BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Play Development

HI All,

Has anyone had any experience with player development at the 2031 age group? My 5th grader has all the fundamental passing, catching, shooting, player IQ knows the game and where to be on the field. He just doesn't have the athleticism, and speed, to consistently compete despite all the work and clinics he has put in. Not sure where to take it from here, but he is having trouble keeping up.

Wondering if anyone has had experience with this and how to help push/guide them to the next level.

First - its 5th grade. Time will allow for that development. Good clubs will have some form of speed and agility work. With that being said, yes my son has been working with a speed and agility coach on and off for years. He is a 2026. You should be able to find something in your area as they are popping up every where now. It does help but like everything if you are relying on a once weekly workout not worth the money. He will need to do some stuff at home on his own for it work.

He is in 5th grade its fine. kids all progress differently physically and mentality Wouldn't panic since he hasn't hit his stride yet with puberty. To help with speed and athleticism put him in a speed and agility program, Mine does it every day in the summer if not at a camp and twice a week during the year when school and seasons start back up. Mine doesn't have the iq or all the skills locked down but is just really fast and athletic (also a 2031). incorporate all that with lacrosse and he will continue growing in the game and once puberty hits you'll have a lot better metric and then can start throwing in strength training. They are young and no real metrics at this age.

What position does he play?

If he is on D or Attack he won't get as much run as the Midfielders so would recommend adding an additional sport.
Soccer and Basketball are great for keeping him fit and forcing agility to be a part of his weekly.

Midi, plays other Sports, Volleyball, football, basketball. He likes being active and loves to play sports. We have been doing speed and agility a few times a week for a few months I just don't see it translating onto the field. I get he is young, but the pressure at this age seems to be so much, and you can see that it effects him mentally when he is not getting the play time he wants.

It’s going to take more than a few months of speed and agility training! Get into a good gym and keep him working at it. More in the summer and more than 2 days a week. It will eventually make a difference. Keep putting in the work. He’s still young and just needs to put in the extra time to get more physical and faster. No quick answers.

Make sure he's also working everyday on the stick skills. Hit the wall everyday! It will start to pay off in time.

Yes I agree, he still very young and when he gets older and puberty hits thing will hopefully all click. His stick work is there, he does hit the wall when not practicing. The speed and athleticism are the main thing holding him back from really succeeding more on the field and get an opportunity to get more play time. The pressure and competitiveness at this age seems like overkill.

Puberty
Puberty
Puberty

Don’t sweat it. You have time. Let him play as many sports as he wants and you have time for. This is important.

My son and most of his teammates dabbled in speed and agility by 5th-6th grade.
Took it more seriously 6th-7th.
Fully committed to speed agility and strength by 8th.
Those who haven’t, have fallen off. And some of those were the best 3rd-5th graders on their teams. Unfortunately genetics plays a big part.
It takes time to see results, but it also takes testosterone.
There is also a fine line between training and burning a kid out. Walk that line carefully. The best thing you can do is keep working on stick skills and have him do as much speed and agility as he wants to without making it a chore. At some point, as was the case with my son, he will realize he has to work hard to keep up. If he loves the game at that point he will want to. And if he doesn’t want to, you’re going to save yourself a lot of money and a lot of time heading eastbound on the belt parkway on Sunday afternoons.

Stop making sense there is zero tolerance for behavior like this on BOC.

lol

Don't be impatient. When my son was that age he was kinda doughy, slow but LOVED lacrosse. We did speed training on and off for years and now he's grown up, slimmed down and is playing in college.

I'd add that strength training is important too. Can't just be footwork/agility. Need to get stronger too.

This is all great everyone, thanks for your feedback and experiences shared . I'm trying to help motivate and push without discouraging , sometimes it's a fine line. And kids @ this age can be mean, my boy really enjoys playing and being part of his team. Hoping he continues to develop over time.

High level lacrosse requires speed, and the old saw bears repeating: You can't coach speed. Puberty may help, but not many slow kids magically become faster relative to their peers, who also eventually benefit from puberty.

Puberty and the associated growth spurt will lead to size differentials, which can best be predicted by parental height. That size becomes important. I know more than a few fifth graders who were big for their age and didn't grow as much as their peers. Their lacrosse suffered because they were more easily pushed around after other kids hit their growth spurt.

Strength and plyometric training will yield the best results, but I wouldn't focus too much on training a 2031. My sincere advice would be to get your kid in the appropriate level of competition so he's having fun. Not everyone is fast enough for the Crabs (the fastest 2031 team for my money).