Yorktown Lacrosse

1965-2016

Charlie Murphy & Jim Turnbull Founders Strategies We Emphasize Each Practice

IT IS ABOUT THE TEAM AND NOT THE INDIVIDUAL! ALL 6 men on offense must be moving together. Defense must be working together, the defense works as one group not as individuals!! STRESS TEAM DEFENSE! 7 as 1 – COMMUNICATION ON D IS THE KEY!!!!! Ground balls win games. If you pick it up look to move it. If a teammate picks it up, get to open space to give player options. Every person on the team is essential in winning, from all star player to the last guy on the bench. Teams win because they play well together!!!! Keys to Good Team Offense

1. When picking up a ground ball, be moving and move the ball to a teammate quickly. Players who do not have ball should be moving to space as an outlet. Encourage the ball to keep moving off the ground to the opposite side of the field where we attack the cage. 2. In transition, the ball moves faster than the man. KEEP THE BALL HOT! st 3. On offense, the 1 man who dodges should attack the cage hard but once the slide is drawn the ball must move. All 6 players on Offense must be moving together. Once a slide is drawn the ball must move quickly to backside where we attack the cage with our head up. KEEP THE BALL HOT!

4. When dodging we must keep our heads up and not get tunnel vision towards the cage. If doubled, move the ball.

5. Stress that ASSISTS are just as good if not better than goals. You should work for the team, not the individual.

6. Trust your teammates! Trust they will be in the right spot. Be accountable to each other. This creates teams that learn to work together.

7. If you are standing on offense, you are doing something wrong. Movement is key!!!! Practice Plan - Break down practices into 4 parts.

1. Warm Up - Consists of calisthenics, stretching, and line drills/3 man drill/3 man handle drill 2. Individual Drills - Consists of drills focusing on that specific players position. For 5-8th graders, players can focus on Attack/Midfield/Defense/Goalie work. For younger players, focus will be on offense players vs defensive players as many flip between attack/midfield and defense. 3. Concept Drills - Consists of drills focusing on parts of the game including ground balls, 4 v 3, 5 v 4, transition lacrosse, full field drills, etc 4. Team Strategy Drills - 6 v 6 offense and defense, Rides and clears, Game situation – down or up by a goal & Manup / Mandown

This breaking up of practice allows us to work on many different techniques and parts of the game each practice. Hopefully, enough goals and coaches allow you to do this. Warmup Calisthenics and stretching can be done to start.

The following are 6 stick drills we use at the start of practice after stretching. Pick one or two of the following stick drills.

For younger guys, still learning basic stick drills; 2 or more can be done at practice to get players to handle the ball as much as possible. Try to focus on fast pace, high repetition during this stage of practice. As well as proper fundamentals – Overhand--hands and elbows up -- Two hands on ground balls – ball release calls 1. Line Drills a. We use just about every practice. b. Key is fast pace – high repetition. The more each player is moving with a ball, the better. c. Try to have 7 or 8 players max in a line d. When picking up ground balls, a ball release call can be made to train players to make that call instinctively e. Use both hands throughout drills 2. Star Drill a. Another stick drill option b. Focus on same fast pace – must call player's name - good for start of season so everyone learns names

3. Box Drill a. restraining line is good spot for this b. 2 balls in at all times c. Catch left – roll to outside while switching hands – Throw right d. Reverse halfway through e. always have players move to ball when it is thrown and moving there feet toward where they are throwing ball 4. 3 Man Line Drill a. 3 players in group b. focus on moving feet on wings and in middle c. Use strong hand/weak hand d. Add catch and change hands for more advanced 5. 3 Man Handle a. To switch it up instead of Line Drills b. 3 players of any position should be grouped c. High repetition, fast paced 6. Full Field Passing a. Full field drill where goalies are involved b. Can be done two ways - gets legs moving c. as season progresses, try to challenge players by giving number of passes dropped to try to beat We do that with varsity. Individual Drills We try to focus on every player's skills in this section of practice. Focus here is on teaching technique and fundamentals for each player to work with and add to their game. No matter the age, all drills can be done. We can always become better dodgers and better shooters on offense and better fundamentally sound defensemen in front of our net.

