12-14 Lacrosse Drills
228 drills for 12-14 lacrosse players. Browse by skill focus and add them directly to your practice plan.
5v4 Fast Break with Trailing Middie
- Can have 7v6 as well with trail. - Setup with 3 middies on attack and 2 middies on defense coming in from the 50 with 2 attack and 2 defenders low (or 4 attack and 4 defenders low) - Add the 3rd defensive middie once the ball passes the 30. - Defense needs to slow down the ball and then get organized until they can get into a settled offense. - Offense needs to push the fast break before defense can get settled. - Switch out the low girls every 3-4 reps.
Out of Dodge Drill
Start six offensive players in a 1-4-1 formation and six defenders matched up, with a goalie in the cage. On the coach’s whistle, offense begins passing around the perimeter. The coach calls out the jersey number of the defender covering the ball. That defender sprints to the sideline and back before returning to the play. As the defender vacates his spot, the ball carrier attacks the goal, forcing the rest of the defense to slide and adjust to limit scoring opportunities. After a goal or turnover, the drill resets and another defender is called out. Players rotate positions after several repetitions. Emphasize clear communication, proper footwork, and awareness of both the ball and adjacent slides. Defense must move cohesively, anticipate offensive cuts, and maintain strong positioning.
5v4 Drill
Set up half the field with five offensive players and four defenders. The coach holds a ball and can either roll it out as a ground ball or pass it directly into the group to start the action. On the whistle, the offense attacks the goal with one extra player, moving the ball quickly and looking for gaps. The defense slides, communicates, and tries to prevent a shot while managing their numbers disadvantage. The play continues until there’s a goal, save, clear, or the coach blows the whistle. Focus on crisp passes, smart positioning, and timing your slides perfectly. Encourage the offense to use the extra player advantage without overcommitting, and remind defenders to anticipate passes and recover quickly. To mix it up, flip the numbers so the defense has five and the offense has four, or add rules like a minimum number of passes before shooting, or requiring defenders to clear the ball outside the attack zone. You can even start from a ground ball to simulate a chaotic restart.
Gladiator
Bucket goes in the middle of the crease. One player starts with the ball ~10 yards away from the bucket. One player starts on the crease. The player with the ball is trying to put the ball in the bucket while the other player is looking to prevent it. This should be competitive and physical.
Half field 3v3 continuous
- break into 2 teams - there will be 3 lines of each team lined up at the 30 - the light team starts on attack and the dark team starts on defense in a 3v3 - if the light team scores or turns the ball over, the dark team clears to the 3 lines of dark on the 30, 3 light players re-defend. - Once cleared, the 3 dark defense goes out, the 3 new dark players are on offense and the light players that were just on offense are now on defense.
Footwork Drill
This drill builds reaction time, defensive footwork, and anticipation. Athletes start with foot fires, then on a whistle twist hips left or right while keeping shoulders square. Add cone calls: if the color is behind, they slide; if in front, they sprint, break down, touch, and return. Final stage combines hip twists with cone recognition, forcing quick direction changes and recovery—mimicking real defensive movement.
Ground Ball Relay
Break into groups of 3. To start, one girl will roll a ground ball out to the other two. Whoever gets the ground ball is running through the cone, whoever doesnt get the ball, is playing defense on the girl, and trying to turn her. Switch the girl who is throwing the ground ball out. After a few, switch one girl from each group so they are going against different people.
Foot Work (Ladder)
2 in 2 out 1 in 1 out Icky shuffle Hop scotch One foot jumps
Z Passing Drill
Lines of 3–5 players with 2 cones set 8–10 yards apart off the sideline. The first player in line runs to the far cone, executes a specific move (around, step back, roll away, split back, or split roll) then passes to the next player. The drill flows continuously with quick reps and limited downtime. - Around: tight turn, stay balanced - Step back: create space under pressure - Roll away: protect stick, change direction - Split back: sharp redirection - Split roll: add deception with footwork
3-Man Ground Ball Drill
Set three players: Player 1, Player 2, and Player 3. Player 1 rolls a ball to Player 2, who scoops it cleanly. Player 2 immediately passes to Player 3, who looks to quickly move the ball back to Player 1 for a shot on goal. Emphasize proper ground ball technique and creating space. Rotate players to keep everyone active.
Rapid Fire Corners
Set two lines at goal line extended with balls at both spots. Line 1 drives upfield, rolls off pressure, and feeds Line 2 cutting off the mirror side. Line 2 catches in stride and shoots on the run. After each rep, rotate sides quickly to keep pace. Focus on timing cuts, quick ball movement, and finishing with both hands under pressure.
Perfect passing
This is an upgrade to the traditional shuttle line drill. This is an uptempo, energetic stick work drill. It is a timed drill that has 4-7 sequences. Set Up: Break into two groups of 5 or 6 players. Place 2 cones 10-15 yards apart: 10 yards to focus on short passes, 15 yards for longer passes. 1 player will stand at one cone with 5 balls, this cone is called the Post. The other 4/5 players will stand single file behind the other cone. Sequence #1 - All Right handed passes - Timing: 45 seconds to 1 minute. Post player starts with the ball - this player is working on precision passing and timing of the pass. The group cone has one play hard cut towards the post, catches with her right hand while running and throws back to Post while running. She then pivots, turns and hustles back to the end of the line. This is continuous for 45seconds to 1 min. When time is up, blow your whistle, switch the post player, do a ball retrieval for any missed passes and provide around 30 second