Shooting a lacrosse ball is one of the most fun parts of the game of lacrosse. While shooting a lacrosse ball is very similar to throwing a lacrosse ball, it is different in a few fundamental ways. In order to shoot a lacrosse ball quickly and accurately, you will need body position, hand position, and stick technique. 

How to Hold your Lacrosse Stick While Shooting:

• Place your dominant hand in the middle, or lower end of your stick, and your weak hand on the bottom or butt-end of your stick. Your dominant hand (top-hand) will be the most important aspect of throwing a good pass. The accuracy comes from your top hand, and the power comes from the bottom hand. The lower your dominant hand is on the stick, the harder you will be able to shoot the ball. However, it will be less accurate the lower it is as well. 
• The standard is to have your dominant hand in the middle of the stick for a pass or low speed shot, and then move it further down the harder you want to shoot. Some advanced shooters even have both of their hands together at the bottom of the shot while shooting a “crank shot”. 

How to Position your Body to Shoot a Lacrosse Ball:

• You want your body to be sideways when throwing a lacrosse ball. Similar to how a pitcher pitches a baseball. You DO NOT want your body to be facing the target directly with your shoulders square to the goal. 
• Instead, you want your front shoulder facing directly at your target with your body sideways, your head turned to the side facing the target, your eye on the target, and your front foot pointed towards the target (left foot forward if you are shooting righty)
• Your arms and hands should be out away from your body. (Not “T-Rex” arms). Having your arms away from your body will generate the most power and accuracy. 
• With your arms away from your body, extending them up and away from the target. Both of your elbows should be above your chin, with your lower hand elbow in front of your face. This will feel very awkward at first, but it will allow you to generate the most power. The further the ball is away from your body, the faster you can shoot. 
• Once you are in this position, you can perform the shooting motion. Keep your eye on the exact place you want the ball to go, before, during and after the shooting motion. 
• Use your arms like a slingshot or catapult as you send the ball towards the goal. 
• A rule of thumb is to point your front elbow directly towards what you are shooting at to improve accuracy. 3
• You can also twist your body and your hips and rotate them as you shoot to generate more power. Really strong shooters will often start with their body and hips facing away from the target and end up spinning a full 360 degrees as they wind through their shot.
• As you follow through with your shot, bend your knees and plant hard on your front foot. 
• After the ball is released, your body should be leaning and falling forward towards the target.  

It is common for people to naturally throw at a ¾ angle or even closer to a sidearm throw while they shoot, but this is less accurate. Ideally you want to shoot overhand for the most power and accuracy, but it is okay if you are more comfortable with a ¾ release while shooting. 

As you improve, you can try shooting sidearm, low to high, and behind the back to change up how you are shooting and make it more difficult on the goalie. 

There are also different situations to shoot including, time and room, shooting on the run, quick stick, etc. 

Top 10 Tips to Get Better at Shooting a lacrosse Ball

1. Keep your arms high and away from your body for added power.
2. Plant your front foot hard and keep your legs bent. 
3. Keep your eye directly on your target before, during and after your shot. 
4. Twist your hips and body as you follow through with your shot for added power.
5. Make sure your body is falling forward after your shot so that you know you are using your whole body. 
6. Practice shooting with just one hand on the stick, your dominant hand. This will significantly help with accuracy, and then you can add your other hand for power. 
7. Don’t aim directly at the top part of the corner. Most people will miss the target by 6 inches or so, so aim about 6 inches away from any pipes to hit the cage more frequently. 
8. Bounce shots are the hardest shots to save. Learn how to hit different areas of the cage with different types of bounce shots. 
9. Figure out how to have the same type of shot that ends in two different places. For example, your same motion for a side arm shot should be able to hit top right and bottom right of the cage. 
10. Change planes! Whether you are shooting overhand, side arm, or low to high, it is important to change the level with which you release the ball, and where it hits the cage. Those are much harder to save. For example: an overhand release that goes to the top center of the cage did not change planes. An underhand release that moves along the ground does not change planes and is easier to save.