Derek Malawsky of the Buffalo Bandits, shares his expertise with the fans.

Hi there my name is Derek Malawsky of the Buffalo Bandits! What I'm going to share with you today are a few tips of the trade. Over my 20 years of lacrosse experience I have learned a few different methods to shooting the ball. I will begin to explain the different shots and techniques that can be taken and when they can be most effective for you. You always can practice on your shooting!

SHOOTING

What you need to always remember when taking a shot is that you have to have the correct grip of the stick. Either if you are left or right your bottom hand is the stabilizer with your top hand being 2/3rds of the way up the stick is the guide to where you want the ball to go.The key to getting power into your shot is in your arms as well as in your legs. So in saying that, your foot work needs to be in sync with your arms. The back foot is the foot you want to be shooting off, as well as getting your velocity from that back leg and then follow through onto your front foot.The timing between you legs and arms is crucial to a good shot.
Now you have the primary techniques of taking a shot - next we will add those techniques into various types of shots that can be very effective in different situations.

OVERHAND SHOT

An overhand shot is the most basic shot in lacrosse and it was probably the first shot that you learned.This shot can be very deceiving for the goalies at times because it is hard for them to get a read on where exactly your aiming. I feel that this shot is your most accurate shot for picking the corners. Also when you want to one time a shot this would be the easiest method in getting a quick release.

SIDEARM SHOT

A sidearm shot is used by a lot of the players nowadays. It is also an accurate shot as well as a high velocity shot. I use this shot quite often in many occasions. An outside shot needs to have a little more zip on it so this is a good time to let it fly side arm. The side arm shot is a great way to shoot around a pick because you are in motion and it is easier to get a lot more torque into your shot. So a hard side arm bounce shot is a fantastic shot in this situation.

UNDERHAND SHOT

An underhand (sub) shot is not used as often as the others but I believe it can catch the goalie unexpectedly. Those are the best times to take a shot on a goalie when he least expects it. The raised sub shot is dynamite if done correctly. You want the goalie to think that you are shooting low at his feet, so you wind up your underhand shot and you make the goalie begin to drop to his knees and you raise it to the upper portion of the goalie. This is a very difficult shot but once you get it down it is a great shot to have in your repertoire.

BACK HAND SHOT

A backhand shot is a tricky shot and it can catch the goalie off guard too. A great time to use this one is when you are on the opposite side of the floor and you don't have much of an angle to shoot at or when you are cutting across the front of the net and once you get the goalie stepping you then drop it over your shoulder short side. Lots of practice on this shot and you could pick up that extra goal per game.
One last piece of advice - When I was learning how to take these shots I was told to concentrate on a variety of shots in order to always keep the goalies guessing because shooting can be as unpredictable as you want it to be!!
Derek Malawsky #18