Colorado won 11-7
John Grant Jr had a part in the Mammoth's first 7 goals! to lead 7-6
He finished with 8 points (3,5) and brought out his full box of tricks with BTB feeds & shots
game available on Demand
http://new.livestream.com/edmontonrushThe stick handling & finishing is a level above anything we have in this Country, passes are crisp and accurate with perfect fundamental technique
A horizontal stick is pointed at the target with the butt end and then both hands are used to push & pull the stick through a vertical plane perpendicular to the floor
the follow through finishes with the head of the stick pointed at the target.
Finishes are impressive with multiple fakes or with pinpoint accuracy for the corners or 5-hole
The most impressive feature though is the catching in traffic at full speed, the hand-eye co-ordination required to make small adjustments at a full sprint is impressive. The 30 second shot clock definitely helps the game as a spectacle as it is all motion and all action when the ball is in play.
There is nobody taking a breather or calling "Hold, hold" from the sideline, both teams push transition to try gain an advantage on the break.
Finally the speed of ball movement on PowerPlays (Man-ups) is amazing, with quick stick passes and feeds to quick stick shots. It's all about getting the goalie to move from one side of his cage to the other and beating him with a quick-stick shot into an empty net from a tight angle giving the Goalie no chance.
"The ball really does move faster than the man"
it would be great if more players bought into this philosophy over here rather than the 1-on-1 dodge the alley and shoot that we see every week.
Ade Bennett had a superb World Championships in 2010 in Manchester and has the skills to play crease attack or Box Lacrosse, but he is in the minority of being able to cut, catch & finish at full speed.
Every team should develop players who can play off ball at speed but they also need feeders who can hit the target on a pass/feed while on the move, another skill lacking in most attackmen.
Steve Shanahan / Daren Baythorpe both at Cheadle with Ade have those skills but most attackmen concentrate on having a huge bucket of a pocket with lots of "whip" so they can shoot at 90+mph but versus a good defender/defence you don't get many opportunities to get your hand free with time & room to really step into a shot at goal, likewise they are more interested in power than accuracy and end up with very low Shooting Percentage (Goals/Shots).
There is a lot we can learn from Box Lacrosse and the best players & games are available online for
FREE.
Hopefully some of these new guys at University who come into the game fresh & keen will tap into this resource and develop their game, as most established players seem content with their level of play on a Saturday rather than putting the time in to learn new skills and develop their game.
10p
