Chip Carlson knows how to throw a lacrosse pass properly. He was a member of the Johns Hopkins “B” team in the 1970s and has played in the Lutherville-Timonium Recreation Council’s Men’s GrandMasters league as an adult.

But his passes were hardly ever accurate when he played catch in the backyard of his Cockeysville home with his son, Jay Carlson. Jay had to dive for some passes. Others required acrobatic, body-twisting efforts to corral.

And that’s exactly how the young boy liked it.

“It’s kind of boring catching it when it’s a perfect pass and shooting it,” Carlson said. “It was kind of more fun catching hard passes, handling it and shooting it.”

Now a senior attackman on the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team, Carlson has used those backyard sessions to evolve into a player who frequently turns in highlight reel plays. Highly regarded by teammates and coaches for his intellect, Carlson prides himself on fitting the ball into tight angles.

Carlson has notched 27 goals this season, which ranks second on the Terps. The No. 6-seed squad will lean on the attackman for production when it hosts Yale in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday afternoon at Byrd Stadium.

“[Carlson has] the type of skill set that just doesn’t come around very often,” coach John Tillman said. “It’s almost every day there’s one goal he scores that I’m not sure anyone else on our team could score. It’s almost like an ESPN SportsCenter goal.”

After a goal on March 30, 2013, Carlson landed at No. 2 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. With about nine seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Terps holding a 7-4 lead over then-No. 15 Virginia, former midfielder Mike Chanenchuk zipped a pass to Carlson, who had his back to the cage.

The feed sailed slightly high, though, forcing Carlson to leap into the air. In one motion, he whipped his stick around his neck while releasing the ball. Goalkeeper Rhody Heller didn’t stand a chance.

“One of his old rec council coaches used to call him Gumby because he can kind of move his arm one way and his leg a different direction, or whatever the situation requires,” Chip Carlson said.

From a young age, Jay Carlson realized he wasn’t “the most athletic or fastest person,” so he directed his focus toward improving his hand-eye coordination.

Dan Gutberlet, a former Vermont attackman, played on Carlson’s middle-school team and saw Carlson’s dedication first hand. Gutberlet’s family lived far away from St. Paul’s School, so Gutberlet would frequently sleep over at Carlson’s house during the week. After school, they’d practice together in the backyard.

“[Jay] actually had a bounce-back goal right next to his goal, so he could do all his weird behind-the-back passes,” Gutberlet said.

“He spends time on these things. It’s not like he’s just kind of doing it. He spends time throwing his behind-the-backs. Throwing these little side-shuffle passes, shooting high, doing different variations within the behind-the-back.”

Carlson also took pride in making diving catches on the baseball field. And he loved to bodysurf at the beach and hurl his body after loose balls on the basketball court.

The thrill-seeking carried over to the family pool, too. Swimming laps didn’t suffice; Carlson needed to do tricks. Gutberlet and Carlson would alternate standing on the diving board while the other would throw passes that required a spin, flip or dive.

“It was always something with him,” Gutberlet said.

A lot of times it was juggling. Carlson said it was just for fun, but Gutberlet was astounded by Carlson’s coordination. And Carlson didn’t stop juggling when there wasn’t a lacrosse or tennis ball around.

“Picking up like apples and fruits, and juggling with them. Weird s— like that,” Gutberlet said. “Throwing a tennis ball up. Just one ball and doing weird tricks with it. It’s just the way he was. I don’t understand it.”

On the lacrosse field, Carlson developed into a solid high-school player at St. Paul’s. He earned Under Armour High School All-American honors in 2011 and was ranked the No. 11 freshman attackman in the nation, according to Inside Lacrosse.

He started one game as a Terps freshman in 2012, scoring 12 goals on 22 shots. During his sophomore year, he tied for third on the Terps with 20 goals on a team that included Chanenchuk and former attackman Owen Blye.

After Carlson compiled a .500 shot percentage — a high mark among the offensive starters — last season, Chanenchuk’s departure opened up an opportunity for him in the attack area for 2015. Carlson, attackman Matt Rambo and midfielder Joe LoCascio have led a Terps offense that averages 10.33 goals per game (tied for second in the Big Ten).

So after the Terps stormed back from a four-goal deficit with less than five minutes remaining to force overtime at Ohio State on April 18, Carlson wasn’t afraid to have the ball behind the cage.

Moments earlier, LoCascio had ripped a shot that bounced off midfielder Colin Heacock. Carlson grabbed the ball in midair, whipped his stick around his back and launched a shot that trickled well wide of goal.

“Knowing Jay like I do, I saw his body language, his reaction, and I knew that he was pretty irritated that he wasn’t able to put that one in,” Chip Carlson said.

About 40 seconds later, Carlson wheeled around the cage, outmuscled his defender and converted the game-winner.

Over the years, Carlson has developed a repertoire of nontraditional moves. But with the Terps’ then-10-game winning streak on the line, the senior went back to the basics.

“Whether you’re sprawling, diving, just kind of shooting the ball with one hand or rocketing the ball from 20 yards away,” Chip Carlson said. “They all count the same.”