8U USA Lacrosse Practice Structure & Drills

We follow the USA Lacrosse guidelines for coaching at all levels. At the 8U level, coaches should focus on building a strong foundation through fun, active engagement and fundamental athletic skills like agility, balance, coordination, and speed, while maximizing ball touches to develop technical abilities such as scooping, cradling, throwing, catching, shooting, and dodging.

Our approach emphasizes a player-centered environment with enjoyable games, predictable routines, and activities designed for success, supporting psychological growth in concentration, coachability, and respect; social skills like cooperation and responsibility; and basic tactical concepts like 1v1 and 2v2 play. Practices should be 60-75 minutes two or three times per week.

8U practices are organized around station-based sessions to maximize fun, engagement, and skill development while minimizing waiting time for young athletes with short attention spans. Each practice begins with a 5-6 minute warm-up or free play, followed by short 6-minute stations (max 6-8 players per station, ideally 1:1 player-to-ball ratio) featuring enjoyable games, competitions, or races focused on fundamentals like scooping, cradling, throwing, catching, and dodging—delivered with high energy, eye-level instruction, high fives, and personalized compliments. Practices include a 15-20 minute scrimmage or age-appropriate game situation toward the end to apply learned skills. Sessions conclude with a fun, inclusive activity that reinforces a core fundamental, ensuring every player leaves feeling successful and excited.

USA Lacrosse provides sample practice plans that coaches can follow or use as a template to create their own plans. These plans can be found below.

Below is a library of drills and games published by USA Lacrosse to support the development of 8U 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!