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Advanced Wall Ball

Advanced Wall Ball

Wall Ball:  The 21's

A twenty-one day wall-ball drill routine – (The 21’s) The 21’s should be done across 21 consecutive days AND continued DAILY!!! The 21’s are for players with advanced skills. 


SET-UP:

Hold stick properly: There are two ways to do this. Always with your gloves on; first, hold the stick perpendicular to the ground with your off-hand at the butt end of the stick, with the butt sticking out of the bottom of your glove. We’ll assume for this example, you are right-handed, so your left hand is at the butt end of the stick. Put your right hand around your stick, and slide it down to meet the top of your left hand glove. Now, holding the stick tightly with your right hand, move your left hand above your right hand, grasp the handle and slide your left hand down to meet the top of your right hand glove, do this one more time, now holding the handle tight with your left hand, moving your right hand above the left, grasp the handle, and slide it down to the top of the left hand glove. With your right hand grasping tightly, slide your left hand down the handle to the butt of the stick. This is where your hands should be when you are holding your stick. Many players like to put tape on their stick just under their top hand, so they can feel the position where their top hand should be placed. The 2nd way to do this; taking into account the balance of your particular stick, with no ball in the stick, lay the stick parallel to the ground on your strong-hand shoulder and slide it into a position where it is balanced on your shoulder, perfectly parallel to the ground. Now, with your gloves on, reach up and without removing it from your shoulder, grab the handle with your strong hand at your shoulder and your off-hand at the butt of the stick. Lift it off of your shoulder, and if you mark your top hand position with tape as before, it will be within an inch of where your first tape was placed. Somewhere between the two marks is where this particular stick should be held. For long sticks, find your personal comfort level while choking-up as described herein and mark your stick accordingly.


Position to the wall: With a long pole or short pole, holding the stick parallel to the ground, put the head of your stick against the wall and the butt of the stick against your belly. You should stand not farther from the wall than this distance (you can stand closer if you prefer). We suggest that you place a couple dozen balls along side of you on the ground, so when you miss a ball off the wall, you won’t have to chase it down to continue on with the drill, but just reach down and pick up the next one.


Quick Sticks: All of these drills are quick sticks. DO NOT TWIRL YOUR STICK WHEN YOU CATCH THE BALL.


How long should ‘The 21’s take? The first day will probably take you about a ½ hour or so; however, by the 21st day, it’ll only take about 15 minutes because your stickwork will have improved that much.


DRILL #1

With the toes of your feet square and parallel to the wall at the proper distance from the wall, with gloves on and holding the stick as previously described, put the stick with ball on your strong shoulder. Throw the ball straight onto the wall with your strong hand with the head of stick coming off of your ear. Without changing the position of your hands on the stick, catch the ball coming straight back to where you threw it from. Do NOT twirl the stick! Catch the ball and quick stick it back onto the wall, catching the ball same as previously described. Repeat 100 times.


DRILL #2

Using the same body position; move the stick with ball to your off-hand. Perform the same drill as Drill #1, except this time, using your off-hand. Repeat 100 times.

 

DRILL #3

Same body position; move the stick with ball back to your strong hand. If you ever played billiards (pool), you know that when a pool ball hits the rail, without English, it will come off of the rail at the exact angle that it had coming to the rail. A lacrosse ball on the wall will do the same. Holding the stick with ball on your strong shoulder, throw the ball up and onto the wall, not straight at the wall as you did in Drills 1 & 2, but at an angle, dead center to the center of your body. Without moving either hand on the stick, bring your top hand and stick across your body so that you can catch the ball on the opposite shoulder as it comes off of the wall at the same angle it was thrown onto the wall. Catching the ball with your top hand across your chest, throw the ball up on the wall to your body’s center again, and without moving your hands on the stick, bring your top hand back to its strong side and catch the ball coming back at the original angle from which it was thrown. Repeat the ball coming off the wall 100 times.

 

DRILL #4

Using the same body position, move the stick with ball to your off-hand. Perform the same drill as above in Drill #3, except this time with your off-hand. Repeat 100 times.

 

DRILL #5

Same body position, move the stick with ball back to your strong hand. Holding the stick with ball on your strong shoulder, throw the ball up and onto the wall, not straight at the wall as you did in Drills #1 & #2, but at an angle as you did in Drills #3 & #4, dead center to the center of your body. This time, change hands so that you can catch the ball on the opposite shoulder as it comes off of the wall at the same angle it was thrown onto the wall. Catching the ball with your opposite hand (since you changed hands) throw the ball up on the wall to your body’s center again, and now changing the stick back to your strong hand, catch the ball coming back at the original angle from which it was thrown. Repeat the ball coming off the wall 100 times.

 

DRILL #6

Same body position, move the stick with ball to your off-hand. Perform the same drill as above in Drill #5, except this time beginning with your off-hand. Repeat 100 times.