ambu Blue Sensor N, Noraxon

USA Inc. Scottsdale, AZ) were placed in line with

the muscle fibers on the surface of the skin

following manufacturer guidelines for lead

placement. Video was recorded with a Panasonic

Digital Video Camera Recorder (Panasonic NV-

GS37, Secaucus, NJ). Speed was measured using a

radar gun (Stalker Pro II, Applied Concepts, Inc.

/Stalker Radar, Plano, TX) placed immediately

behind the goal at approximately mid-goal height.

Procedure

Participants were instructed to wear their

own shoes appropriate for shooting in an indoor

gymnasium and comfortable practice clothing.

Electromyography (EMG) data were obtained by

first cleaning the electrode placement sites with

alcohol pads and (if necessary) shaving any hair.

The rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF),

medial gastrocnemius (GA), and tibialis anterior

(TA) of the lead leg were instrumented. The

ground lead was placed in combination with the

TA. In addition, the lateral GA was instrumented

but it was determined after data collection that

noise was present in this muscle for two

participants. Given the low number of

participants, it was decided to drop this muscle

from analysis and use only the medial GA. Prior

to testing, participants completed a 5 s maximal

voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) for each

muscle. Subjects were given instructions and

practiced the MVIC prior to testing. During MVIC

testing, verbal encouragement was given. The RF

and BF were tested while the subject was sitting

with the knee at 90° flexion and tester providing

enough resistance to maintain isometric

contraction. The TA was tested while sitting and

the researcher was providing resistance to

dorsiflexion and the GA tested while the subject

stood and contracted to cause plantarflexion. The

average, full-wave rectified average MVIC was

used to normalize EMG data per muscle.

All participants used their own stick and

shot with their dominant side. A marker was

placed on the ground 3 m from the goal and

participants were instructed to release the ball

from this point. They were allowed to start the

shot from 9 m from the goal. Participants

completed two throwing conditions: a warm up

speed (Slow) and a game speed (Fast).

Participants completed five trials per condition

with trials considered valid as long as the speed

was within 2.2 m/s of the previous shot and

within a 4.5 m/s range. All shots were registered

by the camera set such that specific discrete events

could be identified (but the camera was not set

specifically to capture movements in a single

Lacrosse Shooting or Throwing | UF Sports Performance Center

The UF SPC is the first center the country to develop and analyze lacrosse shooting and throwing motion for all player positions in both men and women. Lacrosse is among the more complex and fast sports, requiting precision, speed and ambidexterity.

What we can tell you:

• How well you can transfer your energy from the lower to the upper body before ball release
• Position of your body and joints for optimal form
• Areas where training may help you with power in your shot
• How much separation you get between your pelvis and shoulders when you crank back and follow-through. This is like the X-factor in golf! Better separation can mean better shot speed!

Symmetry Index: Using data from high school, collegiate and professional players, we have developed our Symmetry Index score (see US Lacrosse Mag in November 2015 for its application with the Thompson Brothers Lacrosse program) to see how well you perform with your right and left!

Motion Analysis:

• A full biomechanical evaluation of your throwing or shooting motions in right and left arms will be performed. High speed video will be filmed during your throws from the front and side. A complete report of joint kinematics and body segment rotations and rotational speeds will be generated.
• Your data will be compared to other players in similar positions.
• Clinical interpretations and recommendations for reducing injury or repairing current injury will be provided.
• A full report, consult and a flash drive video copy of your shooting motions and electronic will be provided.
• Sample motion analysis models are shown below.

UF SPC Publications on Lacrosse

Want to schedule this test?

Please call us at (352) 273-7371 or email us [email protected].

Our hours generally are:

• Monday – Friday
• 8am – 5pm

Please inquire about special time requests.

Ovechkin struck the strongest throw

The master show began unusually – two Ovechkin took to the ice – one real, the other four years old. It turned out that this boy named Jonas is the son of one of the close friends of the Washington forward, who won the strongest shot competition by a wide margin.

“I promised him that if we go to the” All-Star Game “, then we will ride with him, – said Ovechkin. – For him, this is a memory for life, and then maybe he will show his children.”

