Lacrosse Video Tip | Tagged: Defense
Presented by Brian Lalley, Camp Director
St. Olaf College - Boys Lacrosse Overnight & Day Camp
Off-Ball Defense
OFF-BALL DEFENSE
Xcelerate Nike Lacrosse National Program Director, Brian Lalley, discusses Off-Ball Defense:
Most of what we do in lacrosse is without possession of the ball. There are twenty players on the field and one lacrosse ball. As a defender, most of your time will be spent playing off the ball as part of a team defensive scheme. Whatever that defense is there will be one commonality and that is, see your man, see the ball.
Ball-You-Man Triangle
The first most important step of both seeing your man and seeing the ball is body position. As an off-ball defender, you want to avoid being in a straight line between your man and the ball carrier. This will force you to turn your head completely side to side. If you step off that straight line, you will activate your peripheral vision and create a situation where you can turn your head much less to continually see your man and see the ball.
Head on a Swivel
Seeing your man and seeing the ball must be continuous. We teach offensive players to get to the blind spot of their defender and then cut. Being in a good athletic position to react to quick cuts while constantly seeing the ball and seeing your man is crucial to participating in team defense while maintaining responsibility of your man off the ball.
Stick in the Passing Lanes
It is much easier to keep your stick to your side, which is why a lot of players do it. For the most part, the offensive player two passes away is most open as that defender is generally helping in the crease area. If the offense is able to skip the ball through the defense to that player, he’s generally able to get a very good shot off. As an off-ball defender, we want to take these opportunities for the offense away by keeping our stick in the lane.
Communication
As with anything defensively, communication is key. Know your roles within the defense both on ball and off the ball and communicate that to your teammates. Many defensive coaches are looking for their defenders yell their responsibility with purpose and some anger to try and get the opposing offense to be uncomfortable or intimidated. Performance is rooted in confidence, so if you’re able to rattle an offense by being loud, why not get loud?
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