Lacrosse & Football

Playing lacrosse during the spring season offers a significant, often underestimated advantage: it sharpens your ability to communicate effectively on the field. Players aren't simply shouting at each other for fun; they are maintaining constant communication to anticipate and adapt to any situation that arises during the game. These communication skills instill the habit of sharing valuable insights with your teammates, a quality highly valued by football coaches. By developing strong communication skills, your son can distinguish himself as a vocal leader on the football field.

The importance of footwork in football cannot be overstated. Agility is a fundamental requirement for success in football, regardless of the player's position. Lacrosse not only places a strong emphasis on agility but can be considered a sport built around it.

Football is inherently a contact sport, with every play involving bodies colliding. Lacrosse uniquely offers football players the opportunity to refine their ability to handle contact. While the nature of physical contact in lacrosse differs from football, emphasizing technical body checks and precise stick checks over tackling opponents to the ground, it compels football players to reevaluate their body positioning and approach to contact. This helps them become more technically proficient in their physical abilities.

Several football positions, such as wide receivers, quarterbacks, and defensive backs, place a premium on hand-eye coordination. Lacrosse excels at improving hand-eye coordination as it involves a different kind of skill set that many athletes are not accustomed to. Most athletes are accustomed to catching and throwing balls directly with their hands, whereas lacrosse requires the use of an intermediary tool, such as a lacrosse stick, to perform intricate hand-eye movements.

Lacrosse demands speed and quickness, particularly for midfielders and attackmen. These attributes can benefit football players, especially those in skill positions, as they need to be fast and agile to excel on the field.

With the football season following closely after lacrosse, the latter serves as an excellent preparation opportunity. Lacrosse involves extensive running and can be considered a form of "hidden conditioning." Additionally, the movements and physical demands of lacrosse contribute to overall athletic development and strength, benefiting athletes in other sports as well.