See also: Ovechkin tripped Ovechkin

Ovechkin has two best shots: 98.8 and 101.3 miles per hour. The second result was shown by Predators defender P-Kay Subban (98.7), the third – by Dallas defender John Klingberg (97.6). Ovechkin became the first striker since 2002 to win this competition. Then it was Sergei Fedorov (101.5). In the past three years, the winner was the defender of “Montreal” Shea Weber, this “All-Star Game” did not come.The all-time record belongs to Boston defender Zdeno Hare (108.8), who set it in 2012.

Video: Competition for the strongest shot: Ovechkin

“Actually, I’m surprised, – said Ovechkin. – I was sure that my maximum would be 90 mph. Of course, it’s nice that the previous striker who won this competition was Fedorov. This gives this victory a gloss. Although it should be borne in mind that there was neither Hara, nor Weber. If they were, I would not even try to outplay them. “

In the dressing room, Ovechkin sat between Claude Giroud and Chris Letang. “I am surrounded by enemies,” the forward joked.

“I thought Stamkos would win,” Alexander Barkov admitted. “But of course Ovechkin has one of the best, if not the best, shot in the league.”

In general, a stellar weekend was imbued with the spirit of piracy. These days, a festival is being held in Tampa, during which several pirate parades were held in the city, and a pirate ship entered the city’s port. This tradition is more than 100 years old, and it descends to the legend of the early 19th century, according to which the pirate José Gaspar, a Spanish sailor, who switched from royal service to the side of robbery and revelry at the end of the 18th century, was feared in these parts for 40 years. …

In the afternoon, Commissioner Gary Bettman was even forced to save the Stanley Cup from the hands of the pirates. The theme was also supported by Erik Karlsson, who went to the warm-up in a pirate hat. And the arena organist performed the theme song from “Pirates of the Caribbean” several times.

“I always wanted to try something like this, otherwise my wife dresses me up as a woman every Halloween,” said the defender. “I generally like the pirate theme. I don’t know why. Probably, I was a pirate in a past life. You know?”

During the presentation, the players got the most applause… No, not Tampa players, but Devils striker Brian Boyle, who played for Lightning in 2014-17. And most of all the whistles were heard by Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand. But this only caused them to smile broadly.

Connor McDavid (“Edmonton”) became the first hockey player in history to win a speed competition twice in a row, and also the sixth in history to do so more than once. Previously, Sergey Fedorov, Mike Gartner, Peter Bondra, Scott Niedermeier and Sami Kapanen succeeded in this.

Video: Fastest Player: Connor McDavid

He completed the lap in 13.454 seconds, just 0.125 seconds ahead of Tampa’s Braden Point.Point went on the ice and seized the lead, holding it until the last try, in which the impetuous McDavid came out. Zach Verensky, Rickard Ruckell, Noah Hanifin, Josh Bailey, Nathan McKinnon and Jack Eicel could not compete with them.

“Of course, I was looking forward to this competition, I like to skate fast,” McDavid said. “I tried to go as fast as possible and not get injured. I didn’t do anything for two days.”

Kucherov was the first to enter the competition for the accuracy of transmissions and for a long time could not cope with rather insidious tasks.Its time was almost 100 seconds. The next five participants improved it over and over again: Claude Giroud, Braden Shann, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Eric Staal and finally Alex Pietrangelo. Defender “St. Louis” generally fired like a machine gun in 46 seconds.

“The main thing for me was to get ahead of Shann,” the defender said with a smile.

Kucherov’s reputation was saved by Drew Doughty, who showed the worst time (107 seconds).

“It was interesting, although it was hard to hit the targets,” said Kucherov.- I think that if I entered the competition third or fourth, I would feel calmer. And it was a little embarrassing. But this show is for the fans, who, I think, liked everything. “

Video: Competition for the mastery of programs: Nikita Kucherov

The longest series of saves was given by Marc-André Fleury, who reflected 14 shootouts in a row. that the goalkeepers themselves could choose the music to which they performed. Fleury chose the famous song from the cartoon “Frozen” “Let go and forget.”Thousands of fans were extremely grateful to Kucherov, who stopped this beautiful and endless melody.

