The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Boys' Lacrosse

A youth coach who played on one of the country’s best college lacrosse teams and a teacher with more than 30 years in youth sports and physical education have teamed up to bring the successful Baffled Parent’s approach to one of the country’s fastest-growing youth sports. Once seen only in a few Eastern states, lacrosse is now played in more than 1,600 high school and 400 college programs. There are some 450 youth lacrosse associations in 34 states, and the sport is experiencing an annual growth rate of 15 to 20 percent. The International Lacrosse Federation has 14 member countries, and lists 22 others as developing lacrosse nations. Greg Murrell, who played on perennial national lacrosse contender Salisbury State University, coached high school lacrosse for seven years and regularly coaches at youth clinics in Maryland, a hotbed of lacrosse. James Garland, a 30-year youth coach and educator who holds a PhD in physical education, specializes in a “games” approach to teaching that optimizes movement and decision-making. Coaching Boy’s Lacrosse is written for the unprepared parent who is unwittingly thrust into the role of coaching his or her 6- to 12-year-old child’s lacrosse team.
It provides the fundamentals a new coach needs to control, motivate, and encourage a disparate group of boys of varying skills and dispositions. Coaching Boy’s Lacrosse grows with the coach, from explaining the basics of lacrosse to running a successful practice to managing a game. It address both broad organizational and logistical issues (How do I get uniforms or arrange for practice time?) and more focused specifics (What do I do at the first practice? How do I determine a child’s position? What drills are best to teach basic skills like catching, throwing, and cradling? What about safety concerns?) The text allows a coach to match drills to his players skills and motivations – and focuses on teaching kids to enjoy the experience Murrell and Garland’s approach gives a coach drills that allow kids the chance for plenty of action as they learn the subtleties of the game. These drills not only eliminate standing around but also teach decision-making in game-like situations. Drills are presented in a progressive format to allow a coach to choose drills to match players’ skills and motivation.
Murrell and Garland will also include instructive anecdotes from their own coaching and playing days and chapter-ending question-and-answer sections dealing with typical problems every coach faces. Coaching Boy’s Lacrosse has received the endorsement of Dave Cottle, men’s lacrosse coach at Loyola College, whose teams have been ranked in the top ten nationally for eleven consecutive years.

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