Darcy R.

Leslye (CoachUp client)

Coach Darcy was great, and I'd recommend him to anyone.

Ray (CoachUp client)

Outstanding coach, knowledgeable and energetic.

Gene Culbertson (Testimonial)

I’d like to share the skills my son, Ben Culbertson, is receiving via the QuickStix program run by Darcy Richter. I’ll cover the benefit at the end. • Passing skills – QuickStix emphasizes that ball movement is critical given the speed of Lacrosse. Often players have one or two seconds when they are not encountering an opponent and being able to quickly, identify, set and make a fast, clean pass will help in ball movement and more open shots. I’m sure most will remember this is fundamental to basketball as well, i.e. fast paces between four players allows someone to be open to take a very good open shot. • Speed of shot – Ben is also learning that once receiving the ball and being set for an open shot, to take it and not run around cradling the ball or allowing the defender or goalie to position • Shot skills – Lacrosse is not like other sports of football and basketball. Firing the ball hard at the goal can bring a level of intimidation for the shot. Do you want to be struck by a solid rubber ball of 5.5 ounces being fired at 70+ mph? • Team play – Because there is an emphasis on passing it means that the players must work as a unit and not have one person try to do everything. That only makes the job of defenders easier by picking off one or two players who always have the ball. • Catching and passing on the run – Truly emphasizes that Lacrosse should live up to its name of the “fastest game on two feet”. What better way to throw off the defense than utilizing the fast ball movement this implies? • Rebounder use – It is emphasized and shown how utilizing the rebounder will improve both off hand passing and catching, and then cross hand catch from a rapid rebound. QuickStix is challenging the participants to spend 30 to 45 minutes a day as a minimum to improve stick speed and speed of throw The benefit is I believe Ben, who is only beginning his second semester of Lacrosse with PLA, is building skills equivalent to three years of experience. This is improving his confidence and providing a more upbeat view of Lacrosse. QuickStix is about speed and never holding onto the ball over and over again. I can’t imagine that Highland Park, Jesuit, St. Mark’s, etc. will be accommodating and letting our players pass back and forth without challenge. Proof to me comes also in the fact Plano West’s new coach comes out of the Box Lacrosse background that emphasizes the skills listed above. I’m biased against watching kids stand in a double triangle formation on offense and just pass the ball without the players actually moving. I equate this to the similar pattern as “four corners” in basketball. Maybe my bias comes from watching Guy V. Lewis alter the natural fast speed of his team and lose the 1983 NCAA Men’s Championship to Jim Valvano by using a four corners method. I believe QuickStix is a program that requires all players to elevate their game and not play to the lowest denominator. Isn’t that same concept what we expect of our kids in school and their work ethic?

Dirk Sutherland (Testimonial)

I truly appreciate and see value in the Quick Stix training coached by Darcy Richter. My Son Beck Sutherland’s stick handling, catching, passing and shooting ability have approved appreciably since he first went to the Quick Stix seminar offered in the summer and has since attended Saturday clinics offered by Coach Richter. He still has lots of room to improve and gain confidence and I believe the Quick Stix concept will continue to accelerate his learning curve! The Quick Stix training is not duplicative to the current 7/8 regular training sessions thus nicely augments training our players are already receiving. I also appreciate Coach Richter’s hands on, fast passed style. Lacrosse is face paced and as we all know if we have had good coaches in any sport and from our own experience, “you play like you practice! Watching both youth and high school games, I noticed the higher tier teams have much crisper passing and ball handling skills. I know some of this comes from more training hours however, I’m sure it also comes from ball handling confidence. I watch these teams fire instead of loop their passes with confidence that their teammate will catch the pass. I see Beck and others taking advantage of the Quick Stix Saturday sessions increasing their ball handling confidence with each practice! I’d like to see this incorporated in our regular practices thus bringing the entire team’s ball handling skills and confidence to a higher level which is important to our team’s ability to play like a team. Finally I believe this will help our JV and Varsity teams in the future by building a strong foundation of skills in our youth players who will ultimately make up our high school teams! I strongly believe his coaching technique and style will help to raise the skill and confidence of our teams considerably! Kind Regards, Dirk Sutherland