“I have no idea who made that choice,” Sidney Crosby said. “They must have been his children. But in general it was funny to hear this tune. Fleury could not choose anything standard.”

See also: Kucherov got stuck, but enjoyed it

“Let go and forget – it’s just about a shootout,” said Fleury.“I’ll probably ask Vegas to play this song when we play zero.”

Golden Knights goalkeeper beat Pekka Rinne with 13 shots in a dramatic fight. Henrik Lundqvist saved five shots in a row, Winnipeg’s Connor Helleback and Andrei Wasilewski three each.

“Marc-André was certainly incredible,” Rinne said. – Hank made five saves before me, so I tried to beat him.When I managed to make six saves, I didn’t really worry anymore and just enjoyed it. “

Video: Fleury won the goalkeeper competition

If the competition was held according to the old rules, when it was necessary to perform the bullet as beautifully as possible, then the likely winner Barkov could become, famously outplaying Fleury. However, Fleury also made the most beautiful save.

Only five goalkeepers conceded 11 goals with 62 shots. 24.65 seconds.He was almost beaten by Patrick Kane, but the striker “Chicago” stumbled on the last obstacle. And the most cunning turned out to be Karlsson, who overcame one of the obstacles, putting the puck on the stick with his hand. ”

“ A smart move, ”said Gaudreau, who was the first to try. “We weren’t told you shouldn’t do that.”

Vancouver’s Brock Beser won the best shot competition. He hit five targets in eight attempts in 11.136 seconds. among newcomers, he was momentarily ahead of Boyle (11.626).Third place went to Vegas striker James Neil (14,262).

Winners of all competitions received a cash prize of $ 25 thousand.

USA U20 – Finland U20. Live broadcast 05 January 05:30

60 ‘

The match is over! The USA national team reached the final of the MFM-2021, beating Finland – 4: 3. The Finns had a great third period, bounced back from 1: 3, but missed the winning puck one and a half minutes before the siren. The Americans will play with Canada in the final of the tournament, while Finland and Russia will compete for bronze.This concludes our broadcast. Best wishes!

60 ‘

The Finns took a time out 13 seconds before the siren.

60 ‘

The Finns took the puck and locked the opponent in the zone. Baldy threw himself under the puck and blocked Heinola’s dangerous shot.

60 ‘

Piyroinen left the gate.

59 ‘

GOAL! A minute before the siren, the Americans took the lead again! Zegras fought, Türcott made a transfer from the board to the center of the zone, Kaliev took the puck and sent it under the crossbar with his hands!

58 ‘

The Finns are cheerfully spending the third period.They have already taken a strong lead on shots on target – 35:25.

57 ‘

GOAL! The Finns were entrenched in the zone, Lundell went out of the gate and gave it to a nickle, and Hirvonen, in touch, ferried the puck into the goal net!

57 ‘

Simontaival climbed to the far post and almost closed the cross from the flank – a miss!

56 ‘

Removal from the United States. Tran received a minor penalty for throwing the puck.

55 ‘

The Americans intercepted and launched a swift attack.Beniers from the left edge loaded into the near corner – Piiroinen controlled everything.

54 ‘

Niemel from the blue line clicked after the partner’s discount! Knight deflected the puck, then swiped it aside with his club.

53 ‘

Heinola picked up speed, drove around two rivals and loaded from the entrance to the zone – Knight was on the spot.

52 ‘

GOAL! The Finns switched to a positional attack, Puutio made a transfer from the side to a nickel, Simontaival opened up great and shot Knight’s gates from two meters!

51 ‘

The Finns keep the puck, but there are no chances.Americans do not give up.

50 ‘

The Americans rolled out three in two! Colangelo made a transfer to the right edge, Sluggert took the puck and threw it into the near corner – Piiroinen reacted.

49 ‘

Attacking the USA with the left flank, Brink twice dangerously threw from the left edge – Piiroinen deflected it with a shield!

47 ‘

Confident Americans have held the minority. Returned to the Caufield ice.

46 ‘

The Americans defend themselves competently, not allowing them to shoot at goal.No chances at Knight’s gates.

45 ‘

Removal from the United States. Caufield received a minor penalty for throwing the puck.