These drills will be split into 4 sections Offense, Defense, Faceoffs, Goalie Play Offense Dodging Drills Attack – focus on getting players to dodge twice – once behind GLE and then getting to at least 5 and 5 above cage before finishing ● Change directions at X or behind GLE and make move at 5 and 5 ● Focus on specific dodge : Inside Roll, Bull Dodge, Rocker, Banana/Question Mark Dodges

Midfield - focus on dodging from middle of field up top and from wings to top corners of box – sweeps- inverts can be worked on same way as attack dodges – midfielders should learn to invert the cage as well as dodge from above cage ● Dodges – split, sweep, roll dodge ● Focus on dodging from up top dodging the pipe – not fading away – finish overhand on the run

Shooting Drills

Can be done at same time as working on dodge ● Focus on having arms and elbows away from body ● Work on turning hips and exploding with legs when releasing shot ● Work on time and room finishing, finishing in tight with little space, and shooting on the run ● Work on re-dodging after 1st initial dodge is not there Riding Drills

2 drills - Alley Drill - V Drill ● Aimed at working on keeping stick up and feet moving while not trying to take ball away – stay in front of defensemen and force to sidelines Pick Play Drills working 2 v 2– ● focus on pick and roll and pick and pop ● Work on both attacking goal off pick and rolling away from pressure to pass to picker ● Work on pick both up top, on wings and at X Faceoff Work ● can be done at any time – work on stepping through ball and focus on wing play here ● can use it as a 3 v 3 drill with winner staying on ● Wings need to focus on sprinting in to ball while boxing out opponent

Building a Defenseman **The key to a successful defense is COMMUNICATION!! ** Everyone on defense must have constant communication with one another. 7 guys working as 1!

Individual Defensive Play Individual defense must be built on fundamental one on one technique.

● Defensive Stance: ○ Stick in front- Use all of it ○ Staggered feet, shoulder width apart ○ Butt down ○ Shoulders back ○ Chin up

Defensive Drills Close the Gate -Turn Hips square to the endline

Breakouts- Stay close to crease, banana out, catch over the shoulder from goalie, roll away and throw cross field

Cross field passing – always with feet moving – keep ball in front of you – don’t let it get passed you and out of bounds. Defensive Drills Protect the cone- with and without sticks – can put ball on cone to defend

Shuffle Drill to ground ball- roll away, everyone gets a touch

Poke Check Alley-Stay low

Approach- approach the ball carrier, stay low, throw a poke and drop (45 degrees) and shuffle

Defend the Line – 2 man drill – have 1 D man dummy dodge down endline – make different moves down line – D man focus on keeping stick in front and drop stepping appropriately Goalie Play Key Points to Emphasize with Goalies at all levels

1. Communicate – always be positive and talking to D – where ball is – who is the slide man – locating open men etc. - with younger goalies, work on locating ball and finding a slide guy if possible 2. Step to ball and attack ball with top hand – those two go together as they are done simultaneously - can not wait for ball - work to get body over and behind ball 3. Clearing – Hands up and away from chest – elbows up – step to where you are throwing ball - locate SS immediately after shot and look to get outlet up field to SS breaking on corner route to midfield 4. Have fun! You will get scored on! Forget about the last goal or shot, focus on the next play!

Goalie Work Warm Up ● Good Stance – good balance, hands up and away from chest ● Warm up with SS or no stick and tennis ball ● Work banana around cage working methodically high to ● Work on driving top hand to ball – step to ball ● Then Grab Goalie Stick and go through same banana shots as well as methodically shooting at all areas of cage. Top left 5 to 6, then top and so on.

Turn and Drive Shooting ● Can be found at this link. http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=21 ● Have goalie stand on far pipe in good stance ● On go call, goalie turns to shooter who is on opposite wing ● Goalie must turn, locate ball and shooter and drive top hand and step to ball ● Switch sides and areas while progressively giving less time after Go call and shot

Quick Shot Drill

● Line up 20 balls or so in banana around cage Shooter shoots all balls as quickly as possible including all variety of shot\

Stick Drillls

● Goalies can jump in D line for line drills when not in ● Always a positive to work on stick drills with Goalies Concept Drills ● Small games inside the game that make a team better ● Focus is on high repetition here but also focusing on teaching more here how to play as a team ● Usually focus on one or two of these in our practices each day. Whatever time allows for your team practice. Ground Ball Drills

● 1 v 1 all the way up to 4 v 4 ● 2 v 1 up to 5 v 4 - Do all over field so players get use to getting in and attacking from all over field ● We split between whoever picks it up going to goal – D gets to work on attacking the goal as well and Predetermining O going to cage and D having to clear to midline

Fast Break Drills ● 4 v 3 breaks ● Set up L formation (, Bottom right, Bottom left) ● Keep everyone above goal line - every player is a threat\ ● Have players learn all spots 5 v 4 transition drills ● Can be done full field if possible ● Push ball to X – then attack backside ● One of Midfielders must crash crease while other fills top looking for outside shot Butler Drill

