WHAT IS THE PLAYMAKER PROGRAM?
Every session is built around the same measured skills — tracked the same way for every athlete, at every level.
Small Groups
Small groups, capped at 10, matched to your athlete's actual skill level — not just age or grade.
Framework
A clear 5-level framework, Rookie (Level 1) to Playmaker(Level 5) measured the same way for every athlete.
Measured
Assessments are built-in weekly Skills Challenge — progress tracked automatically, at no extra cost.
THE SKILLS BEHIND EVERY SESSION
Every session is built around the same measured skills — tracked the same way for every athlete, at every level.
CATCHING
PASSING
CRADLING
GOUND BALLS
SHOOTING
DODGING & DEFENSE
Nothing generic — every drill is aimed at one of these, at the level that athlete is actually at. Curious what that looks like from a first-timer to an elite Playmaker? See the full skill-by-skill breakdown below.
WHAT IT'S LIKE EACH WEEK
Here's how training is organized, and what happens inside a session — no guessing what you're signing up for.
Every session falls into one of two level bands and is measured the same way for every athlete moving through them.
LEVELS 1-3
Built around core skillsets: catching, passing, cradling, ground balls, shooting, footwork
Dodging and defense layered in at Level 2.
Goal: build toward Levels 4–5.
LEVELS 4-5
Competitive, game-speed drills — advanced offense and defense technique, tailored to the day's focus.
Goal: Sharpen toward Playmaker
Both level bands run separately, so athletes are grouped with peers close in both age and stage.
Come when you can — more reps, faster growth. Check out the schedule.
WHAT GROWTH LOOKS LIKE
Rookie is the first level in the framework, day one, no experience assumed. Playmaker is the top level, the standard the whole program is built toward.
Here's every measured skill at both ends of that range.
Skill | At Rookie (Level 1) | At Playmaker (Level 5) |
|---|---|---|
Catching | Catching chest-height passes, stationary, with the dominant hand. | Catching at full speed, under game-like pressure, with either hand. |
Passing | Throwing accurately to a stationary target, 10 yards, with the dominant hand. | Passing and catching > 25 time in 30 seconds on a rebounder. |
Cradling | Walking while cradling without dropping the ball. | Protecting the stick automatically under contact and traffic — it’s no longer tested on its own, just assumed inside every live rep. |
Ground Balls | Scooping a ground ball at a jog, with the dominant hand. | Scooping and delivering an outlet pass under defensive pressure. |
Shooting | A basic overhand shot on cage, 5 yards, with proper form. | Shooting accurately, on the run, with game-like pressure and traffic. |
Dodging (starts at Level 2) | Begins once fundamentals are in place — a clean split dodge with correct form. | Beating a live defender 1v1 for a shot or clean pass, 4 or 5 times out of 5. |
Defense (starts at Level 2) | Begins once fundamentals are in place — a stick check with correct form, without slashing. | Neutralizing a Playmaker-level attacker in a live 1v1. |
WHY WE BUILT A STRUCTURED PROGRAM
Growth accelerates through intentional reps, with real feedback, delivered to athletes training at exactly their level.
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Two athletes, same number of sessions, completely different results, one locked in, taking every correction; the other going through the motions.
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Attendance was equal. Growth wasn't. Attendance was never the variable that mattered.
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What actually drives growth: repetition, real feedback, and drills matched to where an athlete actually is.
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That's why we train in small, skill-level-matched groups, not one group where every athlete runs the same drill, regardless of stage.
Team practice gets you a handful of reps on any one skill in a session.
Mastery takes many times that — the same principle behind Kobe Bryant's early-morning solo workouts, and the deliberate-practice research behind how real expertise develops in any sport.
That volume only happens in individual training.
HOW ASSESSMENTS WORK
If it isn't measured, it isn't progress, it's just an impression.
Nothing is scored on a feeling.
Every category has a specific drill, a specific threshold, and a logged result.
Baseline — The Assessment
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Every new member starts here. The first measurement of exactly where an athlete stands.
Ongoing — Skills Challenges
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Happens regularly, inside training sessions. Never costs a credit.
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One skill rotates through each week; over time, every category gets measured.
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We also offer regular Skills Challenge sessions to level up all skills at once.
Compared Fairly
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Thresholds set within age and gender cohorts. A 10-year-old is never compared to a 16-year-old.
Always Current
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Tracked continuously through ongoing Skills Challenges — not certified once and forgotten.
WHAT GETS MEASURED
CATCHING
PASSING
CRADLING
GOUND BALLS
SHOOTING
DODGING & DEFENSE
Note: Six core categories from day one; Dodging and Defense join the assessment once fundamentals are in place, starting at Level 2.
WE ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR TEAM PRACTICE. WE'RE THE PRACTICE OUTSIDE OF PRACTICE
Team practices make the team better. A Playmakers training session makes the individual better. Not a knock on team practices — we make them work better, because the player shows up more skilled.
TEAM PRACTICE
Built for the group
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Coach installs a scheme, builds chemistry across a full roster.
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Necessary work — but individual attention is limited by definition.Any one skill gets a handful of shared reps per player, at best.
PLAYMAKERS SESSIONS
Built for the athlete
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No scheme to install, no roster to manage.
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Every rep built off that athlete's own assessment — their level, their gaps, their next threshold.
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Logged, repeated, until it's automatic.
"Team practice is for the coach to build schemes, Xs and Os and chemistry — then you've got to go do your own work. That's where the real practice is."
PAUL RABIL — PLL CO-FOUNDER, LACROSSE HALL OF FAMER, ON FINDING MASTERY