Sports for Your Child

This is a story of a recreational lacrosse team that developed into a national contender in just a few short years.  This Raiders team came into existence three years ago as a mid-level developmental team.  No players were turned away and we had eleven players on that team that had never played lacrosse before.  Miraculously we ended up the season at twelve wins and two losses.  It seemed like we could have produced a movie based upon that season and believe me, I thought about it.

The second year, we stepped up to a tougher level of competition at the second highest level in the state of Colorado.  With a record of nineteen wins and zero losses, (a dream season) in that second year (2008), we were compelled to try our hand at the red (highest) level this year (2009). 

Head coach Don Knobloch had a vision and methodically went about making it happen.  The regular season was a challenge as we finished with two wins and eight losses with fourteen players and were quickly eliminated from the state championship. 

As I mentioned, Coach Knobloch had a plan, though, and twelve outstanding additional players joined the team in the postseason as we attempted to win the Colorado Cup.  We finished the Cup as champions with six wins and zero losses as we defeated the state select team twice.

We encountered some challenges in the Vail Shootout and finished fourth out of sixteen teams.  The ultimate winner was a great team representing the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).  Lessons were learned by all of us and we were cautioned that we were going to have challenges in the national championship as most teams would be comprised of a mixture of  ‘rising’ high school sophomores and freshmen.  Our team consisted of rising seventh, eight and ninth graders.  Oh boy!

That brought us to the ultimate goal, the U15 National Championship.  Thirty-two teams from all regions of the country descended upon Bel Air, MD for the championship July 8-10, 2009.  We started off playing against one the tournament’s top teams, Blackwolf Select.  We weren’t ready for what we encountered, lost ten to two, and stood at the verge of being eliminated from the championship bracket.  One more loss in our three games in pool play and we would go to the consolation bracket.  Ouch.  We didn’t spend all that money and time practicing to be eliminated so quickly. 

In our second game against Team Vermont we won eleven to seven and found ourselves slotted to play the Maryland Hot Stix.  We didn’t know what to expect but, hey, it was a Maryland team that had showed up very well in a prestigous tournament earlier in this year.  We started the game very apprehensively as Maryland, and the Northeast in general are the hotbeds for lacrosse at any levels in the United States.  We played a real tough game, came out on top nine to five, and thus were headed to the Championship Bracket.  WOW!  We could have stopped there and it would have been a dream come true.

The next day we began by playing against the number one seed, “Next Level Lacrosse”.  We were introduced to a brand of lacrosse that we hadn’t seen yet and lost eleven to one.  We were sure that Next Level would be the ultimate champions! 

Now at two wins and two losses, we were facing elimination from the tournament in our next game. We watched as Team Colorado was eliminated from the tournament in the losers bracket and felt lucky indeed that we might end up ranked as the sixteenth team in the tournament.

Our next opponent, the BattleLax Bombers, a team from North Carolina, with ten rising sopohomores, played a strong game against us.  Against many odds, we came from behind to win six to five after our starting goalie, Jason Cleary, stopped a point blank shot with just a few seconds remaining.  The players mobbed Jason and we were on Cloud Nine!  We now knew that we couldn’t finish worse than twelfth in the country.  It was an amazing feeling.

Although we lost the next day to a strong Ithaca team, we were very content to know that we finished our season within the top twelve teams in the country.  The ultimate winner was FCA and although the coach was the same as the Vail team, he had some new players that were rising sophomores.  You’d have to say that the FCA coach, Frank Kelly was the U15 coach of the year.  What a great coach and a nice guy as well.

It’s been a dream ride, but most of our boys are off to high school and probably ten different teams.  The comraderie and sense of family has been tremendous and these boys will be linked forever.  With a mixture of emotions, I say “Go Raiders” or ”303′ as the players would chant after huddles.  I’ll miss this group of boys.

Rich Rosdal Coaches Corner, US Lacrosse National Championship championship, game, lacrosse, Maryland, money, National, Play, recreation, team

They’re not all fast, strong, agile, or quick, but all professional athletes have one thing in common with each other.  They were all youth athletes!

Coaches and parents have a lot to say about the development of youth athletes, but ultimately it’s what’s inside the athlete that determines whether they succeed as a high school, college or, ultimately, professional athlete.  If an athlete isn’t determined and willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter how much talent they have.

So maybe pros have two things in common;  they were youth athletes and they work(ed) hard.

If your youth athlete wants to continue in sports as long as possible, the key is hard work.  All pro athletes have skills that came easily to them and other skills that they had to work hard to master.  Guide your child by inspiring them to give 100% effort every time they practice or play.

You’ll be surprised what’s possible with hard work. 

Rich Rosdal Parents Parlor, Player's Panacea agile, athlete, College, development, Fast, hard, high school, Play, professional, Quick, Strong, work, youth

Please Note:  These position primers are intended for the youth level of lacrosse only.

A seventh grade defenseman with his long pole.

There are three dedicated defensive players positioned on the field when a team is at full strength. Now this isn’t totally true as the three middies also play defense and they should be dedicated. The distinction is that the three defenseman primarily play defense. In most cases these defensemen will use a stick that is longer than the other sticks on the field. This longer stick is, fittingly, called a long pole.

The primary responsibility of the defenseman is to prevent the offensive team from scoring. The defensive player can be positioned on any offensive player in a man to man scheme. In a zone defense, the player will be responsible for an area or zone and will do their best to guard that territory.

Very often, coaches will place less athletic players on defense. This doesn’t work out very well since a good defender should have quick feet and be able to mirror the offensive player’s movements. As kids get older, it becomes apparent that good, athletic long poles are critical to the success of the team.

