The Goal: Minimize Opponents Offensive Opportunities
DEFENSE
Coaches Handbook
Lacrosse Defense
The Goal: Minimize opponents offensive opportunities
The Means: Attitude, Intensity, Pride, and Communication
Defensive philosophy
· No One scores easily!
· Communication between all ten men is essential!
· Always anticipate!
· Never let the ball carrier get a breather!
· Play with controlled aggression: Pester, Poke, Bother, But Maintain balance and footwork!
· See the whole picture!
· Never let your man know you are tired!
· Drop Back to the hole to protect the net, and settle from the hole in chaotic situations!
· Consistently make the offense uncomfortable!
· Compel offense to take a low percentage shot!
· Generate offense!
Defense On The Ball
· Maintain a square stance with feet below armpits, quarter squat, back straight and head erect
· Shuffle whenever possible to maintain your best position to both check and change direction
· Run hip to hip to maintain position as your opponent accelerates, use drop step if needed
· Position is the key: Defenders with great footwork deliver great stick checks
· Never carry stick at your side, always keep stick up to block a feed or pass (“wave the flag”)
· Stick-pressure on your opponent’s hands whenever he is in a feeding or shooting position
Defense Off The Ball
· Always slough in to be in help position
· Always Talk
· Anticipate and want to slide
· Open up your stance, see the man, see the ball
· Weak side, come to the pipes
· Be ready to be the back up and call it out
· Stay with cutters
Defense Vs. the Fast Break
· When covering men while ball is on the other end, always be ready for the loose ball
· Communicate in advance about whose got the point
· Be ready to drop into a tight triangle
· Point man must stop the ball, slide hard, but under control
· Slides are determined by ball movement, move the second the ball leaves the stick
· Drop back with sticks to the inside (sticks up and in passing lanes)
Steps to Playing Defense
Step 1 – Body position without a stick
Instructions:
Maintain a square stance with feet below armpits, quarter squat with back straight and head erect
Check points:
· Buttock is low.
· Bent at your knees and waist, not at your back.
· On the balls of your feet.
· Head is erect.
Formation for instruction:
Have players line up, arm width a part on a line.
This will help them to maintain a square stance.
Final goal:
Players are to shuffle sideways, maintaining a good stance.
Higher level would like to see players perform a drop step, which is an essential component of defense.
Step 2 – Body position with a stick
Instructions:
Same body position now stress to player to have stick out in front and never down by his side.
Formation for instruction:
Have players line up arm width a part on a line.
This will help them to maintain a square stance.
Final goal:
Players are to shuffle sideways, maintaining a good stance.
Higher level would like to see players perform a poke check with a drop step. (A big mistake players will make is to lunge into a check; this will allow the player with the ball to easily run by you.
Step 3 - Body position when playing the ball.
Instructions:
Your body position will vary, depending on where the ball is on the field.
We will start to teach this from 4 different positions. (2 on each side)
Player yells “BALL”, when he is covering the man with the ball.
Formation for Instruction:
To learn body position while covering the ball, you need to do this on the field.
Again we will start to teach this concept in 4 different positions.
1. The ball is top left. 2. The ball is top right.
Defenders bottom foot splits the offensive player in half and defenders body is parallel to the sideline.
Players should be no more than a stick length away from man with the ball carrier.
Check Points:
Player’s bottom foot is splitting the man with the ball.
Player is parallel to the sideline.
Player is stick length away.
3. The ball is bottom left. 4. The ball is bottom right.
When the ball carrier is at (GLE) goal line extended (imaginary line from the goal post to the sideline), we want to “close the gate”.
The defender will turn his body (like a gate) and now be parallel to the end line.
The defender wants to have his stick vertical and force the player to roll to the inside.
We do not want defender to throw any checks at goal line extended.
Body position is the key.
Check points:
Player is parallel to the end line.
Stick is vertical, not looking to throw a check.
Final goal:
We would like players to understand the concept of forcing all offensive players to the sideline.
We NEVER allow a man with the ball to dodge to the middle of the field.
We DICTATE where the offensive player will go.
This concept will create less shooting area for our goalie to cover.
This will also allow our 1 slide to be confident in where he has to slide. (step 7)
Step 4 – One on One defense without a stick.
Instructions:
Perform one on one from the 4 positions on the field we practiced in step 3.
The defender is not allowed to use his stick.
We want to stress stance and body position.
The offensive player should only be going at about 50% speed and allow the defender to dictate where he goes.
As the offensive player dodges to shooting range, the goalie calls “PIPE”:
This indicates to our middies to get on the players hips and force him to the sideline, never allowing player to roll back to the middle.
Common mistake for middies is to get over aggressive and allow player to roll to the inside, where he know has the entire net to shoot at.
This indicates to our defenseman to close the gate and to never allow the player to go to the middle of the field, again where he has the entire net to shoot at.
Check Points:
Are the same as in step 3, but now the offensive player is moving.
The defender must maintain the same check points.