Chris Brooks (Testimonial)

I first met Darcy Richter this summer when we enrolled Travis in the Quick Stix program. I had no idea what to expect and neither did Travis. What we saw was eye-opening. It became clear that first hour of class that some of the lacrosse skills Travis had learned from his previous program were fundamentally flawed. Darcy patiently worked with the kids at Quick Stix, literally having them relearn the proper way to throw, to catch and to think on their feet. Travis loved the program, the use of the multiple rebounders, the drills and the scrimmages. The other kids and parents were also having a blast. The first class convinced the two of us that we needed to contact the other parents who hadn't enrolled their kids in Quick Stix. We told them we'd both learned more in that hour and a half about stick skills than in a year of another program. The outdoor Quick Stix program is just as effective as the indoor program. Darcy is patient and demonstrates exactly how to run, how to dodge, how to anticipate moves, how to throw, catch and quickly make a shot before the goalie can react. I've seen many coaches in many sports and I know you have too. This is one coach who would be a tremendous help to our team. We have a mix of new players and experienced players. Everyone of them will benefit from Darcy's lacrosse instruction and I'm confident he could improve the high school level players too. The fact he can run, dodge and outshoot the kids gives them something to aspire to. Stated another way, he doesn't just tell them what to do, he guides them by showing them at full speed. He is a humble, positive and outgoing leader. In summary, I would recommend Darcy Richter to any lacrosse program, from 3-4 through high school. The money we've spent on Quick Stix was an exceptional value and has got us excited about different forms of lacrosse, such as playing box lacrosse.

Mary Helen Culbertson (Ben’s mom) (Testimonial)

I cannot speak highly enough of Darcy and the positive impact he has had on our son's lacrosse skills and confidence level. Our son, Ben, started in lacrosse in January of this year after attending the January clinic at Plano Senior High School and talking with his cousin, Turner Thompson. Ben enjoyed his first season of lacrosse, but, as we expected, was unsure of himself and his skills at the end of the season. We signed Ben up for a couple of camps this summer, but the one that made the biggest impact on Ben's skills and level of confidence was the Quick Stix camp with Darcy Richter. In the 5 sessions this summer we saw Ben's confidence in his lacrosse abilities soar. Each session the boys had more than 300 touches of the ball and had fun doing it. Darcy taught the boys how to pass effectively, dodge, spin, and shoot the ball with precision. Ben went from having a personal goal of making one goal in his second season of lacrosse to making 1 to 2 goals a game. Ben has continued working with Darcy, and other 7/8 players on Saturday mornings this Fall and we continue to see his abilities grow. Even with a larger group of boys, Darcy makes sure each boy gets personal attention and positive feedback about what they are doing right and constructive feedback on what they need to change to get better. Ben looks forward to working with Darcy every week and takes his instruction to heart. Looking at things from an instructional standpoint, Darcy does a great job of breaking down each skill he wants the boys to learn. Then he demonstrates the skill – he doesn't just tell them what they should do. Finally, he gives all of the boys time to practice it. There isn't a lot of standing around during a session with Darcy as he has all of the boys practicing the skills he is teaching. Using good teaching methods of explaining, demonstrating, practicing, then evaluating and reteaching, Darcy helps each student develop well beyond where they start. He is not about teaching only to the least experienced player but instead realizes that each player comes to his clinics with varying levels of experience and helping all of them grow in their lacrosse abilities. I cannot say enough about how Ben has benefited from working with Darcy Richter and his stick skills program. It is very apparent that Darcy loves the sport and loves helping players get better at lacrosse. Darcy makes learning fun for the boys. As we have seen with Ben, he has the ability to move players to a level that is beyond where they normally would be in just one season of lacrosse. Kind regards,