Lacrosse Goalie Practice Plan for 7 and 8 Year Olds

The cage is a castle and every save is a magic trick. Tennis balls only, steps toward everything, and celebrations after all of it.

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The stance as a game: feet under shoulders, knees soft, hands away from the body with the stick head up beside the ear-ish ("periscope up"), weight bouncing gently on the toes. Freeze contests, stance waddles, and the doorbell game (point left or right, they step that way and back). Comfort is the entire agenda.

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The lacrosse save's signature, planted early: soft tosses from ten feet, and the kid STEPS toward each ball as they catch or block it (lead foot driving at the ball, body following, never leaning back). Twelve tosses at easy heights. The step is courage with choreography; tennis balls make it free.

If a stick is in play: the save motion taught as "top hand drives the stick head to the ball" while the step happens (stick head traveling first, body behind it). Ten easy reps at glove-side and off-side spots. Without a stick, the same motion trains with the hands ("lead with your top hand like a superhero punch, catch with both").

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Exaggerated tracking: slow tosses followed with the whole head (nose pointing at the ball its entire flight into the stick or body), including three fake-then-toss reps where the nose must stay honest. Ten reps. Tracking is the goalie's native language across every sport; teach it with the nose and it never leaves.

Rapid soft shots at the "cage" (a wall square, two cones, or a real small goal), each save answered with your broadcast call ("WHAT a stop!") and their invented celebration. Goals against just reset the party ("next one's yours"). Ten shots. Volume of celebrated success is the position's recruitment engine; run it hot.

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Five final shots with full drama (crowd noise by parent, countdown, the call), ending on a made save with the stick raised. If the last one sneaks in, another comes immediately; keeper sessions end on stops, by law. Then the walk-off: stick on shoulder, castle secured.

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What to watch today: leaning back. The flinch-away is natural and the step-forward is trained; if the lean appears, slow the tosses and shrink the distance until stepping feels safe again. Every forward step on a soft ball is a deposit in the courage account that hard rubber will one day draw on, at practice, in full gear, years from now.