Strength is very important, as the defenseman will want to check the opposing player to disrupt the flow of a play. Since lacrosse is a team sport, it is necessary for a long pole to “slide” over when a teammate loses control of the offensive player. The sliding player becomes the secondary defender when this occurs.

Defensemen Attributes at a Glance:

Quick
Strong
Adaptive
Selfless
Physical
Aware

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions aggressive, athlete, ball, block, catch, Child, defense, Fast, hit, lacrosse, pass, Play, player, position, Power, primer, Quick, reflexes, run, skills, sports, Strong, throw, tough, vision, youth

The attack player is primarily responsible for offensive production. There are three attacks on the field when the team is at full strength. Two of the attack players (wings) are usually positioned on the imaginary line from the front of the goal toward each sideline, which is called the Goal Line Extended (GLE). The other attack player should be at the X position, which is behind the goal.

The wings can be used to get an angle on the goal and score when they have an open shot. The X Attack player is similar to a point guard in basketball because they can create goals by finding the open player. It could be one of the wing attack players or one of the middies. This doesn’t mean that the X player can’t score, but it will be the second option after finding the open player.

Another responsibility of the attack player is to run after the ball, after a shot, since the closest player as it goes out of bounds will maintain possession. If the ball goes out of bounds on a pass, the last player to have touched the ball inbounds will forfeit possession.

There are many potential formations in lacrosse and the locations mentioned above, for the attack players, will be different in some other formations.

When the ball is turned over to the other team all offensive players become defensive players. If the attack players excel on defense there is an opportunity to recover the ball.

Attack Attributes at a Glance:

Quick
Great Stick Skills
Excellent Shooter
Good Passer
Vision
Tenacious

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions athlete, Child, lacrosse, pass, Play, player, position, Power, primer, Quick, run, skills, sports, throw, vision, youth

The midfielder or the “middie” is the player who can play on either side of the field without requiring another player to change what they do ordinarily. The middie is a part of the offense and defense. Unlike hockey, which is a similar sport, most of the positions in lacrosse are restricted to one side of the field. The midfielder is the exeption to this rule.

Because of this freedom of movement, the middie must be in top physical shape. Speed is a great attribute for the middie, who also must possess excellent stick skills. Players should work at using their off-hand, over time, until they become comfortable with the stick. In time, the player should be able to use both hands which makes them more adaptable to situations.

The middie needs to possess strong defensive skills. When playing defense, the midfielder should keep their feet moving so they are positioned between the opposing player and their goal. At all times they should be in position to prevent a shot on goal.

In the offensive scheme, the middie can be used to clear, shoot, pass, drive, possess or cut.

Middie Attributes at a Glance:

Fast
Quick
In Excellent Condition
Great Stick Skills
Quick feet
Strong

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions Add new tag, athlete, ball, catch, pass, Play, player, position, primer, Quick, reflexes, run, throw, vision, youth

The goalie is the last line of defense in lacrosse. This position requires a courageous player with a temperment durable enough to accept that goals happen sometimes regardless of how well the goalie plays.

The goalie must have quick hands and feet in order to stop a speeding bullet (the ball). The ball is made of rubber and while it is about the size of a baseball, it is heavier. Getting hit by a lacrosse ball can hurt and certainly can cause a bruise. At younger ages, goalies can be found wearing shin pads and every other kind of pad imagineable. I have seen goalies that resemble Robocop, but they were slowed by all the padding. Competitive goalies in field lacrosse typically do not wear shin pads, although they do protect themseleves with a helmet, gloves, shoulder, a mouthguard, elbow pads, a cup, a chest protector, a short stick with an oversized mesh head.

This player must be aware of the location of the ball at all times which can be challenging. It’s important for the goalie to cut off angles and minimize the visible area where the offensive player can shoot. For instance, if the attack player at X comes around the right side of the goal, the goalie should move to that side and position their body right next to the goal post. It would be very difficult for the attack player to score from the side of the goal since the open area of the goal would be very narrow.

There are times when the offensive player is shielded, from sight, by the defensive player. Since shots can come from many angles, it becomes very difficult for the goalie to stop every shot.

Goalie Attributes at a Glance:

Quick Hands and Feet
Courageous
Short Memory
Aware
Leadership Abilities
Ability to Meet an Offensive Player

Rich Rosdal Lacrosse Positions athlete, attitude, lacrosse, pads, Play, player, position, primer, Quick, reflexes, save, sports, tough, vision, youth

Rich Rosdal Football Positions athlete, ball, Child, children, football, pass, Play, player, position, primer, Quarterback, run, sports, Strong, throw, youth

The fullback is a hybrid of the running back and an offensive lineman. The player to select for this position should be tough and also athletic.

Typically, the fullback’s primary responsibility will be to block for the quarterback and the running back. A strong, blocking fullback can pave the way for the running back and also can lay that last important block before the quarterback throws a touchdown pass.

The next skill that a fullback should possess is the ability to run the ball. Most often, the fullback’ running style will feature power first and all the fancy skills second. If you have a fullback with the secondary skills then you might be tempted to position that player at running back and look for another player to fill the fullback position.

Depending upon the offensive scheme, a fullback can help the team if they can catch the ball out of the backfield.

Fullback Atributes at a Glance

Power
Good Blocking Ability
Balance
Speed
Field Vision
Good/Strong Hands
Lack of Height isn’t a Problem
Agility

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Rich Rosdal Football Positions catch, football, hands, Play, player, position, Quarterback, Quick, run, sports, throw, youth

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