by Gerry Byrne

Premier Players Lacrosse Camp

The basic philosophy of Premier Players Lacrosse Camps can be summarized by the statement "Move to Improve." This motto carries even more weight when presented with the trademark drill called "The Gauntlet."

The objective of The Gauntlet is to create a heavy-repetition, multiple-chance, creativity-induced, confrontational drill in which offensive players and their defensive counterparts learn from each other in a non-judgmental atmosphere. Defensive players receive rapid-fire dodges, while offensive players receive rapid-fire checks and both get to experiment various versions of each in 1-on-1 scenarios.

The drill is set up with 10-15 defensemen in a line five yards apart beginning about 10 yards from the top of the crease. A goalie is inserted in goal and two coaches (with balls) stand on either side of the lines of defensemen. The rules for the defensemen are that they can move 3-4 yards in any direction and can throw any check their hearts desire.

The recent movement in lacrosse toward the zone defense and its derivatives has stolen the joy and fun of being a takeaway defenseman. This drill unleashes creativity and experimentation and gives defensive players the excitement and thrill of stripping opponents.

The line of defensemen starts around midfield. The offensive players assemble at the front of the line near midfield. They run toward the goal in 10-second intervals with their mission being to weave tightly through the maze of defensemen using their speed, change of direction, roll and split dodges and guile to avoid the experimenting, checking d-men. If they get stripped, a coach on either side is ready with a replacement ball to keep the drill going. When they come out at the end, they have three steps to launch a shot at the goalie and return to the line for their next chance.

The skills you are looking for in your defensemen are:

Lateral movement abilities
Drop-step mechanics
Identification of offensive players' weaknesses
Stick check mechanics
Since the drill's credo is experimentation, it is crucial that you prep your d-men for this. Many defensemen are programmed nowadays to be robotic, so this may take some doing. When we do surveys of topics that players are looking to learn at camp, 100 percent of the time d-men are looking for skills, drills and actions that will allow them to separate the offensive player from the ball. The Gauntlet, when proceeded by the "15 checks in 15 minutes" demonstration by camp director Gerry Byrne, creates an environment where the player can apply in a rapid-fire drill all that he has learned.

For attackmen and midfielders, their biggest camp request is to add a second or third dodge to complement their go-to moves. They are afraid that better teams will zero in on their main move and leave them with nothing. The Gauntlet forces them to continually and repeatedly face pressure and create move after move against ready d-men who have been watching all their dodges and are anticipating and aiming to separate them from the ball.

The offensive player is looking to develop skills such as:

Quick initiation of dodges
Stick protection in tight spaces
Split and roll dodges
Field vision
The Gauntlet is a trial by fire. One of the biggest fears of offensive players is getting stripped. This is a drill that is up front and tells you that you will get the ball taken away from you. It happens. The coaches just throw you another rock and you keep going again and again. Premier Players Lacrosse Camps feels this lesson helps allay those fears of being stripped, recognizing that it is a part of the game. It teaches you how to overcome your fear (as well as any stick protection weaknesses in a controlled setting) and the realization that the game always provides you with another chance to make a play.

Premier Players Lacrosse Camps takes an alternative approach to the camp experience. Focusing less on the traditional components that you find at other camps like free apparel and sticks, two-hour lunches and high-profile celebrity demonstrators who come for the shooting demo and spend little time teaching, PPLC attempts to see the camp experience through the eyes of the 8-year-old beginner, the 12-year-old on the cusp of high school and the 16-year-old high school star. Each has special needs and expectations of their camp experience.

Drills like The Gauntlet are a perfect marriage of the wishes of the camper and a prototypical drill that provides physical skill learning and confidence combined with the emotional benefit of trying something new without the repercussions from a screaming coach.

Stop by and see us at our camps in Houston, Texas, Amherst, N.H. and Trumbull, Conn. and coming soon to Idaho, Massachusetts, Louisiana. E-mail us at laxcamp@att.net.