After Your Commitment
Commit Management Plan (CMP):
We have pursued you heavily throughout your recruiting process and believe you will excel at Harvard as both an athlete and a member of the campus community. Our staff has communicated with your coaches and has watched you play countless games. From these observations, we create your Commit Management Plan.
YouTube Drill Videos:
Using video links sent to you through our YouTube Channel: HLX1881, we hand pick instructional drill videos that are specific to your CMP. Learning from these videos will help you fine-tune your game post commitment.
Communication with your club/high school coaches:
We are constantly communicating with your High School and Club coaches. Aside from learning more about you, we are sending them similar drill videos for them to incorporate into their practices knowing that they will subsequently help you improve in your time away from us.
Freshman Fall
Fall Ball- Intense focus on skill development and introduction to our offense, defense, riding and clearing strategies and philosophies
Offense: Fundamentals and Technique, Spacing, Decision-Making, Tempo, Creativity
Defense: Cover, Close, Collapse, Communicate, Collect, Clear, Compete
Goalie: Balance, Hip Flexibility, Hand Speed, Footwork, Stick Skills
Faceoff: Stance, Wing-Play, Exits, Post-Faceoff Skills
On Field Instruction
Through positional and full team instruction, our staff teaches the Micro and Macro components of the game, specific to our program.
Click Here to get an inside look at our practices.
ScoreBreak Telestrations
Following every practice, our coaching staff diligently breaks down the film on a Micro and Macro level. With detailed "telestrations", we clearly communicate areas that we are looking to improve.
You are registered to ScoreBreak through your email, and we send our daily clips directly to you.
Strength & Conditioning
Both on the field for speed+agility, and in our Palmer Dixon Strength and Conditioning Center, we are dedicated to physical improvement each fall. We train our bodies 4-5 each week with instruction from our world class Strength Staff.
Click Here to check out our Training Days.
We bring in elite coaches from Compete to assist our athletes in speed and agility training. Compete focuses on enhancing an athlete's ability to change direction quickly and efficiently while maintaining control and speed.
Captains Practices
The Ivy League limits the amount of hours we are allowed to coach on the field during the fall. To supplement our time together, our guys participate in player-run Captain's Practices. These highly competitive weekly sessions are transformative for our culture while expediting and harnessing the power of peer-to-peer learning.
Peer to Peer Learning & Culture Development:
A pillar of our program. Our guys are constantly teaching each other how we play without coach involvement using their own Hudl telestrations, film sessions and small group work.
BOAT Program
A foundation of our program. Our team is broken up into three Boats throughout the winter. Each Boat consists of roughly 15 guys and are designed to enhance Peer to Peer competition, collaboration, and growth.
Mirror Program
Our players are paired up throughout the winter to create our Mirror Program. This program is designed to develop friendships and relationships that can enhance our culture and skill/program development through free flowing conversations. The candid exchange of perspectives via text, Zoom, FaceTime etc covering points of view about our program as well as local and global events, professional development and pride and passion for HU and HLX.
Finding your voice, ability to share opinions and perspectives is a skill that we want to be a hallmark of our program. Candor and candid exchange of thought and thoughtful opinion is a bedrock feature of HU and should be within HLX. This honesty is integral for your intellectual evolution and for your fidelity and devotion to our team, its values and the lofty goals we have set. Narrowing that gap between who you truly are and how you see yourself will help bring your dreams into focus and make them more achievable.
End of Fall
Individual Development Plan (IDP)
After observing your game throughout the fall, the coaching staff comes together to create your IDP. We highlight 3-5 areas of your game that we want you to focus on and provide drills to help you specifically improve in those areas.
End of Fall Meeting:
In a 30 minute meeting with the coaching staff, we present your IDP, using film clips to precisely articulate areas that we want to see you improve. We also show you the specific drills you can utilize to improve your game.
Winter Break
BOAT structure
Our program relies on our Boat programs to sustain and propel us through winter break. Fully player led, our team is able to stay connected, motivated and challenged throughout the winter as we prepare for our season. We rotate our Boats during winter break to strengthen new relationships while testing our leaderships.
Mirror Program
We also rotate our Mirrors during winter break to further develop meaningful relationships. We count on our Mirror Program to enhance our intellectual connection throughout the winter. Players have regular conversations with their mirror partner on a variety of topics, discussing candidly their opinions on important issues.
Strength and Conditioning
Throughout winter break, we put an enormous emphasis on physical fitness as we prepare for the season. We send out a detailed 5-Week workout packet that covers speed, agility, strength, flexibility and recovery. Our guys get after it, and understand that they need to arrive back to campus in optimal shape.
Pre-Season
Starting February 1, we are fulling in-season. This allows us the time we need to prepare for our games as we further install our offensive, defensive and special teams systems. Check out some highlights from our practices below.
POST SEASON
IDP:
A the end of the season our staff will revisit, and revise your personal IDP. Where did you excel? Where did you fall short? Candor and honesty are a part of our culture.
End of Season Meeting:
In a similar format to the fall, you will have a 30 minute meeting with our staff where we will discuss your IDP with you. We will also get your feedback on the season, and work together to create a specific plan for you moving into the summer.
SUMMER
New Boats and Mirrors:
Each summer we re-shuffle our Boats and Mirror program. This allows new relationships to be formed while continuing to strengthen our culture, skill development, and candor.
Strength and Conditioning:
With the summer comes a new workout packet. Great players make huge strides during the summer, and our guys put the time and work in to improve their bodies each summer. Time to work!
The Harvard Lacrosse Staff represents over 25 years of college coaching. With this depth of experience, our staff has coached dozens of college All-Americans, PLL/MLL players, 20+ 1st Team All-Americans and positional players of the year. By taking the lessons and strategies of their past successes and applying it to the Harvard Lacrosse team, we expect to deliver the same results in individual player development and ultimately championship success.
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