Aspire Information Pack

A S PI R E I N FO R M ATI O N PAC K

CO NTE NTS

INTRODUCTION ABOUT JOIN TRAIN PROGRESS COMPETE NEXT STEPS

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Contents

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I NTRO DUC TI O N

To be the best, we need the best. That’s why we want you.

On the Aspire athlete development programme, you’ll build your ability and resilience and hone your technique as you strive for a spot on the national team.

And to help you make it, we’ll deliver topclass holistic training and support covering tactics, technique, strength, conditioning, physiotherapy, nutrition, and more.

If you’re a rising star of England Lacrosse.

If you’re an athlete with the speed, power, and agility to take the field by storm. If you’re ready to reach for the top.

It’s time to take flight.

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Aspire Information Pack

TAKE FLIGHT

A BOUT

International players thrive under pressure.

They make game-changing decisions in a heartbeat, act with drive and determination, and move with pace and control. And this won’t all come naturally.

You need training and support to become the best you can be — to develop the qualities you need not just to play well, but to manage everything else that comes with playing elitelevel lacrosse.

along with physical conditioning, nutrition, and mental resilience, and after each weekend you’ll receive coach feedback and a detailed development plan. At the tournament we’ll assess everyone’s progress. If you impress, you’ll move up to the National Academy.

95% of current England internationals graduated from the Aspire programme.

Through our assessment weekends and training sessions, we aim to:

Programme structure Aspire is progressively structured. We find brilliant young athletes as soon as we can, then guide them through the academies until they reach the top. And while there are rough age ranges for each level, they’re flexible — ability is the most important factor when deciding if you should graduate. We’ve included more detail about each level of the programme below.

– Seek out exceptional young athletes of every age and stage – Offer holistic support, tailored coaching and development – Give clear, actionable feedback and advice – Provide the best possible training and playing environments – Help athletes grow into senior international players

County Academies For most young athletes, County Academy assessment weekends are the first step.

At these day-long sessions — usually taking place in April or May in counties across England — we assess nominated 12, 13 and 14-year-old athletes. If we think you have potential, we’ll invite you to join the Aspire programme at Regional Academy level.

Everything we do on Aspire is led by our ethos, PRIDE. It means we believe in coming together to promote and celebrate excellence. Because we know that’s how we’ll succeed.

Regional Academies At Regional Academy level, athletes aged 13 to 18 attend training sessions over three weekends in the summer, autumn and winter, plus an April tournament. Training covers tactical understanding and technical skills

That’s why Aspire exists. It’s the only athlete development programme for England’s rising lacrosse stars, created to find and develop players that could take us to the top. And with Sixes Lacrosse in the LA 2028 Olympics, the stakes have never been higher.

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Aspire Information Pack

National Academy Athletes at our National Academy are usually 14 to 20 years old. At this level you’ll attend five residential training weekends in June, September, October, January and March, plus extra training for matches and tours.

You’ll continue to develop the physical and mental skills needed to perform at an elite level across 10v10 and 6v6 formats, and we’ll provide more in-depth training in positionspecific requirements.

Perform The National Academy is the last step in the Aspire programme. After that, it’s Perform: the programme for our U20, U23 and senior England squads. So if you make it this far?

You’re on the team — and the sky’s the limit.

ASPIRE PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

N ATI O N A L S Q UA D S Our National Academy athletes form the basis of our Under 20 National squads with the opportunity to represent England.

N ATI O N A L ACA D E M I E S After spending time in the Regional Academy, athletes showing exceptional talent will be put forward for the National Academy programme.

R E G I O N A L ACA D E M I E S From age 13, identified talented athletes move into the wider Regional Academy programme.

CO U N TY ACA D E M IE S First level of the England Lacrosse Aspire athlete development programme for ages 12–13 with 12 County centres around the country.

COM M U NIT Y P ROG RAM M E S Our athletes are drawn from the Community Programmes in England with clubs and school making nominations.

About

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JO I N

It starts with a nomination.

