A player. A stick. A ball. A wall.
Without exception, every great lacrosse player has used this combination for countless hours to turn average skills into advanced skills. Committing yourself to 20 minutes a day--only 20 minutes-- will improve your stick handling, hand/eye coordination, passing, catching, shooting, fakes, and trickery. The beauty of “wall ball” is that you do not have to rely on anyone else to get better. Just you and the wall: a side of a school, gym, tennis court, park, or back of your house (watch the windows).
Here are few wall ball drills:
Quick Stick/Rapid Fire 2 sets of 25 on each side
Line up around 3-5 yards from the wall. First, 25 right hand throw and catches without cradling. After completing 25 right hand throw and catches, do the same with your left.
Right and Left Hand 2 sets of 25 on each side
Line up about 10 feet from the wall.
2-12 Yard Passing 2 sets of 25 on each side
Line up 12 yards from the wall. Start with 25 right hand throws, which will come back to you on one bounce. When you retrieve the ball from the one bounce, cradle once, then follow-up with the next throw. When you have completed 30 right handed throws, follow-up with 25 left.
Throwing & Catching On The Run: Line up 5-7 yards from the wall on the far left side of the wall. With the stick in your right hand and while running alongside the wall (towards the other end), throw and catch the ball on the run. The important part is to throw the ball on the run and not always catching the ball stick side. Sometimes throw the ball against the wall and catch it cross hand (or across your face). Turn and run the other way throwing lefty. Keep repeating these steps.
Shooting 2 sets of 25 on each side
Line-up around 12-15 yards from the wall. Get in proper shooting formation (hands loose, three quarter/overhand motion, snapping of the hips, and follow through). Mark a few places on the wall with tape to aim at. Shoot at about 80% velocity, having the ball come back to you with one bounce. Depending on where you aim, the ball may take bounces that aren’t the same, so you have to work a little bit. Start with 25 right, and follow up with about 25 left.
One hand technique 2 sets of 25 on each side
Stand few yards from the wall. Wearing gloves, hold the stick in one hand at its balance point and then place the head of the stick in the "box" area next to the ear. Then with one hand, "snap" the wrist which will cause the ball to come out of the stick in a straight line and bounce off the wall straight back into the stick kept in the box area. This will be difficult at first. Do not take shortcuts-- keep the head of the stick in the box and not down off the shoulder.
Backhand catching 2 sets of 25 on each side
With body and feet square to the wall, throw right handed at an angle so that the ball is returned to the left side. Keeping the stick in your right hand, rotate your stick around to the left to catch the ball. Pull back quickly to your right side and throw again.
Over the shoulder catching 2 sets of 25 on each side
With left foot forward, hrow right handed at an angle so that the ball is returned to the left side. Rotate your body and your stick around, keeping stick in you right hand, to catch ball on left at a jog. Continue jogging in a circle to come up right handed again.