44 ‘

The Europeans continue to attack. Ryatu threw from the right edge, Knight after a ricochet took the puck.

43 ‘

The Finns locked the opponent in the zone. Lundell threw twice dangerously from a nickle, but Knight covered everything with shields.

42 ‘

Cofield made a pass, moved to center and threw on top – the puck caught the crossbar!

41 ‘

The third period has started!

40 ‘

Break! 3-1 USA after 40 minutes.The Finns actively spent the second period, but did not use their chances, and in the end they conceded two goals from Farinacci and Baldi. Let’s rest!

40 ‘

Finnish national team in full force.

39 ‘

The Americans continue to play the puck in the majority in a foreign zone. And the bar helped the Finns after a dangerous throw.

38 ‘

GOAL! The Americans were entrenched in the zone, Cofield made a transfer from the side to the center, Zegras threw from the half-zone with the bottom – Baldy put his club on a penny and sent the puck into the net!

37 ‘

Removal from Finland.Ryatu raised his club high and hit Baldy in the face with the club – this is 2 + 2 for a Finn.

36 ‘

GOAL! LaCombe made a great pass from his zone under the blue line, Farinacci grabbed the puck, ran one on one in the center and outplayed the goalkeeper!

35 ‘

The Americans fled in a counterattack two by two! But Hatakka did a great job and prevented Zegras from giving a pass to the penny, where the partner opened.

34 ‘

The Americans survived in the minority.Tran returned to the ice.

33 ‘

Heinola made a transfer to the left edge, Puutio loaded in touch with the bottom – Knight moved and deflected the puck with a shield.

32 ‘

Removal from the United States. Tran received a minor penalty for blocking.

30 ‘

Half an hour of playing time is behind. The Finns have an advantage in shots on target – 16:11.

29 ‘

Farinacci flew into the zone at speed, shifted to the left edge and threw on goal! Piiroinen deflected the puck with confidence.

28 ‘

Helleson threw on goal from the right edge – the puck rushed about on a nickle, but the Americans failed to finish off.

27 ‘

For the first time in a long time, the Americans switched to a positional attack, but did not create anything dangerous.

25 ‘

Pukhtiya from the left edge could roll out one by one! But Faber returned to the defense and pushed the opponent away from the puck.

24 ‘

The puck is good for the Finns. The Europeans control the course of the meeting – the Americans do not succeed in the second period.

23 ‘

Lundell moved to the center and threw with his hands into the bottom corner – Knight parried the puck with a shield.

22 ‘

Parssinen picked up speed, easily removed the defender on the flank and threw from an acute angle – Knight on the alert!

21 ‘

The second period has started!

20 ‘

Break! Draw 1: 1 after 20 minutes. The teams exchanged pucks for Turcott and Simontaival. The first period passed at a good pace, the Americans started actively, but the end of the period remained with the Finnish team.Let’s rest!

20 ‘

The Americans survived in the minority. Turcott returned to the ice.

20 ‘

Parssinen threw dangerously from the right edge – Knight deflected the puck with a pancake, but the Finns did not manage to finish off a nickle!

19 ‘

The Finns were entrenched in the zone, Niemelä snapped from the blue line – the puck flew a few meters from the alignment.

18 ‘

Removal from the United States. Turcott received a small penalty for the bandwagon.

16 ‘

The Finns are actively pressing in a foreign zone.The European team has a good movement.

15 ‘

GOAL! The Finns played gorgeous! Lundell made a pass from the blue line to the left edge, Heinola shot a penny in touch, and Simontaival put his stick in and sent the puck into the far corner!

14 ‘

Removal from the United States. Colangelo broke the rules against Hirovonen.

13 ‘

GOAL! The first link of the Americans locked the opponent in the zone, Kaliev threw from the right edge – Turcott grabbed the puck and finished it off with a nickle into the net!

12 ‘

The Americans fled two to two, Zegras gave it to a nickle from the left edge, but Turcott was prevented from closing!

11 ‘

A quick exit from the defense to the attack in the United States, Farinacci burst into the zone and threw – the puck flew out of bounds after a ricochet.

