Lacrosse Wall Ball Practice Plan for 7 and 8 Year Olds
At 7 and 8, lacrosse practice is catch with a stick in the middle: the overhand THROW (the stick swinging past the ear like throwing a ball, top hand doing the talking) and the soft CATCH: the stick giving back as the ball arrives, an egg welcomed rather than a rock blocked. A tennis ball and any wall make the perfect first teammates.
Thirty minutes with a properly sized youth stick, a tennis ball (kinder than a lacrosse ball for beginning hands), and a wall or a parent. Catches outnumber throws in importance at this age (everyone throws eventually; soft early catches are the rarer treasure), and everything runs as streaks and games. The wall never gets tired, and neither does the celebrating.
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.
Tennis ball or real lacrosse ball for beginners?
Tennis ball: kinder on misses (they happen constantly at first), bouncier off walls, and fear-free, which keeps the soft-catch learning honest. The real ball joins around 9 and 10 as hands firm up. The skills transfer completely; the bruises do not need to.
What stick setup helps a 7 year old succeed?
A youth stick sized so the top hand sits comfortably below the head with the butt not past the armpit, and critically, a decently broken-in pocket: a brand-new shallow pocket rejects beginner catches and teaches frustration. Five minutes of pocket-softening repays itself the first session.
How important is wall ball, really?
It is the sport's open secret: virtually every elite player logged thousands of wall hours, because no drill matches its volume (a catch and throw every few seconds, forever). Starting the routine as streaks-and-games at 7 builds the daily habit the sport's best hands all share.