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General physiological analysis for lacrosse

This is an excerpt from Strength Training for Lacrosse by NSCA -National Strength & Conditioning Association,Joel Raether & Matt Nein.

By John Cole and Justin Kilian

Lacrosse is a physically demanding, high-speed sport that encompasses many different physiological processes and requires strength, power, metabolic, and mental components (14). Like many field sports, lacrosse requires linear sprint speed, rapid changes of direction, quick application of force production, and reactive application of force (i.e., force absorption) in multiple directions. Strength, speed, agility, power, and complete metabolic conditioning are some of the aspects that must not be overlooked for lacrosse athletes.

Although strength and conditioning professionals should focus on sound athletic movement, reactive qualities, strength, and power when constructing programming, position demands of the lacrosse athlete must also be taken into account. There are five distinct positions that the strength and conditioning professional must consider when establishing a well-rounded training program for lacrosse. The specific positions, descriptions of their requirements, and their corresponding locations of operation on the field are as follows:

1. Attackers. In men’s lacrosse, a team of three athletes operates with midfielders on offense. Attackers are required to stay in a 35-yard × 60-yard (32 m × 55 m) offensive zone, with the goal of rapid ball movement and scoring against the opposing defense. In women’s lacrosse, the attack group is referred to as first, second, and third home.
2. Midfielders. A team of three midfield athletes operates in both the offensive and defensive space. They are open to move the entire field of play (110 yards × 60 yards [101 m × 55 m]). The midfield positions are often separated into offensive and defensive midfielders, who substitute on the fly depending on the possession of the ball. In men’s lacrosse, defensive midfielders are often separated into long-stick midfielders (LSMs) and short-stick defensive midfielders (SSDM) who use two different lengths of sticks depending on position requirements. These positions are similar in women’s lacrosse, with the notable exception of stick length, which is a standard size.
3. Defenders. A team of three athletes is responsible for protecting the defensive zone and goal area. They work in concert with the defensive midfielders with the goal of defending the defensive zone, and they attempt to turn the ball over to change possession. Like the attackers, they are required to operate in a 35-yard by 60-yard (32 m × 55 m) space. In field lacrosse, defenders (LSMs and close defenders) will often use lacrosse sticks that are longer (52-72 in. [132-183 cm]), which allows a defender to keep the offensive athletes farther away and potentially check the ball loose for a potential change of possession. In box lacrosse, athletes use a standard stick length (30 in. [76 cm]), because the game is played in a tighter space. These traits are similar in women’s lacrosse, with the notable exception of stick length, which is a standard size.
4. Goalies. The goalie in lacrosse has the job of protecting the goal from the opposing offense. The goalie mainly operates within the crease (9 yd [8 m] in diameter), which cannot be entered by any opposing offensive athlete unless the ball has crossed the goal line. Once a save by the goalie has been made, the goalie may leave the crease and sometimes operates in a half- or full-field capacity, although another athlete on the team must remain onside if the goalie crosses the midfield line. The goalie in women’s lacrosse follows the same standards and rules as in men’s lacrosse.
5. Face-off specialists, or face off, get off (FOGO) (men’s lacrosse). The FOGO is a specialized position played by a midfielder who meets another face-off specialist at the midfield X to attempt to clamp and retain possession of the ball upon the whistle from the referee. If the FOGO gets possession of the ball, he then becomes an offensive midfielder who aims to get the ball into the offensive zone. Once possession is established, the FOGO will usually pass off the ball to the offense and immediately leave the field to be substituted by an offensive midfielder; in some cases, the FOGO will attempt to score or stay in the offensive zone. If the opposing face-off specialist does not achieve possession of the ball, then he becomes a defensive midfielder or leaves the field to be replaced by a defensive midfielder. In women’s lacrosse, the face-off procedure is different, with a standing lateral rake upon the referee’s whistle. The athlete taking the face-off usually does not leave the field and immediately becomes a field athlete after the face-off.

Each of these positions has similar physiological requirements, with some minor differences depending on the area of operation on the field. All lacrosse athletes should be trained with the basic physiological requirements and sound athletic principles of strength, speed, power, change-of-direction and multidirectional agility, and a high level of metabolic conditioning. Goalies and face-off specialists will additionally require quick visual and auditory reaction skills as well as close-proximity agility skills for the ability to operate rapidly in a small space.

Physical fitness assessments should be conducted before programming for all positions. In a study that compared National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I starters versus nonstarters in attack (A), midfield (M), and defense (D) athletes, all athletes were analyzed using age; height; body composition; handgrip strength; 20- and 40-yard (18 and 37 m) sprint times; the pro agility test; the 3-cone drill; vertical jump; 1-repetition maximum (1RM) bench press, squat, and hang clean; and a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) run (27).

In the study, it was determined that athletes in all three positions had similar pro agility test scores, but attackers and midfielders were generally quicker than defenders in the 3-cone drill (A: 7.08 seconds to the left, and 7.13 seconds to the right; M: 7.13 seconds to the left, and 7.13 seconds to the right; D: 7.21 seconds to the left, and 7.14 seconds to the right). However, attackers had slightly lower 1RM strength and power results compared to midfielders and defenders. Midfielders also scored higher on 1RM strength and power tests than attackers. Defenders scored the highest on strength and power tests (1RM bench press: D, 109.1 kg [240.5 pounds]; M, 108.4 kg [239.0 pounds]; A, 95.5 kg [210.5 pounds]; 1RM squat: D, 134.4 kg [296.3 pounds]; M, 122.1 kg [269.2 pounds]; A, 116.2 kg [256.2 pounds]; and 1RM hang clean: D, 105.4 kg [232.4 pounds]; M, 98.2 kg [216.5 pounds]; A, 91.7 kg [202.2 pounds]). These differences in test results speak to the overall demands and differences between attack, midfield, and defense positions (27).

