by Chris Sweet
Top Gun Lacrosse Camps

As a player Chris Sweet was a high school All-American in Ithaca, N.Y, a two-time junior college All-American and a two-time Division III All-American at Ithaca College. As a coach he was an assistant at UMass in 1983 and the head varsity coach at Brookline (Mass.) High School in 1990-91, before coming to Duxbury (Mass) High in 1995.

In just nine short years Duxbury lacrosse went from a first-year club team playing a JV schedule to a 25-0 record and a Division I State Championship in 2002. Winning a championship is the ultimate prize for any player or coach. It's also an award accomplished by only a select few. If I had a dollar for every person who asked for our secret to success, I'd be a rich man.

The answer is that there are no secrets. We didn't have any fancy trick plays or man-up offenses. The rides and clears were the ones just about everybody uses. Certainly the Xs and Os that I draw on the board aren't the answer - they at times confuse me as much as the players. So what separated us from the rest of the pack? That's easy - the players.

Did we have athletically superior players compared with all the other teams in the state? Maybe. Did we have better stick-handlers and smarter lacrosse players? Probably. Did our coaching staff teach everything the players needed to know and whip them into shape in the two weeks of practice before the start of the season? Highly unlikely. So how did it all happen? Well to start with, I can tell you that we had a very special group of talented and motivated individuals who on their own worked very hard over the course of several years making themselves good lacrosse players. In other words, the seeds of success where planted long before they became varsity players. But how did they achieve such remarkable success? How did they sow the seeds more effectively than any other group of players in the state?

Here are at least some of the answers.

Play More Than Just Lacrosse
In today's competitive year-round environment, more young players are deciding to specialize in the sport of lacrosse at the expense of other sports. DON'T DO THIS. On last year's 25-0 team we were fortunate enough to have three All-Americans. Each one of them not only excelled at another sport, but each was a captain of at least one other team. There is no substitute for playing more than one sport. This is perhaps the most important message that I can send young players today. And if you ask top-level college coaches, they'll tell you the same thing.

Play Year-Round
Though this may seem to contradict what I've just said, it shouldn't. More and more kids are finding a way to play in leagues throughout the fall and winter, and - assuming it doesn't interfere with your school sports - this helps a great deal. Make sure you take the opportunity to address the shortcomings in your game. And, if you're playing indoor (or box) lacrosse, be careful not to develop bad habits. If you can't find time to play off season lacrosse, make sure you keep your stick in your hand throughout the year. A coach can always tell the players who put the stick down in June and don't pick it up again until February or March.

Go to Camp
The best way to improve in the off season is always go to camp. Playing in leagues and participating in clinics is certainly positive, but the best place to get the intensive high-level instruction from the top college players and pros is in the camp setting. During the course of the season your coach must stay focused on keeping the team on track. He probably won't have much time to work with players individually - certainly not as much as he might like. So set aside a week or two of your summer to lacrosse. You'll be amazed at the results.

Stay in Shape All Year
This one hardly needs explanation, but it's amazing how many kids come to play in the spring out of shape. One thing's for sure, the best players on any team (state champion or not) are the ones who have gotten themselves in shape before the season. One way some of my players have done this is by using personal trainers in the off season. This seems to help a great deal. However, I should stress that the players who work more on speed and agility tend to do better in the spring than those who simply hit the weights. Weight training is important, but you should always do it in addition to, and not to the exclusion of, running and speed/agility training. Remember, lacrosse remains a game of speed and quickness - for proof you need look no further than top players like Mike Powell and John Christmas.

Play Up Instead of Down
A young player always improves more when he pushes himself, and one way to do this is playing up at the next age level. When my players play at camps and leagues in the off season, I always tell them to play up when given the chance. And this seems to have paid dividends. This year, as we be try to capture our second straight Massachusetts State Championship, we have five freshmen on the roster. Four of them start.

Put Work in Before/After Practice
This goes right along with the other points above. The best players not only keep their sticks in their hands year-round, they're also the ones who you'll see on the field before practice warming up on their own and staying after practice to fine-tune their skills after the last whistle blows.

Understand That It's Not the Equipment
Too many young players today think that their performance is somehow linked to what kind of stick they use or what kind of gloves they wear. IT'S NOT. If you put in the time off the field, by running, playing catch with friends, playing wall ball and playing in the off season, you're going to do well in the spring no matter what kind of stick you have.

Coach Sweet will direct several of the Top Gun Lacrosse Camps this summer.