You understand how Aspire works. And now you want to join the programme. Almost all our athletes are nominated by lacrosse clubs and coaches, schools, or universities, and we accept nominations from coaches of other sports too. Once you’ve been nominated, we’ll invite you to a County, Regional, or National Academy assessment day depending on your age and ability. Here are the details.

Nomination – For a chance to join the programme, athletes matching our criteria have to be nominated— usually by their lacrosse club, school, or university.

– Athletes are nominated by completing the nomination form englandlacrosse.co.uk/ aspire-nominations, and nominations should include the athlete’s name, school or club, and location.

– Deadlines for nominations are sent out via email. To join the mailing list, contact aspire@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

Assessment – Most nominees aged 14 and under will be invited to their nearest County Academy assessment weekend, while older athletes will go straight to Regional or National Academy assessments.

– If an athlete misses a County Academy assessment, we might invite them to the Regional Academy instead — we don’t want to miss a chance to see a promising athlete play.

– Rather than single assessment days, we run entire weekends for you to show off your skills.

– During assessments, we’ll assess athletes against our scoring criteria, rank performance, and invite standout stars to join at the right level for their age and ability.

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Aspire Information Pack

Scoring criteria You don’t have to be a fully fledged lacrosse player to join Aspire. We want power and potential — and that’s reflected in our scoring criteria. Among other things, we look for evidence of strong decision-making in highpressure situations; the ability to influence attack and defence; rapid, controlled and coordinated movement; and persistence.

You can find our full scoring criteria here.

GAME ON

Fees If you’re invited to join Aspire, you’ll need to pay a fee to attend the training weekends. It covers all the costs of training and coaching.

There’s a bursary available for those who might need help paying the fees — for more information, visit englandlacrosse.co.uk/aspire or email aspire@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

Gold medals for men and women at most recent U20 championships selected from Pathway athletes

Join

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TR A I N

PERFORMANCE

Technical and tactical skill

This is about more than techniques and tactics.

CONCEPT

K E Y P R I N C I P L E S & O U TC O M E S

Attack

•P enetrate defence through 1v1 and 2v1 to exploit player advantage xploit width and depth to make or take depth within defence •E •M aintain team possession or initiate team attack from basic information obility to get free and open in 2v2 and 4v4 situations •M upport by getting free or moving to space to maintain possession •S

Once you’re on the programme, the work begins. At our Regional and National Academy training weekends, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to thrive as an elite player, perform on the world stage, and cope with the lifestyle and pressures that come with the territory. Of course we’ll teach you how to launch a powerful attack and an iron-clad defence. But we’ll also show you how to look after yourself, both physically and mentally, so you can feel and play at your absolute best.

Transition: Clear

Performance factors The curriculum is rooted in four interlinking performance factors:

un the ball as much as possible to maintain possession •R •S upport the ball, get free & open, stretch the field to create space lay backwards to find support and maintain possession •P ame knowledge to recognise slow/fast break, settled •G

echnical and tactical skill T Combining technical and tactical training in four main areas: attack, transition (clear), defence, transition (ride).

Transition: Ride

eny space and delay break to prevent 2v1 disadvantage •D ecover: narrow defence/crash to prevent quick penetration •R •S upport and mobility to recover and even the numerical advantage egain possession in appropriate areas or 2v1 advantage •R

Psychological preparation Developing a culture of self-reliance and resilience and promoting a safe environment to flourish using personal learning and thinking skills (PLTS).

Game awareness Helping you perform under pressure in game situations and improve consistency of impact on game.

enetrate by playing forward, run or a pass •P

Defence

• 1 v1 close down, challenge and pressure the ball carrier eny space to protect the goal and prevent penetration •D elay speed of attack to establish even play and challenge •D for the ball •P ressure on ball, force errors with support (2v1, slide, marking) obility to prevent off-ball penetration •M

Psychological Preparation

Physical preparation Preparing you for elite playing with education around injury reduction, nutrition, and hydration.

