While I realize the value of putting forth a solid effort when it comes to lesson planning, I just recently recognized the true worth of these meticulous plans when I put together the first weeks worth of practice plans for my lacrosse team. With just five days of practice until our first game this weekend, I became a little anxious since I have yet to install a base offense or defense, and just thinking about running a man-up and man-down unit makes me shiver. Regardless of the short period of time before our first game, it is simply a matter of conveying my lacrosse knowledge to the players so that they can compete to the best of their ability come Saturday.
Just like a lesson plan in the classroom, each drill that I run in practice needs to be meaningful and provide the sense of a game-time situation. This season is a big shift from my experience last season since most of these kids have grown up with the game and have an idea of how to play for the most part. This is blessing since I do not have to start with the pure fundamentals of the game, but it is also a curse since there are higher expectations than what I worked with last year. Aside from the dual nature of this new program, I am hopeful that I can transition the 'power' on the field from my control to the players rather quickly, which means that I will only have to fine-tune things along the way after I get the foundation in place.
