Free Play Academy Newsletter #31
Topics that will be covered:
1. Technique in Sport is misunderstood. (Continued..)
2. Study from The Journal of Pediatrics.
3. Jeff Teat is a master of the Principle of Ease.
Technique in Sport is misunderstood. (Continued..)
What if our misunderstanding of what technique actually is, underpins the work we do with our players?
What if the technical training that has become a main pillar in the way we develop our young lacrosse players, only really acts as a placebo for learning and improvement?
What if consistently drilling players in movement patterns builds coordination and confidence, but not a lot else?
We’re going to break down what technique is and how we should go about developing it.
For the next few weeks we’ll be touching on the many facets of what comprises technique, today we will touch on Skillful Adaptability.
Let’s challenge our perception on what we should be developing in our athletes when it comes to technique.
Rather than expecting players to consistently reproduce the same action, let’s focus on our players being skillfully adaptive.
It’s not so much the perfecting of a particular action, it’s having a variation of techniques to be adaptable.
If you have an abundance of ways to do something, you should be able to solve the problem in a variety of ways.
I believe it is our duty as a coach to not fill the players with our prescribed knowledge and movement patterns.
They are not receptacles to be filled and it is not our job to fill them.
Instead it is our role to create a dynamic environment where players are free to problem solve and it is our job to highlight opportunities to act (affordances) that they might have missed to do so.
So how does this look in practice?
Playing 2man w/ Razor Pick from behind & cannot go above the 18-yard-line.
Put our players in contextual-filled environments & step back to allow autonomy!
Study from The Journal of Pediatrics.
I recently had a study from the Journal of Pediatrics come across my desk.
Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Well-being.
It’s a heavy read that highlights exactly what is stated in the title, a decline in independent play as possible contributor to decline in mental well-being of children.
So, how does this relate. One of the foundational principles as to why I started the Free Play Academy was to create an environment, one of “Free Play” on the field, that would provide lacrosse players with uncommon development in the game, and low and behold we weren’t only creating competency, which was self-discovered, in the individuals we work with, in the sport of lacrosse, but also universal confidence that bleeds into other facets of life.
The Free Play Academy immerses the player in the game with live contextual drills. It demands that the player be self-led and develop self-reliance.
The environment we aim for is one of independent play to foster just this.
Self-reliance has an act of bleeding into other facets of life, and once an individual has the belief of self-governing and self-directing, well-being is the natural down stream effect.
You can find the full study here: https://cdn2.psychologytoday.com/assets/2023-02/Children%27s%20Independence%20IN%20PRESS%20.pdf
Jeff Teat is a master of the Principle of Ease.
By just watching how Jeff Teat plays lacrosse on any given day, it is evident he is a master of playing with ease.
It never looks like he is “grinding” to make plays.
He allows the game to come to him.
He allows the rhythm of the game to move through him.
Every move he makes is fluid, precise and intuitive with spontaneousness brilliance.
The Free Game
The part of lacrosse that is played with the mind.
What will be covered are the 8 Principles of Performance.
Any lacrosse player can own the 1st ever sport psychology methodology specific to the game of Lacrosse.
This purchase will include a FREE consultation with Coach McDonnell via in-person or Zoom.
Here is a preview.
The cost is $24.99
You can purchase The Free Game here.
Lean in, do the work, stay focused and become uncommon.
Have a great week.