With the explosive growth of the sport of lacrosse around the country, the need for knowledgeable, experienced coaches is greater than ever before. One characteristic that PWLC Lacrosse Coaches and other great coaches share is a deep appreciation for building a true TEAM. The PWLC strives to foster this mentality within the club.  We put our emphasize on teambuilding above any particular lacrosse skill.  We feel team building is the "glue" that is often missing when teams fall short. This also includes the players as well.  And as coaches we need to identify and recognize those players that put their teams first.

All PWLC coaches are volunteers.  If you would like to volunteer or help out with a team, please contact the Commissioner.

Critical Tips for New Youth Lacrosse Coaches

1. Co-opt and engage the parents:
   • There can never be too many Practice coaches: Dads, moms, injured older players.  All can help run drills or man a hydration station or help you with substitutions in your principal lessons.  Having a high coach to player ratio is always a good thing, but make sure they are coaching what you want.
2. Get a team Mom:
   • They make all of your best ideas come to fruition. Does everyone know that the game was rescheduled?  What about a team banquet?  Team moms solve these problems.
3. ORGANIZE PRACTICES Schedule to the minute:
   • Idle kids kill practices: Kids have the attention span of a gnat and hustle only when time for something is running out.
   • Run the fun stuff that kids love at the beginning of practice so late arrivals will miss it while they loosen up.
   • Print a practice schedule for the team for every practice with assignments for each assistant and goals for each drill station.
   • Nothing comes off but helmets and gloves when watering. Water breaks are no more than a minute.
   • Everything is done at full speed. The most important lesson in youth lacrosse is that anything less than full speed is inadequate.
   • If you’re bored, they’re REALLY bored.
4. Stress Fundamentals:
   • Teach defense first: All young lacrosse players want to do is score goals and hit people, probably in that order. The most direct way to instill the basics of teamwork and discipline is by creating an impenetrable D. Curiously, the best way to teach the importance of passing and off ball movement is to start kids thinking about how to stop it.
   • Keep your offense simple and relevant to the next level: There is a huge risk to bogging kids down in formations and chalk talks and eye charts. Teach them a basic slide and fill and adjust defense and they’ll figure out the tools needed to beat it when a defense is run badly. If you DO end up installing an offense, make it something that the HS coaches will recognize and install it for the man-up team. Everyone wants to play man-up, so everyone will learn that offense.
   • Dodges are FUNDAMENTALS.  Every player should practice dodges including D.  Incorporate the roll dodge and face dodge into line drills.  These should be second nature.
5. Remember that youth lacrosse is all about teaching – not winning:
   • Your success as a youth coach comes when these kids reach high school.
   • Discipline your renegades: One or two kids who refuse to pass in games or who are disruptive in practice diminish the experience for all kids on your team. Solve these problems. Talk to the kids, get the captains to talk to the kids, get the team mom to talk to the parents, or refund their money and suggest baseball.
   •  Play your whole squad: That is the objective of youth lacrosse. Development. If you are obsessed with winning try a higher level.
   • Praise in public, criticize in private: Even on the sideline in games let an assistant run shifts and take transgressors behind the bags to have a chat.
   • After games have the team think about things they did well and what they could have done better, ask them at the next practice.
6. Line drills are useful only for warm ups: 
   • Brief warm ups. The balls get sprayed around and kids go at half speed and nothing productive gets accomplished.
   • There is so much to lacrosse that is engaging and fulfilling that you can teach, why waste your practice time?
7. Resist the temptation to put all of your skilled players at attack:
   • Youth teams will leave 4 or 5 goals on the table because they can’t clear.
   • At the youth level all players should play all positions, the best way to become a better attackman, defender or middie is to know how your opposition plays.
8. Cultivate players:
   • Even if you are lucky enough to have a kid who WANTS to play goalie, rotate your best stick handlers and best leaders and most coachable kids through the goalie rotation every practice. Have 2 good goalie kits on hand and keep reinforcing that good goaltending is worth more than a 6 GPG attack man.
   • If you have a larger, slower guy, don't automatically put him on defense. Defenders need to be quick, because they react to what the offense does. This player may be better suited playing crease attack, where sprints are not called for as often. Get him a good set of stick skills and use him where he actually may be an advantage instead of a liability.
9. Run lots of full field drills and scrimmages:
   • A players’ “Field Sense” can only be developed this way.
   • Fundamentals should be taught, then practiced in game situations.
10. Teach face offs, clears, and fast breaks:
    • These are too often overlooked, but make up a large part of the game.
    • Remember you’re not just coaching for this season, but for these players’ futures as well.
11. Emphasize teamwork
    • During practice make offense look for the pass first.  Emphasize assists, and good passing.
    • Communication is key.  Make your players talk to each other constantly.