Keep Kids' Lacrosse Skills Sharp at Our Indoor Winter Lacrosse Clinics
Girls Indoor Winter Lacrosse Clinic working on stick tricks
Cold winter weather is coming! It’s the perfect opportunity to give your kids a chance to warm up their lacrosse skills during the coldest months of January and February. Have them join us at our indoor winter lacrosse clinics in New Jersey. It’s a great way for your kids to keep warm, get exercise, and improve or learn lacrosse skills when cold weather makes going outdoors less than ideal.At Swax Lax Lacrosse, we encourage kids to play other sports. It prevents burnout and over-use injuries. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep your lacrosse skills sharp or get a jump on the spring season with some fun clinic work this winter.
What Happens at Our Indoor Winter Lacrosse Clinics?
Swax Lax Lacrosse indoor winter lacrosse clinics are offered for boys (grades K–3rd) and girls (grades K–9th). Our lacrosse clinics teach and reinforce the basic skills of catching, throwing, cradling, ground ball pick-ups, dodging, shooting, and defensive stick work — all while having fun and building confidence in young players. Intermediate players work on more advanced skills and training such as becoming comfortable with the non-dominant hand, shooting techniques, and the basics of draw control.
Format & Schedule
Every Swax Lax Lacrosse clinic offers the same basic schedule, however, the girls’ agenda and boys’ agenda vary slightly each week to both avoid repetition and cater to different likes. We always cover the same basic lacrosse skills — catching, throwing, cradling, shooting, dodging, defensive footwork, and positioning. We also like to shake things up by introducing different drills and games. After so many years of coaching lacrosse, we have many options for covering the concepts in fun and creative ways. Since players are generally divided up by age and, if appropriate, by ability, the coaches try to introduce more advanced skills and concepts if they think their kids are up for the challenge.Girls play with girls, boys play with boys, and friends can request to play together. Groups are usually divided by grade, and if appropriate, by skill level.
Coaches
The staff is generally the same at each location except when conflicts arise with individual coaches. One of the best things about Swax Lax Lacrosse is our wonderful coaches who come back year after year. Another cool thing about our coaches, especially on the girls’ side, is that many of them grew up attending our camps and clinics when they were younger. It’s where they first fell in love with the sport and now want to give back and help others follow in their footsteps.While all staff members bring something unique to share with young players, all coaches possess the following assets:
Playing experience at a highly competitive level
A passion for the sport
A demonstrated ability to teach the basic skills in Swax Lax Lacrosse’s style of positive coaching
But most importantly, our coaches possess the character, patience, and sense of fun that allows girls and boys to relax and feel confident as they learn lacrosse.
Creative Games & Lacrosse Drills
Swax Lax Lacrosse’s indoor winter clinics are packed with creative teaching games and drills that make lacrosse fun, accessible, and easy to learn.
GIRLS
The younger girls’ clinics usually begin with stick tricks. Players and coaches will often do stick tricks together while everyone arrives. It’s a great way to practice stick skills and improve hand-eye coordination. Once everyone has arrived, we move to Ice Breakers (e.g., Huggy Bear, Horse and Jockey, Girls from Mars), warm-ups, and then begin rotating through our different stations. Each station features a game or drill (e.g., Musical Ground Balls, Catching on the Run, scrimmages, relays) designed to teach and reinforce skills while fostering fun and self-confidence. Each clinic also features traditions such as Players of the Day awards and the Swax Lax Cheer. Our special curriculum for the older girls (4th–9th grade) is aimed at preparing players to try out for and play on their school and club teams. Developing stick skills and game tactics in a comfortable learning environment is a top priority. While younger players rotate through stations and play games to improve their skills, the older players experience more individualized coaching, similar to a semi-private lesson. They work with experienced coaches who focus on bringing their lacrosse skills to the next level.
Boys playing lacrosse in a gym at Swax Lax Lacrosse winter clinic
BOYS
The boys’ clinics also start with stick tricks and warm-ups, but they have many of their own beloved drills, games and rituals. These might include: Pair Passing, Ground Ball Progression, Dodge and Shoot, Sharks and Minnows, Lacrosse Skeet, Follow the Leader, Clean Your Room, Sleeping Giants, Nuts and Squirrels, and Farmers and Chickens. The boys’ clinic also features traditions such as Players of the Day awards, coach handshakes and relay races.
