Private Lacrosse Training:
When 1-on-1 Coaching Changes the Player

Private training is not magic. Good private training is precise.

Private lacrosse sessions can change a player. They can also waste time if they are just random drills, a bucket of balls, and a coach saying, 'Good job' for an hour.

At Forge Lacrosse Performance, private training has to earn its value. The session should identify the player's biggest limiter, correct it with focused reps, and send the athlete home with a plan.

1. Start with the diagnosis

The first job is not to run drills. The first job is to find the constraint.

Is the player missing shots because of hands, feet, angle, release point, or shot selection? Is a defender getting beat because of approach angle, posture, stick position, or recovery habits? Is a young player struggling because of confidence, coordination, or unclear instruction?

One-on-one coaching is valuable because the feedback loop is immediate. The player gets seen, corrected, and challenged without waiting behind a line.

2. Fix one priority at a time

Players do not improve because a coach gives them ten corrections. They improve because the right correction is repeated until it sticks.

In Forge private sessions, we narrow the priority. A defender might spend a session on approach braking and inside leverage. An offensive player might work on dodging setup and release timing. A young player might need ground ball confidence and two-hand catching.

3. Reps must become game-shaped

Private training cannot stay comfortable. Once the athlete understands the skill, the session has to add pressure: speed, angle, decision, contact, or fatigue.

A shooter needs reps off feeds, dodges, uneven catches, and quick releases. A defender needs reps against a live dodger. A midfielder needs transition decisions, not just cone patterns. A player preparing for recruiting needs skills that show on film and survive against better competition.

The Forge session ladder

1. Teach: explain and demonstrate the skill.
2. Isolate: repeat the movement without chaos.
3. Pressure: add speed, defender, clock, or decision.
4. Compete: make it live enough to reveal truth.
5. Assign: send the athlete home with specific work.

4. Private sessions build confidence when they are honest

Confidence is not pretending everything is fine. Real confidence comes when the player knows what to do and has proved it repeatedly.

That is why we are direct with athletes. We tell them what is working, what must improve, and what the next step is. The goal is encouragement with standards.

5. When private training makes sense

Private training is especially valuable when the athlete has a clear goal or a specific problem team practice cannot solve.

• A defender needs better footwork and approach angles.
• An offensive player needs dodging, shooting, and decision training.
• A younger player needs confidence and fundamentals.
• A high school player needs recruiting-focused skill development.
• A player returning from injury needs controlled skill re-entry after medical clearance.

6. When private training is not enough

Private sessions do not replace team practice, wall ball, strength work, or game experience. A player still has to compete, communicate, and perform in messy situations.

The best development plan combines private correction, team play, independent homework, and honest feedback.

The Forge private-session standard

Every private session should answer three questions: What are we fixing? How are we training it? What does the athlete do next?

That is private training with purpose.

Coaching reference notes

This article is original Forge Lacrosse Performance coaching content. It was developed from Forge's coaching framework and informed by current public coaching and athlete-development resources, without copying protected drills, manuals, or proprietary training plans.

• USA Lacrosse Coaching Resources
• USA Lacrosse Athlete Development Model