As noted in the previously mentioned study, typical body composition for lacrosse athletes usually varies based on their position on the field. NCAA Division I male lacrosse athletes typically have a similar body composition across all positions. However, it has been noted that lacrosse defenders tend to have a greater overall body composition (i.e., a higher percent body fat) than midfielders or attackers. Based on the demands of the defensive positions, the ability to defend against opposing midfielders and attackers in the area around the defensive zone may benefit from higher body fat levels as long as there is no sacrifice in speed, agility, or quickness.

Strength and Power

Strength is considered the fundamental foundation for success in lacrosse. Building strength provides the platform for injury reduction and skill-specific enhancement.

Lacrosse athletes who have well-developed strength qualities may be more resistant to injury and are better prepared for the stress of games and game-speed practices over the length of a season. Additionally, athletes who are stronger and have explosive abilities have more success in practices and games. Execution of acceleration, agility, stick handling, and physical contact all begin with a comprehensive foundation of strength (14).

The strength and conditioning professional should be cognizant of these sport demands when building programming for lacrosse athletes. Muscle-isolation, bilateral-plane, and single-plane exercises, while effective in some realms (bodybuilding or powerlifting), can be ineffective for the field sport athlete. True functional resistance training that uses unilateral, multijoint, and rotation-based (or resisted-rotation) exercises are far more effective for the transfer of resistance training to the sport environment. Exercises that use changing time under tension, full range of motion, multiple planes of motion, balance, and trunk activation can often be more effective for the lacrosse athlete.

Power is another important trait related to lacrosse. This is loosely defined as the speed–strength qualities of the lacrosse athlete (i.e., the ability to use strength and speed in quick-movement skills). Developing power in athletes should be a focus of the strength and conditioning professional after the foundations of strength, movement, and speed have been established. The force production of an athlete will affect shot speed, sprint speed, and speed of multidirectional movement skills. Fast-twitch (type II) muscle actions based on strength and speed should include acceleration, deceleration, multidirectional movement, change of direction, and shooting and dodging techniques.

Speed and Agility

The game of lacrosse is largely based on speed. Quick turnovers with changes of possession, offensive and defensive sets, substitutions, clearing, and riding are aspects of the game that require a high level of speed and agility.

Lacrosse, similar to most sports, requires the athlete to execute explosive changes of direction, repeated sprinting, and application of force through the kinetic chain in multiple planes of motion (29).

Speed and agility are often overlooked elements on which strength and conditioning professionals should focus on in their programming. Aspects of speed and agility training include but are not limited to balance, foot speed, top-end speed, acceleration and deceleration, and multidirectional agility. Fast-twitch muscle fibers should be enhanced through effective training modalities. Sprint mechanics and lateral and multidirectional movement skills should be part of the strength and conditioning professional’s program during off-season and preseason training. A well-rounded program should include this type of training on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to prepare lacrosse athletes for the demands of their sport.

Metabolic Capacity

Training to improve the metabolic capacity of lacrosse athletes is similar to that for many other field sport athletes. Depending on the specific position of the lacrosse athlete, metabolic demands may be different. However, all positions in lacrosse arguably require a strong metabolic component to enable the athlete to maintain a high level of intensity through four quarters of play.

The metabolic stress of lacrosse requires the involvement of all three metabolic energy systems (phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative). This creates a challenge for the strength and conditioning professional to simultaneously build a cardiovascular foundation and improve the strength and power components that will lead to successful outcomes in practices and games (14).

The strength and conditioning professional should design off-season and preseason training programs that rely on a moderate to sometimes heavy metabolic component. The foundational components of aerobic training, sprint-recovery management, and muscular strength will assist athletes in decreasing game fatigue and increasing time to exhaustion between bouts of anaerobic sprint load. Baseline times for 1.5-mile (2.4 km) runs; 20-, 40-, and 60-yard (18, 37, and 55 m) sprints; and recovery between sprint efforts will assist the strength and conditioning professional in the design of the metabolic component for these programs. In addition, the strength and conditioning professional can incorporate high-intensity interval training in the weight room to increase metabolic qualities. Circuit training is an excellent method to increase the metabolic work capacity in a small space. An example is using 30 seconds of work in a resisted-movement exercise followed by 30 seconds of rest while moving through a circuit of different exercises for several rounds. This can progress to 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest as athletes adapt to the metabolic demands of the workouts over time.

Once the strength and conditioning professional has baseline data from testing, incorporation of base-building sessions (short- to medium-length aerobic programming), repeated sprint interval sessions, and repeated multidirectional sessions that use acceleration–deceleration, lateral, and multidirectional movement can increase the metabolic capacity in a sport-specific method for better outcomes.

In addition, the strength and conditioning professional should analyze the lacrosse athlete’s running and agility mechanics for energy efficiency. Dynamic warm-ups incorporating speed, agility, and quickness drills such as ankling, ankle pops, straight-leg runs, skipping patterns, and multidirectional movement patterns should be included in the programs. These drills should be incorporated before the session’s strength exercises, when athletes are able to use their highest level of neuromuscular actions for the session. Speed, agility, and quickness sessions to improve the lacrosse athlete’s ability to move efficiently will decrease time to exhaustion and lead to better energy-conservation and performance outcomes during the length of a game.

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