10 ‘

Positional attack of the Finns, Lambert aimed with brushes at the bottom corner – Knight had time to expose the shield.

9 ‘

The Americans won the throw-in, Tran grabbed the puck and kicked off the blue line – Piiroinen was in control.

7 ‘

The Finns coped with the starting onslaught of the Americans and leveled the game. The struggle moved into the middle zone.

6 ‘

Niemelä kissed from the blue line immediately after winning a throw-in! The puck after a ricochet went to the side.

5 ‘

Zegras went to the headboard and attempted a lacrosse shot, but the American got the puck off the hook.

4 ‘

The Finns took the puck and locked the opponent in the zone, Knight coped with the throw from the nickel.

3 ‘

Active start from the US national team. The puck goes well with the Stars and Stripes.

2 ‘

Zegras! He ran away on the left flank and flicked into the far corner – the puck went close to the post!

1 ‘

The USA has a chance in the first minute! Cofield found himself alone in front of the goal and threw – Piyroinen pressed the puck to the ice.

1 ‘

The match has begun! The Finns won the starting faceoff.

0 ‘

Starting Goalkeepers: Spencer Knight – Kari Piyroinen.

0 ‘

Greetings to all hockey fans! We are glad to bring to your attention a text online broadcast of the semifinal match of the youth ice hockey world championship: USA U20 – Finland U20. The meeting is scheduled to start at 05:30 Moscow time.

Speed ​​of sports equipment

Watching sports battles is quite an exciting activity, but sometimes the shells develop such a speed that you can only follow the progress of the game by the movements of the athletes.When measuring such high speeds, various modern methods and devices are used. Among them are hand-held ball radars (for example, tennis for determining the speed of the ball), high-speed video cameras, and others. But even an ordinary digital camera can record the achievement with a small margin of error.

The greatest speed of sports equipment, which accelerates is given by pushing or hitting a person (and not a device or a motor), the shuttlecock develops in badminton. His average speed during professional matches is about 300 km / h, but the Japanese Naoki Kawamaya managed to set a record of 414 km / h (initial speed).

In second place is the golf ball. Here the record is 326 km / h, and in a normal game the projectile accelerates to 270 km / h.

Tennis ball amazes the imagination with its speed. The highest recorded achievement is 251 km / h, and in a normal game, the projectile flies 1 m in 0.018 seconds (200 km / h). Table tennis does not lag behind. A light celluloid bouncer bounces off the player’s racket, reaching a speed of 180 km / h.

The heavier and larger the projectile, the more difficult it is for a person to give it impetuosity; moreover, balls hit by feet or hands (and not with a racket) fly slower.For example, in volleyball, the speed of the ball during professional games is 130 km / h, in beach volleyball – about 100 km / h (the record is 114 km / h, Igor Kolodinsky). The hockey puck flies a little faster – from 150 km / h, and the legendary Canadian forward Bobby Hull managed to accelerate it to 190.4 km / h.

Athletics metal shells are rather slow against the background of balls and shuttlecocks, the average flight speed of a disc or a core is only 90 and 50 km / h, respectively.
However, during the competition, the main thing to remember is that it is not the speed of the projectile to which the athlete accelerates it, but the thoughtful tactics of the game and agility when meeting an opponent.

“We need to play harder and faster hockey, do more power tricks”

Lokomotiv forward Artemy Chernikov commented on the defeat to Dynamo-Molodechno (1: 4), and also shared his expectations from the final games in 2020.

– It was a good start to the match. What then happened to the team, especially in the second period?

– It’s hard to say. Bad impressions after the game. I think we had to play harder and faster hockey, do more power tricks.We played too softly and therefore such a result.

– Did the goalkeeper ask to be replaced after the second conceded goal?

– Honestly, I do not have such information, but I think I hardly do it myself. Most likely, this is the decision of the coaching staff.

– How annoying is it to miss a lacrosse goal?

– Of course, it’s unpleasant, it’s such a mocking goal. But the guy is great, we must give him his due, hard work and he did it. Ten out of ten – congratulations!

– What did Lokomotiv fail today with the power play? Moments were created.