Player reacts to the “pipe” call, forcing man to the sideline or back to x (at GLE).
Formation for Instruction:
This is the same as in step 3
Final goal:
All players able to maintain check points.
Do not allow any offensive players to go to the middle of the field.
Be physical; dictate where the man can go.
Step 5 – One on One defense with a stick.
Instructions:
Same as in step 4, now with a stick.
Again to allow defenders to learn this concept, offensive players are not trying to beat the defender, this is a defensive teaching drill.
Check Points:
The same as in step 4.
Now when the player goes to shoot, we want the defender to lift on the shooter’s bottom hand to force a bad shot.
Formation for Instruction:
This is the same as in step 4.
Final goal:
All players able to maintain check points.
Do not allow any offensive players to go to the middle of the field.
Be physical; dictate where the man can go.
Lift shooter’s bottom hand on every shot.
Note: When you do one on one’s in practice give the offense points for beating the defender to the middle, make a game out of it.
Step 6 - Playing defense off of the ball.
Instructions:
You can set up cones as offensive players in a 1-3-2 formation.
Line up six defenders with each cone.
Coach will call out where on the field the ball is; i.e. “top left”.
Have each player point the ball and the player, create a V.
Check Points:
If the ball is in the outside 1/3 of the field, no defender should be in the opposite 1/3 of the field.
When the ball is up top, no defenders should be behind the cage.
When the ball is at X, all no defenders should be up high covering there player.
Every player must see the ball and their man at all times.
If player is unable to see both the ball and their man, they must sag until they can see both.
Final goal:
Always slough in to be in help position.
Always Talk.
Crease defender anticipates and wants to slide.
Open up your stance, see your man and see the ball. (“ball, you, man”)
All players thinking help defense.
Step 7- Teaching the one slide
Instructions:
Again we can have offensive players dodge from the same 4 positions.
Our crease defender needs to be one of the smartest players on the field, and needs to be very physical.
Check Points
The crease defenders will always play between the man he is covering and the ball.
He should be stick length away from man he is covering.
It is imperative that his head is on a swivel. (In a game the player will not be standing stationary)
Crease defender yells “I AM ONE” or “I AM HOT”, than yells “I’M GOING” , when he slides.
When the ball is up top:
Our one slide will “GO” when the offensive player takes any positive step toward the cage and beats his man. He will not slide if he is running to the sideline and being defended well.
The direction of the slide should be from the inside out, to not allow man to go to the middle.
We you Slide, check through the body to the stick.
When the ball is at GLE:
We slide when we can see the back of the attackman’s head.
The attackman’s defender forces his man to roll inside.
By the time the attackman finishes his roll, we should be there with our slide.
Formation for Instruction:
Now we want to add a defender on the crease.
One of the coaches can play the offensive player on the crease.
Our one slide will always come from the crease.
Again this is a teaching drill; the offensive player is to allow the defender to dictate the f direction that he goes.
Using shields or pads that are used in football are helpful for the man who is sliding.
Final goal:
All players understand why we dictate offensive players to the sideline.
This allows our one slide to know exactly where he will be sliding.
All players understand that our one slide will always come from the closest crease defender.
All players to understand that this is a physical sport and we slide with a PURPOSE, however always body check legally and never taunt a player after you hit him.
Step 8- Teaching the two slide (look at sliding package pages 13-16)
Individual Defensive Skills
1. Stance and Footwork
a. Use a fast shuffle-step of the feet with the agility to enable you to sprint and
pick-up quickly. Head and shoulders should remain still on changes of direction.
b. Shuffle – whenever possible to maintain your best position to both check and
change direction.
c. Run – hip to hip to maintain position as your opponent accelerates.
d. Drop step – used when necessary to regain proper position after opponent changes direction.
e. Defenders with great foot work deliver great stick checks—position is the key.
2. Stick Position
a. Never carry your stick at your side. Always keep your stick up in a position to block a feed or a
pass.
b. On changes of direction do not drop or drag your stick, draw the top hand in and pass the stick
across your face, “Wave the Flag.”
c. Keep your stick on same side as opponent—not behind him/
3. Stick Checks
a. Learn to use various stick checks effectively. When checking do not lunge at your opponent,
control your feet and use the stick and your arms.
· Poke Lift– Learn to poke & lift check on both the on and off sides. Use your poke check to set up other checks and to reduce penalties.
· Chop – Is most successful when the ball carrier anticipates an over-head check. Keep your eyes on the ball carrier’s mask to ensure you do not foul.
· Slap – Quickness rather than power is the key to this check; with proper stick position the stick should never move more than 12-18 inches.
· Wrap – Learn to use a half-wrap (be prepared to take a quick drop step) as well as a more risky wrap check.
b. Be sure and keep stick pressure on your opponent’s hand whenever he is in a feeding or shooting position. “Get a lift”
c. Proper technique and speed are much more important than power.
d. As your opponent steps back to feed, anticipate the ball’s path over your stick and block the feed
with the throat of your stick.