Philosophy
TLI has composed a very in-depth philosophy of training players and coaches.
Skill-to-Concept Philosophy
This is a critical portion of proper player development. This idea is that when you are teaching a player a particular skill, you always make sure to not only teach them what to do, but you also teach them why you do this and what options you have when using that particular skill. Once you run them through the proper skill development progression and all of the different options you have with that skill, this skill will then turn into a “concept” in their mind and body. The idea of “Skill to Concept” is applicable to both individual and team skills. Once this gets applied to team drills, we begin developing “Team Concepts”. This basically is the basis for “Playing Lacrosse”. We do not teach “Plays”, we teach players to “Play Lacrosse”. The development of these Team Concepts is the ultimate goal, and we begin this type of training by the second practice session, if not the first. Even at the lowest levels.
Box-to-Field Philosophy: TLI’s personnel not only has dozens of years of experience playing field lacrosse at the highest level collegiately and professionally, we also have many years of professional and international box lacrosse experience. There are many skills that come from playing box lacrosse that have allowed a significant number of box lacrosse players to develop into some of the best Division 1 and Professional Lacrosse players, both offensively and defensively, in the world. These small yet significant skills that when used appropriately become part of a concept on the field. These skills include, but are not limited to, Faking, finishing, dodging, playing in tight spaces and defending on and off ball. Also, the confined space of the box forces players to make the correct decision much faster than you need to on the field.
Lacrosse Acumen: The definition of Acumen is “the ability to make good judgements and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain.” This is the ultimate goal of TLI’s player training. Every step that we take is a step towards building a players “Lacrosse Acumen”.
Testimonials:
"TLI's OCEP was a major contributor to the success of my 14U team last season. By preparing us with effective practice plans and drills, my assistant coaches and I were easily able to prepare the boys for success. As a long time assistant coach, TLI gave me the tools to take the reigns and help the team have fun and succeed"
C. Smith Newburyport Youth