– We are missing the last final throw. While we have more rolls for statistics. In general, if you cannot score with a clean throw, then you need to play under the goal, close the goalkeeper and finish off.

– This year Lokomotiv still has home games with Metallurg and Gomel. What should be done to give battle to these teams and take points from them?

– I think our team should just play hard. More power tricks, do not be afraid to go actively and take the puck.We have a lot of fast attackers and this is our strong point. We have to try harder to take the puck and own it more, – BH Chernikova quotes.

In the current season, the forward played 20 matches, in which he scored six (5 + 1) effective actions.

Lokomotiv ranks seventh in the table with 17 points.

On December 27, railroad workers will host Metallurg on their ice.

90,000 How a physical education teacher came up with the rules of basketball – Russian newspaper

On January 15, 1892, James Naismith in the newspaper of the YMCA college in Springfield (Massachusetts) first published the rules of the game he invented, which would later become known throughout the world as basketball.In connection with this date, “RG” recalls how an ordinary college teacher was able to come up with one of the most popular games in the world.

The future basketball creator was born in Canada in 1861. From the very childhood, the study was given to James, so he spent most of his time on the street. One of his favorite games was “duck on a rock”. According to its rules, the player had to hit the top of another stone, which was larger in size, by throwing a stone. While playing duck-on-the-rock, Naismith discovered that a well-calibrated rock throw was much more effective than a quick and strong throw.Naismith’s biographers claim that it was this game that became the progenitor of basketball.

Despite his short stature, Naismith was a good athlete, which allowed him to subsequently become a physical education teacher.

It should be noted that the cold winter played a very important role in the creation of basketball – the students of Naismith were forced to train in the hall and were already getting tired of the monotonous exercises in the room, and the athletes needed to maintain their physical shape no matter what.James Naismith was ordered to come up with a game that would diversify the training process of students within two weeks. Perhaps then Naismith remembered his favorite childhood game.

Having studied the experience of other team sports that were popular in those days (rugby, lacrosse, football, hockey and baseball), Naismith deduced three main requirements for the new game: first, he realized that sports balls can sometimes injure the player, therefore for his new game, he chose the soccer ball, which was the lightest; secondly, Naismith noted that most of the game fight takes place during the dribbling of the players, so it was decided that the athletes would pass the ball to each other all the time; the third moment – the creator of basketball decided to negate the contact between the participants in the game and placed baskets into which it was necessary to throw balls over the heads of the players and forbade them to hinder.From the very beginning, James Naismith was limited by the size of the site, he had to take into account that all gymnasiums have rather small areas. This is the reason why the baskets (basketball hoops) are located at a distance of 3 meters 5 centimeters from the ground, which has become the standard in basketball.

Naismith defined 13 main rules of basketball, which were published in the newspaper “Triangle”. The set of rules of that time was somewhat different from those of today for many objective reasons.One of the main differences from modern rules was that at that time there was no such thing as dribbling, that is, dribbling, the players preferred to immediately pass. One of the rules was “A player must pass or throw the ball into the basket from the point at which he caught it, with the exception of a player running at high speed.”

By 1893, Naismith’s game was growing in popularity along with its creator. The editor of the newspaper, which first published the rules of the game, insisted that it be given the name “Naismithball”, but the creator himself abandoned the idea.

The new season is the most important in Svechnikov’s career: he will fight for superstar status and a big contract – NHL Entertainment – Blogs

Or he will remain just an excellent player.

Andrey Svechnikov is the best Russian hockey player at the start of the new NHL season. No, he doesn’t have lacrosses yet, but with three goals in three games, five points in total, and wild self-confidence.

On Tuesday night, he made 1 + 1 against Nashville, and his coach Rod Brind’Amor once again praised the young player: “Svechnikov always wants to own the puck.Today he showed excellent play all over the court. Scored a great goal.

I’m not sure if people realize how difficult it is to do what he did in this moment – to hook the puck, turn around and shoot with such force. Few have this skill set. It is obvious that today he played a decisive role “

Everything goes to the fact that this season (albeit shortened) can be a big breakthrough for the younger Svechnikov – towards the NHL elite, with huge contracts and status.

Why does Svechnikov even claim to be a superstar?

