Wall Ball Routine
Ages 7 and up · A stick, a ball, and a solid wall (brick or concrete; a garage door with permission), standing 10-15 feet back
Wall ball is not a lacrosse drill; it is THE lacrosse drill: every coach at every level assigns it, every skilled player was built by it, and no team practice can supply a fraction of the touches ten daily minutes against a wall delivers. Throwing and catching are the sport, and the wall rehearses both sides of the exchange, alone, forever, free.
The routine below is the classic menu (strong hand, weak hand, quick sticks, one-hand cradles) with the standards that make it work: catches soft (the top hand giving), throws overhand and crisp, and BOTH hands trained every single day, because two-handed players are simply a different species on a lacrosse field.
How to run it
- Right hand: 25 throws and catches, overhand, the ball arriving back to the stick side, catches cushioned (the top hand gives back softly as the ball arrives, "catching an egg").
- Left hand: 25 the same. The weak hand goes second while arms are fresh, never skipped, ever.
- Quick sticks: 20 catches released immediately (no cradle, catch-and-throw in one beat), each hand.
- One-hand cradles: 10 throws each hand where the catch flows into two cradles before the next throw (the game's real rhythm).
- Finish with 10 across-the-body catches (thrown to the off side deliberately, caught reaching across). Ten to fifteen minutes total, daily; the routine IS the program.
What to say
Common faults and fixes
Stiff-stick catches clanking out (no give).
Exaggerate the cushion: catch and let the stick travel back six inches with the ball. Softer throws until catches quiet down; the give is the whole catching secret.
Sidearm throws creeping in (easier, flatter, and a permanent bad habit).
The overhand standard graded per set: the stick head passes by the ear. A chalk line on the wall at target height keeps throws honest; sidearm sprays low.
Weak-hand sets skipped or token (the universal temptation).
Weak hand goes FIRST some days, and its rep count is logged separately. The two-handed player is built in exactly these minutes; there is no other source.
Make it easier, make it harder
Closer to the wall, softer throws, catch-cradle-throw rhythm (extra time between reps), tennis ball for beginners.
Faster quick-stick sets; behind-the-back and around-the-world reps as dessert; on-the-run wall ball (jogging past the wall throwing and catching); gloves on for realism; timed routines racing the daily clock.
This page teaches the drill. ParentEdge builds it into a plan for your kid.
Built around their game, their goals, and what they’re working on.
How often should wall ball happen?
Daily, ten to fifteen minutes, in season and out: it is the sport's single highest-return habit and the answer to nearly every stick-skill gap. Players who wall-ball daily for a year are unrecognizable, reliably. Frequency beats duration every time.
What wall works, and what ball?
Any solid wall that returns a throw (brick, concrete, a sturdy garage door with permission); a regulation ball outdoors, a tennis ball for beginners or indoor-adjacent spaces. Rebounder nets work where no wall exists, with a slightly softer return. The wall is the least fussy training partner in sports.