1. Get the Body Loose
Warming up, no matter what the sport, is of prime concern for coaches and players. With all the physical twisting and turning that you put your body through when doing a sport such as lacrosse, you want the muscles and joints to be fully engaged and able to reach their various limits without tearing. Proper warm up techniques make the after-practice or after-game experience much more pleasant. First rule of thumb: do not do heavy or extreme stretches when your body is cold. Work into the routines slowly and easily, literally letting your body warm up with each exercise.
2. Build Stamina
One of the most important aspects of any sport is that the athlete build up his or her stamina, her staying power and her ability to carry through sustained high-level physical activity. Running is the perfect exercise, and it acts as a perfect warm up as well. Get the blood flowing with a prolonged running routine, getting in a good 10, 15 or 20 minutes at the beginning of your workout.
3. Wall to Ball
Some sports just require the body to be skilled. In a sport like lacrosse, you have a tool that you should see as part of you; the stick should to be more like an extension of your own arm than a separte piece of equipment. "Wall-to-ball" is an exercise that you can do on your own to build your skill with the stick. Using proper hand and arm form, stand about 4 or 5 yards from a solid, flat wall, and snap the stick so that the ball goes straight to the wall and bounces straight back at you. Concentrate on using the wrist to get the proper snap, and work this for 15 to 30 minutes a day. Maintain proper form at all times, or the exercise is not going to be useful.
4. Simple Ball Toss
You can set up 2 goalies to work a warm up tossing drill together, without the sticks. Set up several feet apart. One goalie throws the ball to the other, who catches it between the thumb and index finger. Then he throws it back to the first. Repeat this exercise several times, throwing first to stick high position (on both sides), then to waist high position (on both sides) and finally to low position (on both sides). As a low-impact drill, it has high flexibility and posture value. Staying on the balls of your feet, you can build up dexterity, skill and fluidity of movement.
5. Jump Rope
Again, you're looking for flexibility, quickness and agility, and jumping rope is of great use in developing these and other qualities. The "hop-skip" approach is useful for staying light on the balls of the feet while developing balance, and the "Rocky-style" both-feet-at-the-same-time jump develops several muscles groups and aids in balance and coordination.
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