Let’s start with a simple one – he plays great hockey. Yes, the NHL does not keep others, but Svechnikov is special: starting with enthusiastic comparisons in the style of Kucherov in Ovechkin’s body and ending with the brightest matches for Carolina.

Nikita Petukhov analyzed in detail what makes Svechnikov unique – he combines the best aspects of our and the North American school, which allowed him to be effective in the NHL from the age of 18.

Svechnikov in positioning is a powerful battering ram, which actively cleans its place with its body and seeks the shortest path to the gate. At the same time, he turns on his head – reads episodes, looks for free space. Nikita Kucherov has a skill that makes him special – he feels time and space best of all on the court. Svechnikov confidently reaches for one of the best forwards in the world – he still has less experience and often relies on physical strength, but the vector of development is absolutely correct.

Svechnikov in attacks outright is a healthy guy who cuts in his legs, perfectly controls the puck at speed and strains the defenders with his quick throw.

And Andrey plays great at passing – he has no problem in quickly sharing the puck with his partner. Although his wrist shot is one of the best in the league.

The last goal for Nashville is a real shot from a laser.

For two full seasons and three matches of this Andrei is the second sniper of “Carolina” and the third scorer.Only Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teryaväinen, the main stars of the team, have more. Svechnikov also has no problems with the quality of goals – 8 winning goals, only the same Aho has more.

And all this Svechnikov gave away by the age of 20, by his third season in the league. By the way, at the age of 20, Ovechkin just made his debut in the NHL, Panarin played in Vityaz, and Kucherov at 18 sat on stubs of playing time in CSKA, and at 20 played only in the lower ranks of Tampa.

All of Andrey’s partners emphasize that Svechnikov is a special player who amazed from the first lessons in the training camp.

In his first year on a limited ice, he scored 20 goals.

In the second – threw a lacrosse hysteria in the NHL and threw three goals to Henrik Lundqvist in the playoffs.

Nobody knows what to expect on the third day, because now there is no clear ceiling for Andrey.

Okay, he’s an incredible talent. And by whom to measure its stardom?

The best option is another talented winger from Russia who made his NHL debut at the age of 18 and immediately became a shining player.

If you haven’t guessed, we are talking about Ilya Kovalchuk.

Kovalchuk at his peak is one of the main stars of the NHL and an incredible combination of size, skating and shooting. Kovalchuk was one of the most stable snipers in the league, and the earned name made Ilya a contract for 6 million even after 5 years in the NHL.

Kovalchuk was more productive than Svechnikov at the age of 18 – a fact. But the starting positions were significantly different: in his debut season, Kovalchuk spent 4 minutes more than Svechnikov. In terms of time, in the majority, the difference is also more than twice: for Kovalchuk – 4 minutes on average per match, for Svechnikov – less than two.

These differences are due to the fact that NHL hockey has changed a lot over the past 19 years. Kovalchuk was the main star of the outsider team and its strongest player. Svechnikov joined the team that was competing for the playoffs and started at the third level by the coach’s decision – he adapted to adult hockey.

It is more interesting to compare the indicators of Kovalchuk and Svechnikov now – the role of Andrei is now drawn to the one that Ilya had in Atlanta. In the 2003/04 season, Kovalchuk scored 41 goals and scored 87 points.Or scored 0.51 goals per game and issued 1.07 points per game.

Svechnikov is quite capable of delivering such a pace, especially at a distance of 56 matches – he is young, he is recovering well in a tight schedule, and his division is played by Chicago, Detroit and Florida.

29 goals and 60 points for the regular season – those numbers that Svechnikov is obliged to break for the sake of full-fledged star status. If he picks up less – he will remain in the role of a cool top-6 striker, more – he will get the opportunity to upgrade his future contract.

This year is the last under the rookie contract. How much money can he get?

Depends on the season and the skills of agent Svechnikov.

The interests of the young star are represented by the International Sport Advisors agency, represented by agents Mark Gundler and Todd Diamond.

Among the agency’s top clients, there are enough players from Russia: Ivan Provorov (6.75 million per year), Mikhail Sergachev (4.8) and Dmitry Orlov (5.1). At the same time, the Finnish superstar Alexander Barkov will play for a couple of years for $ 5.1 million per season, but there is no doubt that he will hit the jackpot on the next contract.