● A camp favorite – competition transition drill ● Place goals closer than normal goals ● 4 v 3 or 3 v 2 drill ● 4 or 3 lines of Players line up on GLE – spread out ● Starts as 4 v 3 ● Last person to touch ball – shot or pass etc.. is out does not go back on D ● other 3 retreat and get in to play D One on ones to two on twos ● Focus on dodging hard to goal / change speeds/ fade in and out ● Don’t run at same speed in same direction ● D focus on keeping stick in front of man while keeping feet moving ● D should turn hips and close gate at GLE ● 2 v 2 – work on communicating through picks on D and moving as a unit on Offense – clear space for each other by picking or cutting through 4 on 4 Drill ● Place a mid and attackmen on crease with two D men/ could be mids as well to work on crease defense ● 2 mids will dodge from up top – work on attacking with and without picks – 2 attack will do same from behind cage ● Go from up top and then behind and so on ● Goes from 4 v 4 drill to 6 on 6 drill ● Once goal, , shot out bonds or clear the drill is dead ● Rotate at your leisure people who work the crease on O and D 3 on 2 Box Drill ● Put cones in box about 5- 8 yards apart ● 3 players on outside have ball and must pass to adjacent cone ● No skip passes ● O players must be at a cone when ball is passed ● 2 players on inside work the Eye ● Communicate who has ball ● Lead with Poke, no other checks ● Work on stance as D pokes with legs under them ● we run for 1 to 2 minutes, then rotate ● can do on multiple boxes ● good for D to work outside as well for they work on stick drills Bingo Drill ● Put O players in 6 spots – 3 up top spread out – 2 GLE Wings and X ● Give numbers from 1 to 6 ● D is near end corner of field – ● Call out 2 numbers and 1 D comes out for a 2 on 1 ● Play out till shot or turnover or save then call new number – players stay in for next player ● Whenever O number called out a new D joins drill ● Goes from 2v1 to 3v2 to 4v3 to 5v4 to 6v5 and then ends ● Work on communicating on D and O ● Until get 5 Offensive players, all O should be above GLE ● Kids love this drill – it is high paced and fun Team Strategy Drills 1. Offense – 13 , 22 offense, tandem offense 2. Defense – Aggressive Man to Man sliding from crease and at times near man – be aggressive on picks- all about team defense 3. Manup/Mandown – Manup will have 13 set and 3 set and key points to focus on and a few plays Mandown should focus on playing tight while having sticks in lane. Can jump as well. 4. Rides/Clears – 2 clears and 2 rides we use 5. Game situations - end of game issues on both D and O Key Terms on Offense Dodge to score – when dodging players should always dodge to score and look to feed when slide comes

Draw and dump - look to dodge, when slide comes move quickly to teammate who should move ball to backside quickly for a redodge

Move it to backside off ground or slide – look to move ball to opposite half of field after GB or dodge Key Terms on Offense One more – means “ I have a better shot than you” Keep it hot - ball moves faster than any of us do. Let the ball do the work. Move off ball to be a threat.

Change Levels – focus on shooting here. High to low. Low to high. Hide your stick behind your body when shooting.

Push – play aggressively. Any time we get a 4 v 4 or 3 v 3 situation, look to push ball to cage to draw slide and open up teammate for a shot. Offensive Sets As a staff, we focus on moving the ball and moving our feet constantly. Plays can be run at times in our scheme but the overall focus is on moving the ball, dodging to score or draw a slide then moving the ball multiple times until we get a good look to dodge or shoot.

Basic Sets - 13- 1-3-2 22 - 2-2-2 14 - 1-4-1 Box or circle 13 Offense Standard 1 – 3 – 2 offense. One attack behind with 2 attackmen on the wings creating 1 triangle. One midfielder on crease creating a triangle with midfield up top. These two triangles work together as if tied together on a string. Players should rotate as players dodge and move. Make sure attackmen cut through when mid dodges your side. Other att replace. Pass and move. Keep field balanced. Always dodging with our head up. Try not to force ball into crease from up top. Dodge, hit attackmen who can survey the field in front of him. Crease should be high when ball is behind and low when ball is up top. Have fun keeping ball hot and working together. Always should have 2 options to pass too. Players off ball need to know that and get to open space to help their teammate. 13 Dodges/Flow 22 Offense This is a standard 2 attackmen behind, a mid and attack on crease, and two mids up top.

Here we have 3 “2 Man” Games on the Offensive side of the ball.

Players should look to work in pairs to open each other up on and off the ball.

Picks on crease, up top and behind.

Also looking to work together to dodge, draw slide, and keep the ball hot to find open man or man who has clear one on one.

Make sure we have a midfielder in hole up top as we don’t want to give up .

Rotate into and out of crease sporadically. Once we dodge from x or up top, we can rotate out the backside.

Attack behind can really dodge from anywhere. Attack from X or carry to wing. Work in tandems.

