AboutJonathan Edwards Expertise I'm a former All-American goalie and have played every position at all levels.
I also coached a high school program in Massachusetts for four years where I helped a number of athletes go on to play college ball in all divisions. Currently I spent much of my time between Massachusetts and Calgary, AB Canada where I have had a chance to work with a number of box lacrosse players who have gone on to play field in the US. Currently I run two blogs. www.lacrossegoaltending.blogspot.com for goalies. As well as www.yourbestlacrosse.blogspot.com for field players. I also run the number one lacrosse newsletter for goalies and the number one conditioning newsletter for field players.
Experience I was a high school All-American who was recruited by a number of Division 1 schools. I have also been a coach and ran a high school program for four years. I have coached at summer camps and also run my own website for goalies as well as a lacrosse fitness site.
Publications Too numerous to name here.
Education/Credentials Currently I am the most requested Expert on AllExperts.com in the category of lacrosse. I was an Olympian in the sport of luge. Also attended Stanford University. Former strength and conditioning coach who has helped thousands of athletes world wide improve their game.
Awards and Honors I was an All-American and an All-League player as well as the MVP of the East West Prep School All Star Game.
Question I'm a defender (6'8", 260lbs), and I need some help with body checks. Although I'm big, I've never really been shown how to hit someone. All I here is "get low to the ground and explode." And because of that, my playing suffers. Can you help me out? I'd like stuff like angles, body positioning, where and when to shift weight, how to train to "explode," etc.
Thanks
Answer Hey there Joe. This is a pretty broad question to answer via email so I'm going to try and point you in the right direction.
Check out www.championshipproductions.com I think that's the url. Just google Championship Production and go find some one on one defensive DVD's. That will give you all of the angles, body positioning, etc. that is specific to lacrosse.
To be honest, there isn't a lot of teaching of hitting that goes on in lacrosse. There aren't really a lot of times that you get to lay someone out so people tend to focus more on the positioning etc.
If you want to learn about hitting I would try and find a football coach at your school who can teach it to you. That is what I did in high school was find a football guy who could teach me how to hit properly. With your size you're going to be able to run over a lot of people. You just have to learn about things like keeping two hands on the stick, etc, so that you don't get called for penalties. Ref's tend to get a little flag happy when they see a guy your size running around trying to deck people. But if you learn the rules, and get low when you hit people, you'll be a force.
Good luck and let me know how it goes. You can always email me through my blog at www.lacrossegoalietips.com
