How to Play Lacrosse

First off, in order to learn how to play lacrosse, you will need to find a descent quality lacrosse stick. These are usually easily found at any sporting goods stores in your area for about $30 or so. You also may know a friend who would let you borrow their lacrosse stick as well. Lacrosse sticks are comprised of a head, the mesh and a shaft. The head is on the top of a lacrosse stick and controls the ball. The mesh is located inside of the head, also known as stringing. The shaft is comprised either of metal alloys or wood and is used to control the entire lacrosse stick. Controlling the stick is accomplished by having right-handed people placing their left hand on the bottom of the stick and their right hand on the top of the stick. And if you are a lefty, reverse the procedure.

Next, you need to understand how to cradle. Using centrifugal force in order to keep the lacrosse ball from leaving your stick is a very useful curling technique, indeed. This is accomplished by using your wrist to make a curling motion with. A great way to practice this motion, to begin with, is by using a mirror. Standing in front of a mirror, put the ball in the sticks pocket (where the lacrosse ball rests in your mesh) and proceed to place your dominant hand roughly 2 inches below the sticks head. Face the head towards the mirror in order to see the ball clearly. Next, while curling your wrist, move the stick head in front of your face. Continue practicing until you begin to catch on. If more instruction is needed, watch lacrosse games on TV or video until you totally comprehend this move.

Now you can learn how to pass. In lacrosse, passing plays a critical role and is therefore the most important aspect of the game. You use passing to get yourself out of a jam, move the lacrosse ball up the field or to give your teammate a pass for a goal while the other teams defense is out of place. To begin practicing passing, keep the head of your stick near your ear and begin to flick your top hand wrist while pulling the bottom hand more towards your body. In time, you will better understand how your lacrosse stick will throw and can then made adjustments to your throwing in order to improve your accuracy.

The next step is learning to catch. Try to look the lacrosse ball into the mesh area of your stick when attempting to catch it. You must be aware that lacrosse games can be lost or won on ground balls. In order to grab a ground ball, begin by putting your foot fairly close to it as it's on the ground. Next, make sure your head is roughly parallel with the ground and sink your hips down a bit. The lacrosse sticks butt needs to be lowered down as well. Finally, scoop through where the ball is, catch it in the mesh of your stick and move the head up towards your face. Eventually you will learn to catch, cradle shoot and pass using both hands. You need to be diligent and practice often, because it takes time to acquire these new skills.

Katie Appleby is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about playing lacrosse please visit Lacrosse Online for current articles and discussions.

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