Team Concepts
Lacrosse is one of the most exciting team sports there is. Many people refer to it as the “fastest game on two feet”. Others consider it America’s true pastime, with roots older than the country itself. The goal of any coach should be to allow his players to have fun and grow as athletes and individuals. Should they accomplish this rather simple goal, there is no doubt that they will have great opportunities in life, all the while creating lasting friendships and awesome memories along the way.
How to Beat a Zone Defense
Zone defense in lacrosse is a defensive strategy where defenders cover specific areas of the field rather than individual offensive players. To beat a zone defense in lacrosse, you need to be able to move the ball quickly and accurately to create scoring opportunities.
10-Man Ride
When it gets down to the last minute and an ill-advised shot goes without backup, call out your wheels for a 10-man ride. The 10-man ride is an aggressive scheme meant to trap an opponent in its defensive end to create a turnover. It requires using your goalie as the 10th rider, opening the cage f…
Finding Space: Part II
If this concept of this finding space is to move to the next level, players must now formally execute it as they run their offense. We introduced the concept of motion offense at Adelphi University to teach the concept of finding space to our players (Lacrosse Magazine, February 1986). Richie Spec…
Three Rules of Defense
This is the basic tenet of defense whenever the other team has the ball. So many times our players play adjacent to or in front of the man they are covering. Other times they are just plain out of position. The most basic fundamental of defense is that they should be positioned between the man the…
Finding Space
You have now succeeded in teaching your youth players the fundamentals and basic skills of lacrosse. You can only marvel at your players’ ability to switch hands, roll dodge, and pass and catch with both hands with proficiency. Thanks to Gary Gait, some of your players can now pass behind their ba…
Transition Offense
Just like defense, it is our philosophy that intermediate players can learn how to play offense through transitional situations. Even in six-on-six situations, the job of the offensive players is to make it a transitional situation. The ball carrier tries to dodge to draw a slide, which turns it i…
Transition Defense
Learning to play transition defense is the key to understanding general defensive concepts. It is vital to a team’s success to learn to play defense as a unit, as well as individually. Defense is one aspect of lacrosse where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. Transition drills and…
Clearing
Clearing the ball means getting the ball from the defense or the goalie upfield past the midline. The in-bounds clearing is when the goalie makes a save or the defense steals the ball and has to get it upfield to the midfielders. Out-of-bounds clearing is when the offense throws the ball out of bo…
