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Making Space and Other Basic Offense Concepts

Advice for all the Attackers? Tips from the coaches. Advice from players.

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Mr.Stanford
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Making Space and Other Basic Offense Concepts

Postby Mr.Stanford Fri Feb 01, 2013 2:20 pm

I read this article on another lax based forum.

Now it's written for youth lax in the US. I think it can be applied to older players in the UK as really it's based on experience and game knowledge. It would be very relevant to most SEMLA (at least half of the prem could benefit from these basic concepts) and University teams.

One of the most common offense mistakes that coaches frustratingly see in youth, middle school and even in high school is the tendency for off ball players to ball watch, standing still and flatfooted, watching and waiting to see what their team mate with the ball will do next. With no one open or moving, the ball carrier often feels obligated to force a bad shot or try and dodge into traffic, but with no alley or space and no other passing options he usually gets stripped or worse. Sound familiar?
Teaching off ball players to keep moving, clear out, create space and set off ball screens is difficult, but when these concepts are mastered, your team will be far more effective than by trying to memorize and run complicated plays. And having this solid ‘Lacrosse IQ’ foundation will make players better as they move on to higher playing levels.
1. Stay Off the Corners - Stay spread out, middies pass to your team mate then clear thru, create space, get off the corners of the box and look first for a quick give and go. Then find a team mate on the crease or back side and go set a screen for them to cut off of back toward the ball. Then roll back yourself to the ball looking for a feed. If nothing is there, then just find and fill the nearest open space in the offense, stay spread out and start again. The ball carrier now has clear options: an alley to dodge in and if there is no shot can either look to feed cutters off the crease or back side or dump it to the attack who quickly swings the ball to the other side for a dodge or feed. And the cycle starts again. Most importantly, keep moving off ball and keep the ball moving, which keeps the defense moving, their heads turning, making it harder for them to slide. And look up field to pass the ball to an open team mate closer to the goal; too often youth players will take a bad shot while covered when their buddy is wide open closer to the cage. Doing these simple things will open up players for easy feeds and high percentage ‘tic-tac-toe’ shots.
2. Generally, if the ball carrier is coming at you then run away from him – if he is going away from you then run toward him. This teaches clearing out, back filling and keeping the offense effectively spread out, making defense slides longer and opening up space. Use picks sparingly up top, and then only use North/South, not East/West, so you are dodging toward the goal, into space, not away from the goal into a double team. Save East/West picks until players are skilled enough to properly execute the pick and slip. Wing attack clears through when X-attack or top middie dodges to their side.
3. Be patient – don’t force bad shots and cause turnovers by being in a hurry. Youth players tend to rush every possession, running with tunnel vision straight at the goal, regardless if two or more opponents are in the way. Recognize when to run fast breaks and slow breaks but also learn when it is time to slow down, catch your breath, set up the offense and give your defense a breather. Controlling the game pace is important to winning games. Coaches, put in and practice a ‘Yellow’ slow down call that everyone understands.
4. If you want the ball, move your feet. Coaches teach ‘V-cuts’ but how often do youth players stand still anyway while covered, calling for a pass, with predictably disastrous results? Again, off ball players must move their feet, either to clear thru or to ‘V-cut’ to get open for a pass. Movement catches the eye of the ball carrier; if you stand still not only are you easily covered but you blend into the background and become harder for your team mate to see to pass to. And you limit the space that your ball carrier team mate can safely approach.

Lacrosse is a thinking person’s game – good players have been taught what to do in specific situations. The best players develop their ‘Lacrosse IQ’ to do this automatically. But it is the youth coach’s responsibility to initially teach and reinforce this – where to be, what to do and what your options are in most common situations. It’s really a simple game when players understand and follow some basic concepts. You don’t need complicated plays, especially with youth players – keep it simple and emphasize the basics.

With everyone playing together as a team using these concepts, more than 50% of goals should be 1-on-1 with the goalie, ‘tic-tac-toe’ shots. And more scoring and more touches by more players mean more fun for players, parents and coaches!

James E. Dodd has coached youth, middle school and high school teams in the Charlotte, NC area and in Manchester, England. jdodd@rocketmail.com
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Re: Making Space and Other Basic Offense Concepts

Postby S_24_LAX Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:04 am

Good post young man. I agree with 95% plus.

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