Lacrosse Tips: Ground Balls

 You'll hear it from your coaches again and again no matter what level you play at. The statement is a fact when coaches yell at you about "Ground balls in games". So in this weeks post I'm going to show you how to pick up a ground ball and multiple ways to do it so you can have more possession chances for you and your team 

2 Hand Ground Balls: When going for a traditional, 2 hand, ground ball. Have your stick in your dominant hand. Next, put your top hand all the way at the top of the stick, then put the same side foot next to the ball 

ex. So if the stick is in your RIGHT HAND then you step next to the ball with your RIGHT FOOT 

ex. If the stick is in your LEFT HAND then you step next to the ball with your LEFT FOOT

You're going to bend your knees and drop your butt straight to the ground

Have your knuckles "Graze the grass". So what that means is in order for you to get a clean scoop. You need to get your knuckles as close to the grass as you  can without  touching it, slowing you down. 

Finally scoop through the bottom of the ball and bring the stick directly up next to your head 

The reason you bring it next to your head is so when you need to you can get your hands away and make a good pass. But also, if someone swings for your stick to get the ball and they miss, they're going to hit you in the helmet which results in a penalty for the other team 

Here's a video of me scoring off a ground ball 

 

1 Hand Ground Ball: Going for a one hand ground ball looks flashy and looks cool. It's also a lot smoother and faster than 2 hands. Each way has it's pros and cons. But, the one thing I will say is that going for a one hand ground ball, THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR IT. If you have a chance at an easy ground ball. 2 HANDS. Because if you miss that easy ground ball because you wanted to look cool or you're too lazy to get low and scoop with 2 hands. I know you'll never hear the end of it from your coaches and rightfully so because I know you would never hear the end of it from me. Now, about how to actually do it. 

First things first; give yourself more control. Bump your bottom hand up the shaft just a little bit in order to give yourself better control over your stick. It's also the same as last time. Have the stick in your dominant hand and step with the dominant foot towards the ball. Scoop the bottom of the ball and run a few extra steps through the ball to practice 

- scooping through the ground ball 

- getting away from pressure 

- practice actually scooping the ball faster 

- practice faster pickups 

Here's a little video on how a 1 hand ground ball should look:

Goose and Chase: For a goose and chase you're going to do the same exact thing as the first two but the only difference is when you make your way to the ball, this time you're not going to scoop it up. What you're going to do is called a "goose" 

Goose- when you hit or kick the ball away from the opposing players 

Chase- chase after the ball and go scoop it 

So goose the ball, hit the ball away from the opposing players. Since you're the one hitting it, you already know where the ball is going so as you hit it, START  CHASING AFTER IT! 

Once you get to the ball the second time, then you scoop it up. Sometimes, you might have to goose it 2 or 3 times before you can actually pick up a clean ground ball 

The reason we hit the ball first: 

- You hit the ball away from pressure 

- So you can get a clean ground ball 

- To save it from going out of bounds 

- To hit it to an open teammate 

Here's a video on how a goose and chase ground ball should look: