I’ve been playing in the backyard since I was born. Before I picked up a lacrosse stick, I was constantly playing outside with friends or alone. Truthfully, I bet most of you grew up similarly, making do with what was available to you. My friends and I would use the woods as a home run marker or stumps in our yard as end zone pylons. This was just how it was and how it still is for many kids around the world. The backyard is our sanctuary, but it should be your office. Using the backyard as a resource for your skills is a tried and true method to becoming one of the best lacrosse players; it just takes time and determination.
What Can Backyard Lacrosse Do For Me?
Convenience– There is nowhere more accessible to go to than your backyard. Don’t have a literal backyard? Use your front yard, side yard, or anywhere you can. Your basement can even be your backyard because it is more of an idea than a place. The “backyard” is what you make of it, or instead, where you make it.
Peace– Going to an open stadium, a gym, or a league can be intimidating. If other people are around, you often feel unwanted wandering eyes. This can get you off your game and make you self-conscious. Feeling comfortable when working on improving your game is essential, so being secluded is sometimes best for focus. You can just be yourself, not be afraid to make mistakes, and put all you have into improving.
Simplicity– While having a backup net, turf, a solid net on a new backyard lacrosse goal, fresh balls, and a bounce-back can be excellent, it can be too much sometimes. Using what is available and relatively simple in creation can be the best resource. A large stone or wood for a wall ball makes you pass more precisely. Having a goal with a ratty net makes you pick your spot more efficiently. Not having a backup net makes you own your misses and chase them. You will become a more humble player in the backyard by appreciating what is available.
What Should I Do In The Backyard?
Experiment and grow as a player. The best way to learn is to try different things and focus on being fluid. While shooting and passing like a rocket can create some excellent highlights, the best players use precision. The Thompson brothers would cover their lacrosse goals with a piece of wood with a hole the size of a ball and play off that. Being able to pass through the small hole made their accuracy unreal. This accuracy translated into becoming some of the game’s most precise and dialed-in shooters/passers. This is a simple activity you can easily recreate for yourself.
Trying to work on your BTB, around the world, and other styles of shots is also a great backyard activity. You need to start your journey somewhere and a backyard is a perfect place. If you try to use these creative passes and shots too quickly in practice or games then you might be spending the rest of the season on the bench. If you work on these skills in the backyard where there is no pressure or repercussions, then you can excel on your own time. Then you can work your way up to becoming John Grant Jr. without the embarrassment of a BTB pass that goes to no one and costs you a lap.
So What’s The “All Backyard Team”?
We at Stringers Society want to display the best and most dedicated backyard players. Those of you who take your lacrosse career seriously and spend a great deal of time working in the backyard are who we want to congratulate. Your videos will inspire others to become more serious about their play. This can also help others get ideas about improving their backyard setup. If you have any pictures or videos of you working in the backyard or your setup, please send them to us or post them with the hashtag #AllBackyardTeam.
This will allow us to see your content so we can help spread it to more players and create a collection to support our game growth. Remember, inspiring other players is what lacrosse is all about, and all of us have seen another player that we want to become. Our sport will only get bigger and better by helping us display the very best place for players to learn. So please get in the backyard and work on becoming the best lacrosse player you can, then send us your videos to help the future of our sport.