At the end of this summer, Duncs, Jase Dave and Myself all attended the Bristol Lax nation camp. It was a 4 day camp held by some top notch coaches from America. Specifically for university students, I saw it as a great way to prepare for the season. It turned out to be much more useful than I first thought.

The 3 coaches were Travis Gillespie, Nick Carlson, and Marty Ward. I hear the camp was designed for around 60 people, however only 17 registered and showed up. That was brilliant for us as the small numbers meant very personal coaching. The fact that 4 were from Warwick was great to see, and it meant we had a player in each position.

The first day took us right back to the very basics; passing, catching, ground balls etc. It was essential we had the right technique so that we could build on it later in the week. Whilst us outfield players were learning all this, Jason and the other goalies were getting 1 on 3 coaching from Marty, the Iroquios national keeper. A lot of us were rusty and there was some sloppy passing and catching!

On the second day we started more specific work. The attack and defense split off and we learnt how to dodge, while the defense learnt how to stop us. At the end of the day we came together and tried putting everything we had learnt into practice in some one on ones.

By the third day we were getting into the details. We worked on some specific situations and strategies, building up to a two on two, three on three and eventually a six on six.
The fourth day was supposed to be a big game, but due to the lack of number, we had to have a little sixes competition.

One of the best things about the camp for me was the warm up sessions. We learnt some really good dynamic stretches and passing drills that get you ready for action in about half an hour! The stick work drills meant that by midway through the week, we had cut out all the lazy passing and catching that plagued the first day, and so many training sessions at Warwick!

As well as that, we all improved individually. Duncs and I gained confidence in attack and learnt how to really break down a defence. Dave learnt a lot of footwork, stick positioning and tactical defending, and was looking tough to beat by the end of the week. I think the most marked improvement had to be in Jason. He not only grew in confidence, but by the end of the week he had great technique, was bossing the defence around and making some great saves!

In the evenings we attended classroom sessions and social events. There was a discussion with Travis Taylor about what we had learnt, and a session on cool down stretches with one of the leading physioterapists at Bristol University. We also had a bbq, ordered in about 20 pizzas and went out for a team curry. On the last night we went out on the lash in Bristol, where the Canadians were less than impressed with me and Duncs’ dancing! We whipped out the whole array of Warwick dances; we even pulled the doctor mark out of the bag although probably failed to do it justice!

The camp was rounded of with a really interesting speech from Marty Ward. He grew up on the reserves in Iroquios, and lacrosse was so much more than a sport to him. The native Indians believed that playing lacrosse was their way of thanking mother nature for everything they have, the trees, the earths, the crops. Whilst I in no way share his beliefs, it was amazing to see his passion for the sport and how much he respected it!

Overall I had a great time and I think we learnt a lot of stuff that the whole club can benefit from. Hopefully we can implement some of the drills and tactics at Warwick.

Bring on next season!