The length of lacrosse practices differs for kids and adults.
If you’re a parent wondering about planning your day around practice, the first section of this article is about youth and school levels.
If you’re an adult heading for college or joining a club, the second section is for you. We also look at how long adult players practice at home.
Length Of Practices At Youth And School Level
I checked with nearly twenty youth and school organizations about the length of their practice sessions. The answers were very similar.
Lacrosse practices at youth level tend to last 1.5 hours for children of twelve and over.
Practice sessions start about two to three weeks before competitive games start.
Tips for parents at early practice sessions
When you arrive at the practice, you should help your child with their kit. If you’re not familiar with lacrosse, ask another parent for advice. They will be more than willing to help!
The coaches are likely dealing with registration questions at the start of the first sessions.
It’s important to stay for the duration of the practice. Bring several bottles of water for you and your child.
Tips for unsatisfactory practices
Before practice, remind your child that the golden rule is to always pass the ball to the player in a better position.
It’s easy for kids to get caught up in the excitement of having the ball. That’s not a crime. An encouraging reminder helps get the message through.
In these early sessions, there may be other kids who are hogging the ball. The coaches may take a few practices to sort that out.
Have a word with other parents to get a sense of how these specific coaches like to deal with this.
But by staying for the practice, you’ll see what’s happening. If your child is dispirited on the ride home, explain that everybody is learning.
How long should home practice sessions be?
When your child is starting out in the sport, a great way to help them is to hold practices at home for catching and passing.
Use a tennis ball if you haven’t played yourself. The hard lacrosse ball can hurt!
How long should practice be? Don’t overdo it so that your child gets overly tired.
The point is to have fun but also hone their skills so they get the full benefit from organized practice.
Length Of Practices At College And Adult Level
The length of practice at college and with clubs can vary depending on where you are in the season.
Early practices will be from 1.5 to 2 hours long. This is before games start.
Once games have started, the coaches will want to incorporate reviews and game footage during practice. That can increase the length of practice to three to four hours.
Occasionally, coaches may call for a half or full day of practice.
The day can look like this:
- One hour of practice
- Watch game footage
- Lunch break
- Running session
- Watch footage
- One hour of practice
How long do college students and adults practice at home?
There have been a few polls on social media asking adult players how long they practice.
Some players like to do more than four hours. Although when I dug a little deeper, they were including weight training and running sessions in their answer.
So, I narrowed down the answers to those who were talking about stick work and wall ball.
A majority of about 60% have practiced from about thirty minutes to two hours.
About 15% of adult players have practice that lasts from three to four hours.
