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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yeah in terms of becoming an elite player, say from 8th grade on, for boys size and speed swamp everything else.  Average athletes with good stick skills do well in the elementary years.  But for high school and beyond it is really about athleticism.  Stick skills are easily learned. [/quote]

Clearly this is a dad post from a non player.  Stick skills take hours and years, great athletes without stick skills cannot play this game.  All the kids at the elite level have speed, size really depends on position, lots of great players who were not huge.  Stick skills and lacrosse IQ are key.  Some kids are just ballers.[/quote]

Another lifelong, D1 lacrosse player here. Lacrosse stick skills are super easy to learn, seriously. Those saying they aren't are the ones who obviously never played. Athleticism, specifically speed and size, are the key. Without those, don't bother.[/quote]

Not buying it. No lifelong D1 lacrosse player would ever post that. The rest of us just know. [/quote]

I don’t know why this is controversial. Top D1 is a bunch of elite athletes. Elite athletes have . . . elite athleticism that allows them to pick skills, including stick skills, very easily. Without athleticism it’s not going to happen. [/quote]

I don't disagree with you on elite athleticism. But, stickwork is essential. Nothing matters until you get that. I would say it is relatively easy to get a basic level of stickwork on your dominate hand, to truly be special with a stick, does take time and effort. It isn't just your dominate hand but being able to go to your non-dominate hand and be at the same level that makes someone truly special. That does take work.

I also firmly believe that some players just get it athletically and sports IQ wise. They have the correct set of genes and the correct synapses that things just fall into place just by picking up a stick. Think of Paul Rabil. He fully admits never picking up a lacrosse stick until he was 12 or 13 and when he it just clicked for him. Don't get me wrong, he worked his tail off to get to his level (and was blessed with great genes) but he still just got it when he started. Same thing can be said for many of the top players. There are kids that through working out and training that can get better and ultimately, their top end will be just getting on the field. But, there are some kids that will have to do nothing and will be able to play at a competitive level (this is youth and even to some extent HS) without much effort. They will just be. They will have a different gear that no one else on the field has. If you go to a youth tournament there will be one or two of these kids in an entire age group. But, this is true in almost everything everyone does in life.

Size certainly helps but size doesn't work without speed. Speed is the first thing that most coaches look at figuring stickwork can come. Sports IQ is generally a missing element that many coaches think can be coached. But, those truly special kids (the ones I describe above) generally already have it.

I think of it this way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibxuzkFdcec

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