We’ve all been in this exact situation. Whether it was a youth lacrosse game or a professional one, the level doesn’t matter. The concept has been stapled into the game as a fundamental. An offensive player takes a shot, and the motion doesn’t exactly follow a wide, arcing path over his head. From the sideline, a coach yells out, “OVERHAND.” If the player misses completely, you can bet that coach is going to let him hear it. And in most cases, even if he scores, his walk back to the sideline is met with a conversation that starts with something like, “Hey, glad that went in, but that’s gotta be an overhand shot.”
Overhand shooting makes sense when you look at the history of the game. Lacrosse has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and for most of that time the equipment remained relatively the same. Before modern advancements like lacrosse mesh, almost every stick was strung with traditional leather and had very limited whip or hold. It was an art just to string a stick that had decent control. Because of this, the most effective shot was overhand, especially at the youth level, since it offered a consistent track and release.
Flash forward to 2025, and the game is completely different. Plastic heads have evolved. Mesh has changed everything. Shafts are now designed to flex and warp. These advancements have opened the door for new and creative ways to shoot the ball outside of overhand shooting. At the youth level, many players quickly realize that overhand shots don’t always generate the same power as sidearm ones. Sidearm feels more natural for beginners. It uses more arms than mechanics, and for young athletes, that feels stronger. But when all coaches do is yell at them to “shoot overhand” and shut them down when they don’t, it becomes hard for kids to understand that there’s more than one way to play.
It gets even more confusing when they turn on the TV and watch college or professional players. They see creativity, finesse, and stick skills that go beyond any one shooting motion. While overhand shooting still has a place, there are an infinite number of ways to score a lacrosse goal, and that’s obvious if you watch the game at a high level. That’s when the question comes: “How come they don’t have to shoot overhand?” And usually, the answer is something like, “Well, they’re just better at the game.”
To me, that’s always been a contradiction. You showcase elite players as the model, but then tell kids not to imitate them. If those players had been told to only ever shoot overhand and never experiment, their development would’ve been completely different. Some of them might never have reached that level at all. So how can you expect youth players to grow into high-level athletes if you’re only letting them shoot in one “fundamental” way?
The game has to evolve just like every other major sport. Baseball used to teach level swings, but now it’s about launch angles and power. The midrange jumper in basketball has vanished, replaced by layups and deep threes thanks to analytics. Quarterbacks used to be taught to throw strictly over the top, but now they work from multiple arm angles. Soccer has evolved past power shots into deceptive placement and tight footwork.
Every sport has evolved, and gotten better for it. It’s time for lacrosse to follow suit. Yes, players should know how to shoot overhand. But what’s more important is giving them the tools and the freedom to develop a full arsenal of ways to score. So why not let youth players experiment? Why not teach overhand and also teach how to shoot with deception, with creativity, and with freedom?
At the end of the day, scoring comes down to placement and deception. And when you limit your players to only overhand shooting, you’re not just stunting their growth, you’re capping their ceiling. Imagine a youth lacrosse world where creativity was encouraged, not punished. The growth would be exponential. We’re starting to see it now. Coaches are slowly moving away from strict overhand instruction, and the game is better for it. Players are reaching new heights, and the game itself is more exciting. That’s a win for everyone including players, coaches, and fans.