Develop a culture of self-reliance, resilience through promoting a safe environment top flourish using personal learning & thinking skills (PLTS)

•S elf-reliant athletes who work through a process to learn to perform • I ndependent Enquirer: evaluate information, plan what to do and how to solve tasks reative Thinkers: explore ideas to try to solve problems; ask questions •C to extend thinking •R eflective: evaluate strengths and limitations, accept feedback from others to set realistic goals eamwork: work confidently and effectively with others, adaptive and •T responsible for own actions

Opposite, we’ve broken down what each factor means. These outcomes are the qualities and skills of a future England player — and they’re what you’re striving towards at every training session.

elf-managed: organised, responsible for actions, shows initiative and •S commitment to improve ffective Participant: engaged, contributes to discussions and suggests •E improvements

Game Awareness

Perform under pressure in game situations and improve consistency of impact on game

•B e resilient and try to explore ideas to decide effective play •A sk coaches for advice and identify actions to improve eflect and implement effective improvements and changes in games •R erform effectively and consistently when playing under pressure •P

Physical Preparation

Prepare athletes through injury reduction, nutrition and hydration

•F ollow training plans and workouts offered through the Talent Pathway emonstrate advice through prepared nutritious meals and maintain •D hydration throughout training • Manage injuries and do not breakdown during training sessions

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Aspire Information Pack

Train

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TR A I N

OBJECTIVES

This is about more than techniques and tactics.

Example objectives Guided by the end-goal performance factors, every Aspire training group will work towards a set of specific end-of-season objectives.

Here’s an example overview sheet for entrylevel U14s at a Regional Academy. It gives you an idea of what your coaches hope you’ll achieve through your training, feedback, and action plans.

1. To begin to learn and explore attributes to become a performance athlete

U N D E R -1 4 ( E N T RY L E V E L)

2. To reflect and understand game principles and develop how to perform effectively under pressure 3. To take ownership of own improvement to perform under pressure CONCEPT

G A M E P R I N C I P L E S & O U TC O M E S

P S YC H O LO G I C A L P R E PA R AT I O N

D E L I V E RY M E T H O D

Attack Skills Transition

•P enetrate defence through 1v1 and 2v1

Independent Enquiry •E valuates session objectives and performance

• 1v1 attack focus

ake or take space in defence •M aintain team possession when •M appropriate •M obility to get free and open in 2v2 enetrate by playing forward, •P run or a pass un the ball as much as possible •R for possession

Defence Skills Transition

• 1 v1 close down, challenge and pressure the ball carrier

lans actions and tactics •P to improve performance daptable to change how •A they are performing

• 2v1 to 2v2 progression • Positional Workshop • 3v2 build into 4v4 • Team Attack (4v4) • 1v1 to 4v4 (me into we attack)

Creative Thinker •C urious, explores technical and tactical ideas to solve session challenges sks questions within the •A group and to the coach

• 1 v1 defence focus v1 to 2v2 •2

eny space to protect the •D goal and prevent penetration

•P ositional Workshop v2 build into 4v4 •3

elay attack’s speed to •D establish even play and challenge for the ball

eam Defence (4v4) •T • 1 v1 to 4v4 (me into we defend)

eny space and delay break •D to prevent 2v1 disadvantage ecover: narrow defence/crash •R to prevent quick penetration

Game Sense

• I mplement skills developed in 6v6 games ry different ideas to improve •T impact within the game •D emonstrate confidence to seek advice and guidance • Identify improvements to perform under pressure • I mplement improved game-play and execute under pressure

Physical Preparation

•M aintain the demands of the training session aintain hydration levels •M to perform effectively •D emonstrate understanding of nutrition during training

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Teamwork •W orks confidently and effectively with others daptive and responsible for •A own actions and performance

•6 v6 - blue sky rules v6 World Lacrosse rules •6 •B uild-up practices • Scenarios

Effective Participant •P ositively engaged, contributes to discussions and play, confident to suggest improvements

Self-management •O rganised, responsible for actions and behaviour, shows initiative and commitment to learn and improve

• Warm-up • Screening •L unch and snack egular drinking •R

Train

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PRO G R E SS

Reach for the top.

