Box Lacrosse is a great way for players to continue to improve their skills and Lacrosse IQ in a more competitive and physical setting.​  The national sport of Canada, box lacrosse is typically played in a converted hockey rink or roller hockey rink. In Canada, outdoor hockey rinks are converted to Box lacrosse rinks once the ice melts in summer.​

Why Box Lacrosse?

Box lacrosse is played in a hockey rink, 5v5 with goalies and no defensive long sticks.  In such a tight space, players MUST learn to have great stick skills and be able to pick the spots they shoot at! If you watch the Canadians and natives play outdoors (e.g Thompson Brothers, Mark Matthews, John Grant Jr.), their stick skills are second to none and they score goals in bunches. That is because they honed their skills playing box on 4’x4′ nets! Being accurate with your stick is a must in Box lacrosse - you cannot just blow it by the goalie, you must be able to hit what you aim for! This is excellent not just for offense but for defensive players who must use short sticks and hone their stick skills!

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LACROSSE IQ AND DECISION MAKING. Lacrosse IQ – Box lacrosse has a 30 second shot clock (like NBA) which means the game is very fast. Players must constantly be aware of the time, score and shot clock. This forces them to take all of those factors and make a split-second decision every time they get the ball. And since the game is so back and forth – players get many more reps. The feedback is instantaneous whereas on the field it might be a few minutes before you get off to the sideline to hear your coach explain things to you. Box shifts are fast and short which allows you to talk to your coaches a lot more than you would otherwise. For offense, players must be able to know when and where to take a good shot because there is such limited space to shoot at.

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REPETITIONS REPETITIONS REPETITIONS Box lacrosse is played in an hockey rink where the ball hardly goes out of bounds and games are 5 v 5 which makes the game extremely fast paced! Many pro box teams will have upwards of 100 shots on goal each game! Compare that to the 40 or so a team gets playing field lacrosse!  Players get a lot of playing time - in fact many players will say it's more exhausting than outdoors! There is no standing around!  Box lacrosse also has a 30 second shot clock, so the amount of shots per game is much higher than that of outdoor lacrosse. The game is back and forth which gives players many more chances and touches than they would have otherwise. 

BODY CONTROL AND HANDLING PRESSURE.  Unlike field, where a player has much more space to attack/defend, Box lacrosse is all close quarters. For offensive players they learn how to handle the ball much better with a defenseman draped all over their hands and must learn how to use their body to shield their stick from being checked! They must also learn how to shoot around their defender. For a defenseman, there is no better way to practice your defense than to use a short stick because you can't rely on a 6 foot pole!!! You must play proper position defense! In box lacrosse, the 2 man pick game is an essential aspect and defending 10-15 picks a game with a short stick will only help your outdoor game! 

OFF-BALL MOVEMENT AND COMMUNICATION.  What most people don't realize is that the movement off-ball in box lacrosse is just as important as on-ball movement. Because the game is so fast paced and in such a tight space, the offense doesn't have time to just sit back and set up a big play - there is constant movement all the time on offense! Off-ball players must set picks, roll off picks, have their hands free, all while having defenseman on their hands!! Defensively, communicating  through the 2 man game is VITAL. Additionally, defensive players  must communicate as a whole in order to be successful with the speed of this game!!
 

BOTTOM LINE: BOX LACROSSE IS SINGLE BEST WAY TO DEVELOP YOUR GAME IN THE OFFSEASON.