This article appears in the March edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine. Join our momentum.

As a 2021 graduate of UMass, Draw Control Academy pro Caitlyn Petro speaks Millennial and Gen Z.

These days, it’s hard to avoid a good “Yeet!” or “Gucci” when describing something cool.

Petro has found a way to turn these contemporary phrases into a learning mechanism. She calls it the “Yas Queen,” a phrase popularized by the Comedy Central show “Broad City” in 2015.

Since then, the term has accompanied a flick of the wrist — much like the bottom-hand movement during a draw control. How convenient.

Petro, who led the nation and set a UMass record with 220 draw controls as a senior last year, presented the Yas Queen variation at the USA Lacrosse Convention in Baltimore.

PULL-STANCE DRAW

• Keep your stick at waist height, allowing space for you to push or pull out of the draw.

• Place your left hand as close to the head as possible. Your right hand should shift toward the butt of the stick.

• Focus on your bottom hand, revving it up to be a good “dig hand.”

• Keep your wrists flexible, putting the pressure on your forearm as you hold your stick and get ready to throttle for the draw.

• Place your stick inside the knuckles of your bottom hand.

• At the whistle, push your forearm and wrist forward (like the “yas queen”).

• The momentum from your right forearm and wrist should propel the left side of the stick upward and through the draw.