9 tactics to improve your flat shot savings | Lax Porter Rat (2023)

Today's post is my reply to an email from a young, inexperienced keeper struggling to avoid low shots.

Hey Coach Damon, I love thisnew website design! Looking awesome. I'm having problems with flat shots right now. I find it difficult to respond to fasting.low shotsand often I miss it. I think it has to do with my setup or my reaction speed. Any tips to help with those flat photos? -Casey

Thanks for the email Kasey, and thanks for the compliment on the design of the website.

I think you are right. Most goalkeepers who struggle with low shots have a posture error that prevents them from making a quick foot shot.

But aside from your stance, there are a few other tactics and tips to keep in mind to improve your ability to parry low shots.

Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Back to basics: put the setup in the right position

If you've read any of my posts, you know I like to look at every rescue the same way: Shallow shots are no exception.

An extremely important part of parrying is getting into position. Many goalkeeper problems are caused by poor posture and low shots are no exception.

There are often keepers present who have difficulty with low shotsStand up straight in your posture. Not in a sporting position.

When it is set toKeeping correctlyThe hips are slightly forward and you are ready to jump forward with every shot, especially a low shot.

In your pose, if you draw a vertical line down from your shoulders, the line should go through your knees and down through the balls of your feet.

A good test: Can you start a forward sprint from a standstill?

If you have to make adjustments before running forward, you're not set up for the right stance.

A goalkeeper who is too upright will have trouble responding sportively to a low shot.

Lower your posture

There are a number of guidelines that all keepers must adhere toMake sure you have a good goalkeeper position. However, there is also a lot of flexibility within these guidelines.

Some keepers are taller and like to position themselves higher, like Drew Adams (left), other keepers like Adam Ghitelman (right) are shorter and like to be very low.

There are many styles of lacrosse goaltenders, and different styles suit different goaltenders.

However, if you have low hit issues and no high hit issues then I suggest youLower your posture.

The closer you are to the ground, the easier the lowstop becomes, as both the club and your body have to travel less distance to hit the lowhit.

Incidentally, if you put yourself in a lower position, you will see more high shots because the shooters will see the more open net at the top.

For goalkeepers struggling with low shots:provoke the shooterhigh could be an effective tactic.

Lower your hands into position

Even if you prefer to set your stance a little higher, you can still improve your ability to hit low shots by making sure your hands are slightly lower.

Shorter keepers can suffice with their thumb at eye level, but lowering their top hand is still in a good position.

So if you're having trouble getting low shots, consider lowering your top hand into your stance.

Keep the ball in front

One of the problems many goalkeepers have when trying to save low shots is letting the ball go too deep into their bodies.

At the deep stops it is important to save the ball up front.

With your hips back and your hands guarding the ball in front of you, you never lose sight of the ball and you can follow it to your club.

Here it isTrainer Tim CassisDescription of this technique:

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A post shared by Focus Lacrosse (@focuslacrosse).

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(Video) 20 MOMENTS YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE IF NOT FILMED

A post shared by Focus Lacrosse (@focuslacrosse).

Hold the stick lightly

Many keepers tend to get nervous during matches. This will tighten his body and grip.

Unfortunately that is the exact opposite of what a top keeper wants.

We want our bodies to be extremely relaxed and responsive. We like to have a loose grip on the racket, especially the upper hand.

If you are"If you "choke" the racket with a firm grip, you will slowly get to the bottom hits.

So when you practice stopping flat shots, make sure to relax your hands a bit. This ensures proper rotation of the stick to lower the head in time to save.

The only way to lose the guts that lead to a tight grip and stiff body is to get a real game or practice experience.

So if you feel nervous and tense at first, don't worry that these will go away with time and experience.

Finish with a vertical stick or a horizontal stick?

When I first started learning this position, our trainer preached to finish the low stance with a vertical stick. So:

Since I coached young keepers early in my coaching career, this was also the technique I taught them. Strike the lower hand and finish with a vertical stick.

After talking to many goalkeeper coaches and playing with a different technique, this is one of the areas where I changed my mind.

I think goalkeepers should finish with a horizontal stick on low saves. Similar -

Because? Try this little exercise. Get into stance and remove your top hand so that only your bottom hand is on the shaft.

Save now cheaply.

You'll find that the most efficient way to make a low save is to use a flat stick at the end.

To me, if it's just the bottom hand, it becomes obvious that you wouldn't hit the bottom hand to get into the safe position as quickly as possible.

If your keeper manages to jam or finish with the vertical stick, that's great. If not, ask them to try the horizontal stick end and I bet you'll find them stocking even more flat shots.

Make sure you are flexible

To determine a goalie's ability to make low saves, I often ask these two questions: 1.) How good is he at squatting? 2.) How flexible are your hips?