How much will they give Svechnikov? If you focus on the contracts of Gandler’s other clients, there will be no super-tough negotiations – Andrey is in the status of a limited free agent, he likes the team, and his role will only grow.

The only serious condition for a player can be a bridge contract – for 2 or 3 years, so that by the time a new TV contract is signed and the ceiling grows, he can expect a serious increase in salary. The amount may well be at the level of the Laine or Barzel contracts – 7 million per year.This is less than Sebastian Aho makes, but more than any other Carolina player’s salary is a great way to emphasize star status.

The amount of the bridge may be less – everything depends on the statistics and the team’s success in the playoffs. If Svechnikov shows excellent performance and pulls Karolina beyond the second round, then he will easily get a contract at the level of the best strikers in the league.

Photo: Gettyimages.ru/Dave Reginek / NHLI, Bruce Bennett; RIA Novosti / Alexander Wilf

90,000 we definitely did not lose in character and desire, but the performance skills let down

The defender of the junior national team of Belarus analyzed the game against the Swedes and told when he would score his signature lacrosse goal.

Belarus gave an excellent fight to Sweden, but still lost: Klimovich scored the first goal and almost created a masterpiece

– What did the Belarusian national team fail in this match?

– Probably, to realize their chances: there were a lot of them, but they could not score. Somewhere, perhaps, they were worried, somewhere the opponent’s goalkeeper played well.

– Speaking of excitement, was it before the match or have you more or less calmed down?

– After the friendly match with Russia, we calmed down, but still a little worried: after all, the first match of the World Championship.

– The Swedes are the reigning champions. Did it inspire additional excitement?

– They are champions born in 2001, and now there are guys in the team in 2003. We were not very worried about this.

– If you take the game apart gradually, what did the team do?

– We gave a fight to a good opponent, created chances, they definitely did not lose in physics, character and desire. But the performance skills let me down.

– At the press conference, the coaches said that in the first period the task was to play more cautious hockey.

– The installation was to play according to our system, to show the hockey that we can play: good, attacking. We tried to stick, but we missed some points and conceded the washers.

– Did the last two goals spoil the mood badly? Anyway, do you have time to get upset?

– After the game we were a little upset, but tomorrow will be a new day, we need to prepare for the next match, to recover.

– What was the key moment of the match? And was he even there?

– As such, there was no key moment, somehow we gradually lost. We were sending off, in my opinion, we played in the minority seven times – this is a lot for a match with such an opponent as the Swedish national team. In the next meetings, you need to act with more discipline.

– Deletions are required and optional. Today’s – a consequence of what?

– Somewhere they did not work with their feet, somewhere they made a mistake, somewhere the situation developed in such a way that it was necessary to retire.

– How physically tired were you playing with the Swedes?

– Of course, we’re tired, but we are young guys, we are recovering quickly.

– Who called first after the game?

– Nobody called, everyone was already asleep. A couple of friends wrote, asked not to get upset.

– A few words about the team. We talked with Daniil Sotishvili, he said that the atmosphere within the team is now at the highest level, and it is pleasant to be in the locker room.

– Of course, very nice. Everyone wants to win, everyone is optimistic. The atmosphere is really cool.

– There were a lot of people in the stands today. Surely, many of them came to watch the teams or personally watch the players. Is it distracting at all?

– I do not think. We go out and play for the country, for the team in order to win, we don’t pay much attention to the stands.

– How comfortable do you feel on a small site?

– Cool, good atmosphere, everything is very fast – very cool emotions from the World Cup.

– If we compare the sites, everyone says that here you need to move faster and make decisions. Is this hockey more interesting to you?

– Yes, I like fast hockey.

– When are you planning to score a lacrosse goal?

– I don’t know yet, the main thing is that the team wins.

– A few words for the fans who support you from Belarus.

– Thank you very much, we feel support. We know that the fans are not around, but they watch the matches, they are worried. Thank them very much, – Kuzmin told Hockey.by correspondent Andrey Pavlovich.

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