INTRODUCTION

Like most Canadian youngsters, I played lacrosse and hockey. The speed, the keen competition, the sheer exuberance of these sports allowed for the development of athleticism in a young boy. As I grew older, I began to recognize the tactics and strategies of these games; I became a student of sports. Later, as a teacher and coach, I tried to channel that spirit in my students, to impart to them the elementary rules, to instill in them the love of the game and respect for the opponent. Teaching fundamentals, increasing knowledge without destroying or limiting one’s enthusiasm for a subject is sometimes difficult for a teacher and a coach to accomplish.

In a sport like lacrosse there is a continuous movement, a flow that exhilarates the player and arouses the spectator. It is difficult to take that energy and slow it down to examine its creation. A step-by-step re-creation of the fundamentals is needed -- like watching a film in slow motion to capture the subtleties of each player’s abilities. We watch every move; we observe the hand-to-eye coordination so needed to succeed in this sport. Jim Hinkson has known the ebb and flow of such play and has put it into words, using instructional photographs and diagrams to complement them.

This book is designed to benefit everyone: the coach, the player, and the It puts in concrete terms the manner in which the sport works, purely and simply. It will make a player more aware, a coach more expert, a spectator more informed. Lacrosse Fundamentals will inform everyone who reads it; each individual can take it from the there.

Knowing Jim Hinkson as a player, as a teacher, and as a coach, and knowing his dedication to the sport of lacrosse, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you.

Mike Keenan

--Coach of Vancouver Canucks Hockey Team

Lacrosse Fundamentals - Revised and Updated.
Second Edition 2000

Now, seven years and several thousands of coaching hours later --- including Jim Hinkson's current position as a coach with the New York Saints of the NLL-- the world's foremost authority on box lacrosse has added further refinements to what is already the bible of the sport.

Breaking down individual skills for passing, catching, cradling, and various techniques of checking and physical play, Hinkson clearly explains and illustrates the most effective ways of mastering these skills. In addition, the book contains dozens of drills, applicable to both coaches and players that facilitate learning these techniques. Written with renowned precision (as the above reviews illustrate) and painstakingly illustrated, Lacrosse Fundamentals is ideal for coaches, parents, players, and fans.