Wrap your mind around the greatest lacrosse shooting technique in the history of the game. We’ve broken down this critical scoring skill into it’s components to help guide and inspire players and coaches to fill the net.
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Shooting Styles, Techniques, and Locations
Offensive Skill, Elite Shooting Skill: Our full compilation of insane shooting strokes, velocity, accuracy. The full gambit of lacrosse shooting.
Offense, Shooting: Accuracy: The #1 Asset to a Shooter and Finisher. Accuracy and Quickness of Release far outweigh Velocity when it comes to Scoring Goals.
Offense, Shooting: Alley Shooting: The standard for midfield shooting, alley locations open up on hard North/South drives to the cage. Footwork, body inertia, and shooting technique are instrumental to finishing when barreling down the alley.
Offense, Shooting: Behind the Back: Finishers and mid-range shooters can increase their angle to the cage and save time to not change hands by releasing the ball over their shoulder (and hiding it from the goalie).
Offense, Shooting: Bounce Shots: Use the Earth! Bounce shots are ingrained in the culture of our sport. In the advent of sports turf, bouncers have lost value. When you find yourself on a nice hard, choppy, or slick piece of grass – use it to your advantage.
Offense, Shooting: Deceptive Shooting: Great finishers and scorers are able to deceive the goalie with body language, stick fakes, and pre-shot movements. Watch these elite scorers use the art of deception to hit the back of the net.
Offense, Shooting: High to High Shots: If you’ve got the heat behind your stroke, high-to-high shooting is a great form to utilize for shooters. When shooting overhand from a high-release point, many goalies tend to drop their hands in towards their body, which exposes the upper portion of the net.
Offense, Shooting: Catching it Loaded: Great shooter’s and finishers set their body, feet, and stick before even receiving the ball. This cuts down release time, and allows shooter’s to beat the goalie before he is even set. This is an elite skill that requires repetition, anticipation, and high-lacrosse IQ.
Offense, Shooting: Low to High Shots: Changing planes and lifting the ball from a low release point is incredibly important to have in your repertoire. Some passes simply aren’t always on the ear. Shooters should learn and aspire to let it fly from every possible release location. And we all know this is so much fun.
Offense, Shooting: Near-Side Shots: This elusive location on the cage can perhaps be the most rewarding for shooters. The accuracy and ability to deceive the goalie by placing balls in the near-side location can be one of the most underrated advanced shooting skill on the planet.
Offense, Shooting: Overhand Shots: A coach’s dream shooting technique! Overhand shooting allows for multiple shot locations from the same release point, making it difficult for goalies to read. Overhand shooters tend to be more accurate, forcing goalies to make saves, and thus scoring more goals.
Offense, Shooting: Quick-Sticks and Quick Release: Most great finishers and scorers simply get the ball in and out of their stick before the goalie can set his feet & find the release of the ball. Watch these magicians use quick/soft hands to pop the ball into the net to score.
Offense, Shooting: RANGE: You have got to respect the ballers that can let it fly from deep. Range shooting requires the defense to stretch, similar to trying to guard Steph Curry. Watch as shooter’s blow the ball by goalies from way out!
Offense, Shooting: On the Run Shooting: 80%+ of the shots you take in your lacrosse career will be with your foot moving. This extensive shooting on the run playlist showcases the footwork, stickskills, and power required to bury the ball on the run.
Offense, Shooting: Side-arm Shooting: A coach’s dream! Sidearm shooting is an important skill to add to your bag. While there is a time and place, sidearm shooting can provide a finisher with open lanes to the cage and assist in changing levels from mid to both high & low.
Offense, Shooting: Side-Pipe Accuracy: UVA coaches Marc Van Arsdale and Dom Starsia always encourage their shooters to find the ‘6-inches off the side-pipes.’ Make Goalies move from their set position to make saves, and challenge them to use their stick and body on the move. Putting the ball to the side pipes is the greatest revelation I shooter can realize.
Offense, Shooting: Step-Down Shots: The shot we all know and love. Feet set, time and room, let it fly. Step-down shots come from long and mid-range, but the capacity to maintain great footwork and shooting technique is what makes these shots fall.
Offense, Shooting: Sweep Shooting: Different than shooting down the alley, these shots come when dodgers can take the middle of the field. Increasing angle on the goal provides great value, but shooters must bend towards the cage to make the most of their velocity and finishing stroke.
Offense, Shooting: Twisters: A recent revelation in finishing skill as indoor has fused with outdoor. A shooter’s ability to increase angle and deceive goalies while maintaining their stick in their strong/current hand.
Offense, Shooting: Up the Hash Shooting: Finishing around the Pipes and moving your body up-field along the football hashmarks provides an increased angle and a difficult read for the goalie. The footwork, shot releases, and locations are invaluable for attack players and inverting midfielders.
Offense, Shooting: Shooting from the Wing: Attackers who play left and right wing attack garnish these opportunities in transition situations, 6v6, and Extra Man. Make these high-quality shots count by studying the best to ever do it from the wing location.