How to Prepare for NJ Lacrosse Tryout Season
Tips on Getting Ready for NJ Lacrosse Tryout Season
Club team tryouts are an important part of your lacrosse experience. You have a limited window to showcase your capabilities. This can seem daunting on the surface, but there are several ways to ensure you perform at the highest level possible during tryout week. The tips below are compiled by our highly experienced staff at Thunder Lacrosse. With NJ lacrosse tryout season here, keep reading for tips on how to best showing your skills.
Advice Before Hitting the Field
Club lacrosse tryouts typically occur in the middle of July, which should be an advantage for you given you have probably played more lacrosse in the past 4-5 months on your high school or town rec team, plus any summer club activity in June and July. This is a great baseline, but if you truly want to stretch your abilities to make the desired team, you need to put in the work on your own time.
Here are some options:
Your stick skills need to be at their best: Find a good wall ball routine, and commit to it 5 days per week. Make sure you are working your off-hand!
Your footwork is one of the first things a coach will notice: Invest in a speed ladder and dedicate time every day towards creating explosive footwork.
Take the time to build your cardiovascular stamina. Play other sports that keep you in shape, hit the treadmill, run on the elliptical, and get into a jogging or sprinting routine depending on your position.
Tips for the Night Before Lacrosse Tryouts
If you have done all of the above, then you are already in a good position to have a solid tryout, but you need to take some additional preparation steps the night prior to the tryout.
Have balanced and healthy meals. Avoid greasy foods and focus more on veggies and proteins. Carbs are ok as well, in moderation.
Start a hydration plan 24 hours before tryouts. Depending on your age, this could include anywhere from 0.5 to 1.5 gallons of water intake in that period.
Get into the right mental framework.
Convince yourself that the most important rep at tryouts is the next rep. For example, if you drop a pass, commit beforehand that you will put that in the past and focus on the next one.
Visualize success. Take some time to think through what you can do to impress the coaching staff, and then commit to being that player at tryouts.
Are You Prepared for Lacrosse Tryouts?
Lacrosse is a complex sport that requires a combination of speed, finesse, power, intelligence, and skill. Putting these traits on display is the bare minimum to having a successful tryout. You should be prepared in these areas if you follow the advice above.
What else can you do on tryout day to impress coaches:
Be a team player. Use the opportunity as a way to meet new players. Cheer on teammates when they make good plays. Coaches notice this.
Hustle during every drill, but also in-between drills. Be the first one to the coaching staff when they call you in for instruction. Be the player who makes an effort during a ball hunt.
“Sell out” on ground balls, and get your “two butts low” (your butt and the butt of your stick).
Ask a good question or two. If the coach is giving instruction and you need clarification, they are happy to explain it further. Do not engage in a drill you do not understand.
Don’t “showboat” for attention. Showcase your skills. There is a fine line here. Take time to think about where that line exists.
Lacrosse Teams are Looking for Leaders
Just as impactful as showcasing a personal skill is expressing your ability to work as a team. Be strategic when passing; look for new opportunities that can make a difference in the game. Try to notice the talents in your teammates and utilize them to the fullest. On (and off) the field, a leader can analyze their teammates, no matter how new, and make sense of how to achieve victory best. That’s something we teach in Jersey Thunder and is a skill that gets stronger with every game you play.
Jersey Thunder’s tryouts are geared towards evaluating all aspects of a player’s capabilities, and we have a number of coaching evaluating each team, with additional “eyes” off-field as well, ensuring that we get the most comprehensive feedback possible on each player’s capabilities. We cannot tell you specifically which drills we will conduct during the tryouts, but we can tell you that they will allow your to showcase your individual skills and determine how well you fit as a teammate.
Master Tryouts with Jersey Thunder
Lacrosse tryouts may bring a sense of anxiety or stress, but Jersey Thunder works to make sure our athletes are prepared for anything. Our extensive training sessions (#TheMost in New Jersey), and expert-level coaching have prepared the next generation of lacrosse players for our tryouts. We’ve been building up the skills of our students for more than 30 years. Contact us if you're interested in trying out for our club team or enrolling.