Lacrosse Shooting Practice Plan for 7 and 8 Year Olds
At 7 and 8, shooting is the throw with a louder celebration: the same past-the-ear overhand from wall ball, aimed at a goal (or taped target, or laundry basket empire) and roared about. Overhand stays the only pattern on purpose: it is the accurate one, the safe one, and the foundation every fancy teenage release will be built on.
Thirty minutes with stick, soft or tennis balls (backyard windows vote soft), and any target with a story. Big targets and short range keep scoring the normal outcome, because a 7-year-old who scores constantly practices shooting constantly, and that arithmetic is the whole program.
This plan was written for every 7 and 8 year old. ParentEdge writes one for yours.
Built around their game, their goals, and what they’re working on.
Why overhand only for young shooters?
Accuracy and foundation: the overhand release is the most repeatable pattern, it uses the wall-ball throw kids already own, and every advanced release (three-quarter, sidearm as a chosen tool) is built on its mechanics later. Early sidearm is fun and wild; overhand is fun and IN, and in wins.
What targets work without a real goal?
Anything with a story: taped squares on a fence, a laundry basket dynasty, bottles as corner guards. The requirements are size (big enough to hit often) and drama (worth roaring about). A real youth goal upgrades the theater when the sport sticks.
Soft balls or real ones for backyard shooting?
Soft or tennis at this age: real lacrosse balls are genuinely dangerous to windows, siding, and bystanders, and the shooting pattern transfers completely from soft. Real balls belong at fields and team practice; the backyard's job is volume and joy.