Yale’s lacrosse coaches wanted to provide their goalies with additional training a couple of years ago, but they faced several obstacles. One was a good problem to have: their defensemen were so skilled that few shots reached their own net. The other was unavoidable. Lacrosse balls are hard, and Division I players can often shoot them at 80 to 90 miles per hour.
“You have this paradox where it’s definitely a volume-based activity and repetition because it’s technique but, at the same time, that same technique beats you up,” said Thomas Newman, Yale’s director of sports performance and innovation.