Always should have 2 options to pass to. When dodging from up top, ATT is option as is roll back to MID who would be filling hole in middle of field. 2 Offense Team Defense We must all work together as 1 on the defensive end. 7 as 1 Defensive Terminology (Everyone): Hole- 7yard radius in front of the goal. This is the most important place for defense to protect Hot- The first man sliding to the ball Fire- Lets teammates know someone has slid to ball Release- Tells the on the ball, someone needs to drop back to the hole

Special Teams

Manup Base sets would be a 13 and a 3-3 set. Diagram 22 will go over the 13 set which you can let players improve and create on their own. Diagram 23 will go over 3-3 set and what looks are present there. In 3-3, must make sure we have backup for any shots as players will be moving up to goal-line extended.

Diagram 24 and 25 are two manup plays we run throughout the year.

*** General rules of manup. ***

Keep ball moving quickly. Don’t dodge manup. Get ball moving quickly before looking for skips. Don’t settle for shots outside 12 or so (depending on age). Work ball for good shot. If you are running a play and get a good shot during play at any time, pull the trigger. Make sure we have backup on any shot. Move your feet in whatever set we are in. Crease man must be a serious threat moving constantly.

Let kids name plays. They can have fun and take ownership of them there as well. Manup should be fun for offensive side of ball.

ManDown

General Rules

Sticks in lanes.

Farthest away splits 2.

In 13, come cross crease and backside D come down to replace.

In 33, middle d man is on string.

Jumping can be done on set # of passes. Say 3rd pass, man on ball plays ball aggressively while adjacents shut and press out. One the 3rd pass, D rushes out to play ball as hard as possible. Adjacents press out hard as possible as well. Others suck into middle. Must hustle after any pass to recover to the inside WE HAVE DIFFERENT CALLS FOR CERTAIN NUMBER OF PASSES. SAY ANY SUPERHERO IS 3rd pass, while any star wars character is 4th pass and so on. Should jump between 2 and 4th pass.

We must communicate at all times what formation they are in. That will most likely change once to a few times each play. We must all talk so we are on the same page.

When goalie makes save, SS mid sprint up field corner route to attempt clear. Not open, come back to ball. Try to get to our SS and get ball out. D Mid should sprint to box to get clearing mid on at this time as well.

Rides and Clears

Clears will be shown 1st, followed by a soft and hard ride.

Clears

Diagram 26 is Hopkins - will show you our base settled clear.

Diagram 27 is Duke - provides another simpler option.

Diagram 28 is Albany - shows you another settled clear used a lot for sideline clears (balls out of bounds above restraining line)

Quick Clearing Keys

- Try to get ball to SS as quick as we can.

- When LP brings ball across midline, he must be aggressive to the goal. We tell our kids to bring ball hard over and push cage if attackmen is not readily available. This either draws a slide and frees an offensive player, or allows our D man to push the goal hard.

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Rides

Diagram 29 shows our ON ride. Aggressive ride. Attack must work.

Diagram 30 shows our soft ride. More passive ride. Forces Long Poles and Opposing Goalie to make decisions. Can slow game down if necessary.

Quick Riding Keys

- keep ball in front of you

- mids must never let man get deep on them – closer to our goal

- don’t have to take the ball away – keep man in front of you

- D can not allow attack access to ball – no easy clears, press out on your man and make it hard for them to move ball up field to X

Man to Man Defense Keys to Focus on during 6 on 6 defense.

Work together. Talk constantly to each other. Who has ball, who is hot, who is two, etc. Play aggressive on the ball. Adjacent defensemen can shade out forcing offense out of rhythm. Non-adjacent players are looking to help inside – slide – etc Try to stay on opponents hands – don’t give time to feed. On loose ball, attack ball and look to switch fields to get it out. On goalie save, mids should break up field running corner route. Be aggressive behind the cage. Be aggressive on picks. Double ball where possible. TALK!!! TALK!!! TALK!!! Defense

If one man is beating us, go eagle and shade him more. Eagle is early slide as soon as he begins to dodge. Shade can be done throughout game, not just on one player. Slide to where man is dodging. Play angles smartly. Lead with poke and slide with body. Slider should stay on ball. Original d man retreat back to crease and find a man. Have sticks up and in the lane. 2 men on every ground ball.

It is a team defense. When we get scored on, we all get scored on. Not just one player. If someone gets beat, then his teammate should be there to give him a slide.

IT’S ALL ABOUT GETTING 7 PLAYERS ON D TO WORK TOGETHER AS 1 COHESIVE UNIT!

Clears - Basic

Playing with one extra player (goalie)

Spacing is key

Movement is key

On ride middies down

Soft ride we shift middies to center x and near offensive box

End of Game - Winning

Spacing

Movement

Don’t let goalie shut you off

Use picks to get open early

Move ball if can Red Dog - Double Ball

2 on ball

Pick sides

Be patient

Rest locking off their men Man Up - 3/3 set

Everyone a threat

Top middle player should be best passer

Look for skips

Move ball quickly Man Up - 1-3-2 Set

Attackmen at X best feeder

Move ball quickly

2 pushes side and react to defense

Look backside

Look for skips