When it comes to lacrosse, midfielders are the most diverse players. They have to play defense as well as offense.
Types of lacrosse midfielders
The types of lacrosse midfielders differ in men and women lacrosse. In men’s lacrosse, there are three midfielders. On the other hand, the women’s game has 5 in total: 2 defensive, 2 attacking, and 1 central. If we broaden their type, there are FOGO (face-off get off), two-way midfielder, and winger as well.
- Attacking Midfielder: A midfielder who plays the offensive game. He makes goal-scoring odds for the forwards.
- Defensive Midfielder: When the other team is attacking, a defensive midfielder aids the center backs in defending.
- Central: Their work is divided between defense and attack and to play in the center of the pitch.
- FOGO: A midfielder who takes the face-off.
- Winger: This midfielder plays around alleys or wings.
- Two-Way Midfielder: A midfielder who bypasses the restraining line to play in both halves.
5 Tips on lacrosse workouts for a midfielder
Midfielders have lots of responsibilities on their shoulders. Proper training is very important to improve the game. Here are some workout tips that can change your game drastically.
Practice in the Field
Wear all your gears and go to the field. Take your midfield position and run like it’s a real game. Take the ball and run towards the goal with it. Shoot, defense, and attack like you are playing against an opponent team.
When you really run and practice your moves in the field, you will have an idea of your strengths and weaknesses. You will know which of your moves will be more fruitful on the game day. Just remember, running on the field is always more productive than any lying or sitting exercises.
Crawling is important
As lacrosse is known for diverse muscle use, one way to improve body movement is by crawling. A bear crawl would do the job as it will provide the body with coordinated movement without any damage. It impacts shoulders and hips too and enhances motor control, flexibility, and power.
Improving Sprint
Lacrosse players need to run a lot with a great speed to outrun their opponents. That running is not always in a straight line. So you need some drills to practice running sideways and in different directions.
- T-Shape Cone Drills: Take four cones in total and place them 10 yards apart making a T-shape. Then start running from the base to the middle one at the T top. Touch the cone, run to the right cone once and then to the left one. Touch the cones every time and then run back to the base.
- S-Shape Cone Drills: Take five cones in total and make an S-shape keeping 10 yards approximate distance between each cone. Run and touch in S-shape from one S end to the other. This drill will help you to learn to dodge and run in different directions.
- L-Shape Cone Drills: Take three cones and place them in an L shape 10 yards apart approximately. Put your hands on the ground on the outside of any on the one cone. Start running and touch each cone making L-shape. Keep sprinting till you feel tired.
- Interval Sprints: Practicing these sprints helps you to recover quickly in a real game after a full sprint. You can do it by doing a 100-yard sprint every minute. Start at one end of the field and run to the other side. Try to do this with the stopwatch so can you can know your pace. Do it ten times at least to gain something from this drill.
Circuit Drills
Circuit training is needed for the midfielders to develop speed and strength. It also helps in maintaining balance which is important in the game. It is for enhancing intramuscular and intermuscular coordination with the central nervous system. Running with a lacrosse stick requires lots of stamina and power and with these drills, a player gets them all. These are the common exercises that you can do on daily basis:
- Pushups
- Squats
- Side shuffles
- Planks
- Lateral hops
Other exercises that can benefit lacrosse players are medicine balls, Olympic lifts, and plyometrics. They create powerful responses in very little time. When you need explosive power, all the drills that involve multiple joints give better outcomes.
As one foot has to do more work in the field than the other, efficiency is required in this aspect as well. Single-leg strength exercises must also be added to the daily schedule. The exercises should help in balancing as well. You can go for one-leg good mornings, step-ups having knee drive, and Romanian deadlifts.
Torso should not be neglected at all. A powerful torso also lowers the chance of injury during the game. You need to have a strong core for that. To get better results, go for medicine ball circuits.
Water-Based Drills
Lots of training lead to the fatigue of the muscles. Some drills can be performed in the pool which will function as the recovery exercises for the body. Water gives a low impact environment to enhance your strength and stamina.
- Retrieval:
This is just like a game of retrieving an item from the base of the pool. It can be done alone or in pairs or with the whole team. This drill helps in improving agility. Also, diving with your head down enhances strength. Limiting time also improves the final impact of this game. Going down the pool produces its impact on breathability as well and augments lung capacity.
- Relay:
This drill is for the whole team. Divide your team into two. Ask a member to swim a double-length and then the whole team must assist the first swimmer out of the pool, then other dives and does the same. Repeat in a way that every member gets the chance to swim. The team which completes the whole task first will win.