3. Finally, under 3-D analysis, great shooters exhibited more efficient, i.e. better, kinetic linking. They produced the correct transfer of energy from their heaviest body segment, or link, to their lightest—from the planted lead leg and rotating pelvis, up through the twisting torso, to the stretching shoulders, then out to the elongated arms, hands and shooting implement. The momentum of the decreasing weight of the segments allows them to be "loaded" piece by piece and then "fired" back in order. (This is called the Law of Conservation of Momentum.)

In addition to the timing, muscular contractions contribute to the power-production in the chain. When the shooter plants the lead leg onto the ground, he has begun to create force. When he rotates the pelvis before twisting the shoulders, he has effectively elongated the torso musculature in a way that stretches the load of a coil. [This does not mean that the player has turned his back to the goal.] Similarly, when he stretches the shoulders and arms, he has maxed out the musculature of the shoulders and upper back. When the shot is finally taken, then, the coil is released, and stick and the arms are whipped powerfully towards the goal. Great shooters possessed this better kinetic sequencing than their counterparts.

While these mechanical differences might appear small, they were able to quantify significant differences in both power output and accuracy. In essence, they could take a lot of the guess work out of training and become transformative.

If, given the chance, wouldn’t everyone work to turn their good shooters into great ones?

Pinpointing these mechanical differences also allowed us to create a lacrosse-specific physical screening process, where we could test for physical weaknesses or limitations to movement and correlate them to technical flaws. If, for instance, an athlete wasn’t strong enough to keep that knee from collapsing on the foot plant, then their mechanics—and shooting - would deteriorate.

Going further, we could create a training protocol to improve on those weaknesses, whether in the form of stability, strength, or power training, etc. In essence, we could positively impact the game.