14U USA Lacrosse Practice Structure & Drills

We follow the USA Lacrosse guidelines for coaching at all levels. At the 14U level, coaches should focus on combining technical skills with tactical understanding to develop well-rounded players, emphasizing agility, footwork, dynamic balance, strength, power, endurance, speed, plyometric power, and flexibility, while reinforcing consistency under pressure and expanding technical abilities such as shooting, passing, dodging, checking, body checking (as rules allow), and position-specific skills.

Our approach emphasizes a fun environment that rewards hard work and improvement, values team contributions, and focuses on individual planning and goal setting, supporting psychological growth in autonomy, self-motivation, long-term goals, respect for the game, understanding winning/losing, and mental toughness; social skills like maturity, self-identity, peer relationships, and responsibility; and tactical concepts like extra-player situations, transition, riding, clearing, and play up to 7v7/full field. Practices should be 90 minutes up to three times per week.

14U practices are organized around station-based sessions to reward hard work, value team contributions, and refine skills in a fun, goal-oriented environment focused on individual and collective success. Each 90-minute practice (up to 3x/week) begins with a dynamic warm-up, followed by stations refining technical consistency in shooting, passing, dodging, checking, body checking (per rules), and position-specific skills while building tactical proficiency, delivered with motivational coaching, personal goal-setting, and competitive drills—ideally with a 15:1 player-to-coach ratio and regular small-sided games reinforcing understanding. Practices include scrimmages or simulated competitions exploring extra-player situations, transition, riding, clearing, and play up to 7v7/full field, with free play for autonomy and creativity. Sessions conclude with a debrief activity highlighting self-motivation, respect for the game, and life lessons, empowering players for competitive settings.

Below is a library of drills and games published by USA Lacrosse to support the development of 14U lacrosse players. These resources serve as a starting point for organizing practices, but coaches are encouraged to adapt them to their teams' needs, explore other effective drills and games, or create their own. If you discover something that works particularly well, please share it so we can expand our library!