Lacrosse Tip

Presented by Brian Lalley, Camp Director
St. Olaf College - Boys Lacrosse Overnight & Day Camp

Interior Help Defense

Xcelerate Nike Lacrosse National Program Director, Brian Lalley, discusses, Interior Help Defense:

I remember like it was yesterday scrimmaging with the varsity when I was in 9th grade. The defense was calling for 2’s and I had no idea what that meant. An upperclassman tried to explain it to me and it still just blew my mind. For those that have been playing lacrosse, a 2-slide is a topic where we at least understand. However, I rarely see it executed at an elite level in regards to timing and effort.

Many sliding defenses decide to help from the crease. In a quick explanation, a 2 slide is the guy furthest from the ball who helps the interior of the defense to free up the crease defender to slide. A good offense will continue to dodge and move the ball quickly to keep the defense sliding and recovering. The action we’re looking for from our defenders is to snap in and help the crease off the ball and to snap back out to address ball carriers.

We talk often about the effort and conditioning it takes to play good defense. Obviously, sustaining this kind of speed and explosion is not easy. As a defense, we’re trying to matchup ball movement with our feet. We must understand though that crease area shots are the highest percentage opportunities and protecting that area is the collective responsibility of the unit.

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