In lacrosse, like in any sport, a player’s feet are the foundation for everything else. The ability to sting corners and have elite stickwork will always be a differentiator, but footwork wins games.
It’s often not flashy (except if you can embarrass defensemen, like Michael Sowers can). It doesn’t show up on highlight reels the same way a creative Jake Taylor-type goal does. But if you look closely at the best players in the world, one truth shows up over and over again: They have elite footwork.
Footwork Is the Foundation
Catching, shooting, dodging, on-ball defense, etc. — none of it works without a strong base.
Clean footwork puts players in balance.
Balance allows for power.
Power allows for speed and accuracy.
When footwork breaks down, everything else follows. Shots sail high. Dodges don’t draw slides. Defenders reach and get beat. What can often look like an issue with stick skills is usually a footwork problem in disguise – the most prominent example of this is in shooting on the run.
The Fastest Game on Two Feet
Lacrosse loves to call itself the fastest game on two feet. That phrase matters.
One thing is true in lacrosse just as it is in football – speed kills. In a game that moves as fast as lacrosse, having both poor straight line speed and change of direction will cripple a player at any position. If you (or your kid, if you’re a parent of a player) tries to rationalize with themselves that they can be elite player without developing speed, ask them this simple question: “Is lacrosse easier when you’re the fastest player on the field, or the slowest?”
To be clear, speed doesn’t just mean sprinting. It’s:
- First-step explosiveness
- Lateral quickness
- Change of direction
- The ability to stop, start, and re-accelerate
Why Footwork Creates Freedom
Great footwork gives players options.
Attackmen with great feet can beat you off the dribble, meaning they aren’t forced to only play off-ball or in two man games.
Midfielders with blazing speed draw slides early, giving them more time to react, manipulate slides, re-dodge, etc.
Defenders with disciplined footwork don’t have to gamble, throw trail checks, or rely on their stick at all.
The game slows down when your legs can keep up with your mind.
The Hard Work That Separates Players
Here’s the reality about getting elite feet: it sucks. Straight up. But, if you can develop the discipline to invest the time into getting elite feet, you will find the game slowing down and becoming easier.
But the players who commit to developing elite feet gain an advantage that compounds over time. While others practice stick tricks, these players build a base that makes every skill sharper and more reliable under pressure. With all the talent flooding into the youth lacrosse landscape, being an elite lacrosse player now truly starts with being an elite athlete, and elite athletes have elite feet.
Why Do We Care at NextRep
Yes, the stick finishes the job (scores the goal), but the legs create the opportunity. Candidly, it is best for our business if all training sessions focus purely on shooting and other fun skills because that makes kids want to come back; however, the best trainers will emphasize the necessity of building the player from the ground up, literally.
Because in the fastest game on two feet — the legs feed the wolf.