I have trained goalies to be offside for all types of shots except flat kicks.

We had him work on his squats and hip flexibility to improve his descent speed. I know it sounds odd because it's not lacrosse-specific advice, but it was a huge help as he dramatically improved his saving skills afterward.

The truth is that hip flexibility and hamstring and quad tension are extremely important. If everything is too tight, your technique will suffer on low shows because you have to take a less direct route to the ball.

For goalkeepers who want to make low saves, it is very important to stretch the body and warm up properly.

If you want to improve hip mobility, I have a 4 week exercise program on offerAcademia Lax Torwartratte. You are!

Expect the low shot

As lacrosse goalies, we never have to guess where the shooter is going to shoot. We always want to see the ball and then react to the shot.

However, in some situations we can expect low shots.

Many lacrosse players cannot shoot accurately from bottom to top. It's a difficult task that you usually don't see until high school.

It is even more difficult for a player to shoot from the bottom up with precision and powerhe is on the run.

It takes strength and you also need a deep lacrosse pocket, which means female players are even less likely to shoot from the bottom up.

So as a goalkeeper, if you see a player's hands and club head drop for a shot, you can expect a low-low shot.

If you expect a low shot, you can change your stance and lower your hands to be better prepared for a low-low shot.

Lowering your hands and body for the shot puts you in a good position to make that low throw.

As you work your way through the lacrosse levels, you'll notice that shooters can now accurately place the shot from bottom to top. You can still use this tip, though, because a bottom-up punch is hard.

When a player breaks through the best cheddar with a shot from deep above, there's no shame in missing a goal like that. Regroup and focus on the next one.

Chest above the tip of the stick

On a low save, lacrosse goalies must complete in a specific way to ensure the rebound lands in front of the goalie and not on goal.

When performing this parry, everything depends on both the angle of your club and the angle of your chest.

In low parries, his chest should be above the suit.

Here's an example of good stance where the racket is tilted forward, the chest is above the racket head and the head is there, focused on the ball.

Strike with the lower hand or with the stick tilted forward

On low saves (or any save for that matter) we bring our top hand directly to the ball.

We want to hit with our lower hand.

This will do several things: 1.) It will help speed up the rotation of the stick. 2.) Tilt the goalie's stick forward.

If the racket is tilted forward, the rebounds will land in front of you and not reach the back of the net.

Also, hitting the lower hand forward on a low parry keeps the shoulder in line with the shot, allowing the body to take up the most surface area.

One thing I say to goalkeepers when we work on low shots: "What time is it?”

If you hit your bottom hand correctly, you should be able to see an imaginary clock on the wrist of your bottom hand.

If your bottom hand is behind you, you can't see your wrist and it's not in the right position for a deep parry.

What time is it? It's time for small savings.

Stand still to dodge low shots

As I said before, I am not a fan of goalkeepers.fall to the kneesto store flat shots.

I think goalkeepers save more over time if they stay on their feet.

However, there are many well-known goalkeeper coaches and top goalkeepers who swear that kneeling is the most effective way to save from below.

So see what works for you.

However, what we preach to my teams and the goalkeepers I coach is to stay on your feet on low shots.

Exercises to improve flat shot saves

Here's a series of lacrosse target drills to improve your ability to deflect low shots:

• Keepersoefening met 3 stations–This is my favorite exercise for working on low saves. Really focus on getting the stick into the ground.
• heavy pole- Working with heavy bar club rotations helps develop the speed needed to save five holes.
• mysterious shot- Work on some low hits in this drill and your reaction time to lower your body to save those five holes will be greatly improved.
• handcuff drill– This exercise will keep your eyes and head focused on the fifth save.
• mirror training- You can practice your low save move in front of a mirror to make sure you follow all the tips I've discussed in this post.
• Shoot low shots: no explanation needed. If you're having trouble with low shots, make sure you focus on that.during the warm-upand during practice.

Here's a nice exercise from Lax-sponsored athlete Goalie Ratfriend GarberThis will help your flat shots:

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One by Coach Damon | shared post Lax goalkeeper coach (@laxgoalierat)

Diploma

Many forwards and middies like to aim low. That's because it can be difficult for a goalkeeper to save.

Goalies are always upright, so it takes more movement to hit a deep pitch.

However, if you apply the tactics I've outlined in this article, you'll notice an increase in the number of saves you make.

Here are the tips to improve your flat shot defense:

• Get the right attitude
• Lower your posture
• put your hands down
• Provide a light hold
• Finish with a vertical stick
• Expect the low shot
• chest on stick
• Strike with the bottom hand, the racket tilted forward
• stop

Now go out and work on your low saves and soon they will be a strength rather than a weakness.

Until next time! Coach Damon

Do you have any questions or comments about low savings? Leave a comment below.