This article appears in the November edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

One of the core values of the Lacrosse Athlete Development Model (LADM) is learning the basic building blocks of athleticism. Like the old adage goes, you have to walk before you can run.

This summer, US Lacrosse published “60 Ways to Play,” a free resource available for download that features various physical literacy games that do not require equipment.

One such game is mirroring, similar to the popular children’s activity, follow the leader.

“Why do we do this?” said TJ Buchanan, US Lacrosse technical director for athlete development. “The brain controls the body. By forcing the brain to process someone else’s actions, then do it in a mirror image, we strengthen the neural pathways between the brain and muscles needed to create the movement. Over time, the processing and reaction speed is reduced, creating better movers. Better movers make better athletes.”

How does this translate to the field?

If the leader is an attacker dodging toward goal, the follower, as the defender, will adjust her movement to react quickly to maintain her defensive position.

Step 1

Select one player as the leader. The other is the follower.

Step 2

The follower mirrors the leader. If the leader shuffles to the left, the follower shuffles to the right. If the leader raises his or her left arm, the follower raises his or her right arm.

Step 3

Repeat for 60 seconds. Then switch leaders.