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 My 11 year old son took up Lacrosse 3 years ago. Lacrosse wasn't available to me when I was his age so I never played and don't know all that much about the game. His team is getting pretty good now and most of the player's Dad's played and/or coached Lacrosse, so the kids have a pretty good handle on where they are supposed to be and what they're supposed to do, but my son seems to be falling behind. I want to help him improve his fundamentals. On his team, they rotate through all the positions. Aside from this fine site (where I've already learned a lot just reading the posts), where can I quickly educate myself in the basics so that I can "coach" my son? Anything you can offer will be appreciated. Thanks.
Answer Tim what a fantastic question! I can empathize with this one. My dad was a musician and not an athlete, and then I came along and didn't like music and became an athlete. We didn't play ball too much. It was a chore getting him out there to play catch. And he couldn't really relate to what I was doing. Somewhere along the line I became an All-American so he must have done something right to help me get there even though he didn't have that mentorship ability athletically to guide me.
But now, at 35, I can look back and see some of the things both my parents did to help me get to that level and I'll share some of them with you so hopefully you can help guide your son.
1) Lacrosse was never stressful for me. I was not a gifted athlete, but along the way I learned to really love the game of lacrosse. This was back in the day when lacrosse was not nearly as "cool" as it is today. It was a preppy sport played at private schools.
But I was lucky enough to fall in love with it on my own. My parents didn't push me one way or another.
2) They guide me to environments where I could learn and have fun. Whether it was school. Or summer camps. Or summer leagues. I was around healthy environments that promoted a fun lacrosse experience. I was lucky to meet up with some guys who were a lot older than me at the time. They were fun, showed me the ropes, and taught me about the game beyond the stressful school experience. When I say stressful I mean stress in regards to making the team, staying in shape, making the Varsity etc. In the off season I played with guys who helped me get better just by being around them.
3) The encouraged me to get proper equipment so that the game wasn't any more difficult than it had to be. Lacrosse is a lot like the game of golf. It's hard enough to begin with, but playing with bad clubs makes it even harder. My parents helped me get good equipment so that I felt safe and could learn proper stick skills to throw and catch.
Ok, so, those are just a couple. But here are some things to more directly answer your question above...
First off, why is he falling behind? Does he not have the stick skills? Is he small? I'm a strength and conditioning coach and a former Olympian so I have a pretty solid background in athlete development. In Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) we talk about the three ages of the athlete. There is the Chronilogical Age (How many years old is he?) There is the biological age (He's 11 but all the kids his age look like they're 13.) And then there's the Psychological Age (He's 11 but he acts like he's 8, or 14 for that matter.) So when you say he's falling behind why is that?
If he's smaller than the rest and his Biological Age is young you need to encourage him to stay a part of the game and to be patient. His body size will catch up to his age. This is the toughest time for any athlete and the time that most athletes quit because they just aren't strong enough to keep up.
We can't do anything about his chronological age. The only option here is to keep him back a year. I did this between my junior and senior year of High School so that I could get an extra year of lacrosse and be an all american. It worked. I also became a better student too. It's an option, probably not now but closer to high school.
If his Psychological Age is young and he's a little immature for his age you need to be more patient still. I know what it's like to have this. My son is only 22 months but when I take him to Gymtastics and all the kids are jumping and running and doing stuff, and my son is chewing on his toes, a little part of me goes, "URRR!!" But then I have to remind myself that every kid is extremely different. All of the ages that I have mentioned take time to develop. If you plan for your kid to NOT be a prodigy your mindset is more relaxed and you pass that attitude on to your son. "It's ok. You'll get it. Enjoy the game and it will come."
As far as fundamentals go: Get a stick for yourself and learn how to catch and throw. Do a Google search for "lacrosse wall ball drills" There are a couple of great links and you will find drills that your son can do with a buddy or with any wall. (Get ready for some broken windows!)
Go to the US Lacrosse Association website and find out when the next coaches clinic is. Go to that. Learn about the game.
Go to Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com and get the book Lacrosse by Dave Peitramalla (sp) It's a blue book about $40 which is a great book about the game.
Go to www.SportsNationVideo.com and order up any of the lacrosse videos there. I have a ton of the goaltending ones and they are all awesome.
The lacrosse final four weekend is coming up on Memorial Day weekend. Have a father/son weekend and go to that. He will love the atmosphere and will get a bigger picture of the game as a whole. If your eye is on the end result the little skill stuff takes care of itself. (I could write a book on that one topic alone but I'm sure you get my point.)
Check out www.InsideLacrosse.com. Get him a subscription to Lacrosse Magazine.
I don't know if you are an athletic dad or not, but by your question I'd assume that you have a bit of an athletic understanding, here's a suggestion that may or may not work: As a strength coach I've seen a lot of kids improve on the field of play by getting stronger. If you have the relationship with your son where you can work out together, do it. Weight training is fine for your son at his age with proper progression. If you have a talented strength coach in your area who works with kids you'll want to check him out and see if you can enroll your son in some training. Or work out with him on you own. It can be a bonding experience if done correctly. Check out the International Youth Coaching Association at www.iyca.org to learn more about coaching.
Tim, I'm limited by how much I can write in one of these responses. I hope that these suggestions help but if I can clarify anything for you just email me at jone94@shaw.ca and I'll help you some more.
I'd like to leave you with this: I don't believe that you can really coach kids. You can only create an environment for them where learning is fun. Especially at this age. Your son is going through lots of developmental changes and right now lacrosse is a fun activity. Don't, I repeat, don't get too concerned about your son falling behind at this age. The kids who are advanced, or seem advanced, will not always be advanced. I've seen it happen too many times. This is the age where early puberty starts to kick in and kids start to separate athletically. The parents of the kids who are good smile and nod. The parents whose kids are falling behind get stressed. But what ends up happening is the good kids get by but don't develop the necessary attitudes necessary for ultimate athletic success. If you can create an environment for your son where playing is fun he will catch up and ultimately pass those kids who right now seem further ahead.
Be patient. Be loving. Create a great environment and lead by example where you can. You're son's going to be just fine.
Good luck. Email me if you need anything.
Best,
Jonathan Edwards - Olympian
www.lacrossegoaltending.com coming soon!
