OPT – Intro

Introduction:

Welcome to our Online Player Training Program.  Here we will explain all about the philosophy behind and how to use this awesome program so that you can get the most out of it and become the best player that you can be.  This program is just about that…pushing yourself and working to be the best player you can be.  It is not about who plays on the best team, or who has the shiniest uniform or helmet, it is all about how much you can improve as a player.

Philosophy:

TLI has used its over 30 years of lacrosse experience to develop the best player development program available anywhere.  We have taken hundreds and hundreds of both old school AND cutting-edge drills and combined them into a very well designed curriculum that takes many human physiological and cognitive processes into account.

Workouts:

This program is video based.  Each video uses freeze frame and slow motion to accentuate the form necessary to effectively execute that particular element.  The most important thing about skill development is form.  As the saying goes, practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice does.  Take time to watch the videos and really understand them before going to do the workout.  Even have a friend or family member watch the video as well then watch you do it to make sure you are using proper form.

Each workout is broken into two sections.  First is Conditioning and then Skill Work.  The left column shows the name of the drill and the name is a hyperlink to the video.  The right column is the repetitions or duration of the element.  There are also possibly headers within each section that states a certain number of rounds, rest for a certain period or some other instruction that applies to the group of elements immediately following the header.

Some of the elements are designed programs such as an EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) or Touch and Go Intervals and have a built in rest period.  Other standalone elements do not.  This is where your personal fitness level comes into play.  We want you to rest between sets long enough so that you can still perform the next set with the proper form and intensity.  The longer you stay with our program, the shorter these rests will be and the better your fitness and skill level will be.  This is where you can push yourself a little bit.  Understand your own level of fitness and execute accordingly.

We have designed each section to be approximately 20-30 minutes.  Some are very high repetition and high intensity and will be shorter, others are more form and strength focused that might last a little longer.  The idea is to push yourself as hard as you can while maintaining perfect form for each rep.  There is nothing wrong with “scaling” the workout to fit your personal fitness level, this simply means modifying the repetitions, sets or duration/distance of the element to cater to your personal fitness level.   A great thing to do is to keep a personal log book that tracks time, repetitions and scaling of your workout.  That way when that particular workout comes around again (usually every few months) you can look back and see how you did and see how well you are progressing.

We are always here to help and welcome any and all feedback, good and bad.  Please email tfrancis@thelacrosseinstitute.com with any and all feedback, questions or concerns.

Good Luck!
Coach Francis