Feedback, reflection and goal-setting are crucial to your progression through the Aspire programme. Because to reach new heights, you have to understand what you do well — and what you could do better. During and after training sessions, here’s how we’ll help you hone your skills and chart your path to the national team.

Coach feedback Based on their knowledge and experience, coaches give subjective feedback during sessions — you should take notes or recordings to remember what they say.

But they also score your performance objectively according to the Aspire criteria.

Within two weeks of a session, you’ll get written feedback highlighting strengths and weaknesses. All of this feeds into your personal action plan. Head coaches also use these scores to see how athletes are progressing and decide who should move onto the next phase.

Goal-setting If you want to be the best, you have to see what you can do better. That’s why alongside coach feedback, you set your own goals on Aspire. You’ll delve into the themes of each training session to set challenging targets in our online portal. And throughout every session we’ll ask you to reflect on what you’ve done well and how you could improve, then pull those ideas into your action plan.

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Aspire Information Pack

Action plan Your action plan is based on your personal goals and reflections and your coach’s feedback. Once your plan’s been agreed by your coach, share it with your school and club so they can support your training between Aspire sessions. And this is where the real work starts. Train hard and act on your feedback to build your score — and increase your chances of taking the next step on the programme.

Moving up At every level, your Aspire coaches will work with you and your school or club to help you develop between training sessions. Once you meet all the criteria we look for in senior players, you’ll graduate from Aspire and move onto Perform: the elite-level programme for our national squads.

You might move quickly through the Regional Academy, then spend a few years at the national level. Or you might join the programme as an older athlete, starting at the National Academy and progressing rapidly on to Perform. How long you spend at each stage depends on your development and performance.

Moving on At tournaments or assessment weekends at any level, we might decide that you’re not ready — or not the right fit — for Aspire.

If that’s the case, our coaches will provide detailed feedback and a tailored action plan before releasing you from the programme.

But the journey doesn’t have to end there.

Every athlete faces setbacks — work with your school or club, train hard, then try out again.

Progress

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CO M PETE

This is what it’s all about.

You train hard. You strive for the top. You dream of a place on the national squad. But what happens when you get there? Our men’s and women’s teams compete all over the UK and around the world, playing Box, Sixes, and Field lacrosse at Worlds, Eurolax, The Fly — and now, the Olympics.

With Sixes Lacrosse set for LA 2028, there’s never been a more exciting time to join.

Because you’re not just training to be an elite athlete. If you make it to the top, you could become an Olympian.

FIXTURES

U 20 M EUR O S O LY MP I C S

EU ROLAX SIXE S W E UROS

M E UROS

U 2 0 W WORLDS

U20 M WORLDS

W WO R L D S

M WO R L D S

U 20 W WO R L D S

T HE F LY

TH E F LY

T HE F LY

THE F LY

THE F LY

THE FLY

U2 0 W E U ROS

B OX WORLDS

SIXE S E UROS

SIX E S WO R L D S

U 20 W E U R O S

BOX WO R L D S

M WO R L D S

U 2 0 M E UROS

WORLD GAME S

E U R O L A X SIX E S

E U R O L A X SIX E S

E U R O L AX S I XES

2025

2026

2027

2028

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Aspire Information Pack

W EUROS

Compete

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N E X T STE P S

Are you a rising star?

This could be your route to the England squad. Use the contact details below for more information. And to be the first to hear about assessment weekends and other opportunities for young athletes, follow England Lacrosse on social media.

Get in touch Rebecca Wood Lead for the National Talent pathway Jasmine Waite Talent & Performance administrator aspire@englandlacrosse.co.uk +44 (0) 1619 747 757 Join the mailing list We send information to clubs, schools and universities about nominations, including deadlines, via email. Contact aspire@englandlacrosse.co.uk to join the mailing list and to update your contact details.

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Aspire Information Pack

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