Developing Your Dodging

Article from Inside Lacrosse featuring Brendan Mundorf

Brendan Mundorf #2

Brendan Mundorf is one of the most feared dodgers in the world. He's scored with incredible consistency over his six years with the MLL's Denver Outlaws, and without ever canning a two-point shot, he's approaching 250 career points — so you know he can get to the cage. The STX athlete is also getting his camp company Mundorf Lacrosse rolling, and here he is perfecting his method of teaching players how to dodge.

01: When to Dodge
I always want to start a dodge off of ball movement or when my defender is approaching me; the faster or more out of control he's running at me, the more comfortable I am to start my dodge. By the same measure,  I like to always have my feet moving when I catch the ball or any other time pre-dodge — essentially, I don't want to go to the cage if I'm standing still and my defender has his body into me.

Typically, the best time to attack from X is after a middie has made a strong dodge down the alley and worked it behind because my defender' going to be coming down from his help position on goal line extended and the rest of the defense is recovering off of a slide. As a result, it's usually best to go for the backside pipe because the frontside is crowded by the dodger and the defenders who stepped up to turn him back.

02: How to Dodge
At my first step, I picture a straight line between my feet and where on the field I want to release the shot. Then I attack my defender, going straight at him, and take one hard step to the front side pipe causing the defender to drop step turning his hips and shoulders in one direction. Once he does that, I make my move, like a split dodge here, and I aim for his back shoulder and run through it.

The benefit of dodging a moving defenseman is that it's easier to get him to choose one direction. After the move, keep running at the defenseman to take away his checking ability.

03: Stick Protection and Hand Placement

Mundorf dodging

One thing that separates the best players like Ned Crotty is an ability to get their shot off even when they're covered. Two things that are important in being able to do that are stick protection and hand placement in releasing your shot. Protecting your stick is something that develops, and the best way to do it is to practice dodging over and over until you have confidence in knowing how to hold your stick.  I focus on keeping my hands totally across my body and my stickside elbow tight to my chest so the defender can't get a lift.

This plays perfectly into getting a well-disguised shot off.  Keeping my hands low, I work on turning the corner, rotating my body and releasing around my defender. A great way to practice this is by putting a trashcan at five-and-five, dodging at full speed to the edge of it then shooting around it.

Instructional Video of the Week: Lacrosse Catching Fundamentals

Great video from Tier Lacrosse on basic lacrosse catching fundamentals which supports the previous post about deep bag pockets creating bad habits in young lacrosse players.  This is one of the most basic of fundamentals, but is often where many bad habits can start and can have a very negative effect as the player grows.  This is especially important for Northern lacrosse players, many of whom I see snatching and twisting the ball out of the air when they catch.  This video emphasizes the importance of catching the ball with soft hands.  Just watching the first few minutes is very educational for young players.

Defensive Tips for Midfielders

The following are some tips for playing defense from the midfield position. Defense from the midfield position, particularly for short stick midfielders, is a critical aspect of overall team defense.

1.  Play defense with your feet.  Good footwork is a critical skill for defensive players. Good footwork means speed, agility, and quickness.   Not every player naturally possesses great speed, agility, or quickness, but every player can gain it. You can do this by jumping rope, wind sprints, shuttles runs, and playing pick-up basketball.

Play basketball a lot to help learn to play with your feet. Get your hands up in front of you.  Find pick-up games at gyms, playgrounds, schools, etc.  Play against people taller and faster than you.  The principles are exactly the same, and it's a lot easier to get a pick-up game of basketball going than a pick-up game of lacrosse.

2.  Look at your opponents waist.  What are you looking at when your opponent starts to dodge at you? (His eyes? His stick?) These are common mistakes. You'll probably get faked out. You should be looking at his waist. Wherever his waist goes, he is going.  If you ever played football this is where you are taught to look when trying to tackle someone. You can still see what he wants to do with the ball out of the corner of your eye.

3.  The main goal of a midfielder playing defense from up top is to keep his man down the side or going down the alleys.  An important concept when playing defense against an offensive midfielder is the position of your stick, more specifically the head of your stick. The proper way to hold your stick as you are covering a dodger from up top is to have the head of your stick in an “UPFIELD” position.  Upfield means that you have the head of your stick towards the midfield line and your butt end towards the goalie.   For example, if you are covering a dodger going down the field’s left hand side, the head of your stick should be to your right (hence pointing to the midfield line). If the dodger is going down the right hand side of the field your stick should be to your left (hence pointing to the midfield line).   

By having the head of your stick in the UPFIELD position you accomplish a major defensive goal – preventing a dodger from rolling back or getting to the middle of the field.  The middle of the field is sacred for a defense and needs to be protected at all costs because it is where offensive players have the best angle to shoot and greatest chance to score. When you can keep an offensive player down the sides and not the middle of the field you decrease your opponent’s shooting angle and make the job of your goalie and fellow defensemen easier.

4.  You want to dictate where your man goes, not the opposite.  Force him to his weak hand or toward a diminishing shooting angle.  Do this by slightly turning your hips and shoulders and mostly by actually being on one side of him. The key to good team defense is tricking your opponent into taking poor shots. So play your individual defense accordingly.  Once he makes a move, close the distance between you, and take a good angle so you'll meet him at a point where he becomes dangerous.

The d-middie wants to guide his man down the side of the field for three reasons.  The first reason is that the further the offensive midfielder goes down the side, the less of an angle that he will have for a shot. Secondly, the further he goes down the side, the fewer options he will have for a feed.  Finally, the defender that is sliding to the ball carrier will know exactly where he needs to slide if the d-middie gets beat by a few steps. The defensive midfielder keeps the ball carrier going down the side by using a cross check (which is gently pushing the ball carrier out with the shaft of his stick and his hands about six inches apart on the stick (if his hands are two wide or he jolts the ball carrier with his stick, then a penalty will be called).

If an intermediate level midfielder can learn to keep his man down the side, then he/she is way ahead of the game.  This does take some time to learn.  When teaching this Coach Bill Tierney always tells his midfielders, “All I want you to do is get beat. Just make sure you get beat down the side of the field and not towards the middle of the field.” As simple as it sounds, it takes a great deal of practice for youth players to grasp. Once they learn though, it makes them a great defensive player as a midfielder.

5.  Don't throw stick checks until you have perfected footwork and body position.  A check thrown when not in good foot position will almost always result in a whiff or a foul.  If you are in good position and your man is getting ready to pass or shoot, the most effective check is a lift check. Get under his bottom elbow with your stick (or glove on your stick) and lift up and toward yourself (to avoid nipping his facemask on the way up).

Never lunge at the offensive player.  As you attempt to make a stick check, you need to keep your feet moving the whole time.  Active feet are essential when you attempt to throw stick checks.  Many defensive players make the mistake of stopping their feet as they throw a check.  Doing so allows an offensive player to run right by the defenseman if they miss the check.  Keeping your feet moving allows you to recover from a missed check and not give up an easy angle to score.  Players should work on developing the ability to time their checks perfectly by going for the stick at the exact moment it may be left open.

After your check is made, it is extremely important to come up with the groundball pickup and keep possession of the ball for your team. If you are going to go for the check, then go for it hard and come up with the ball.

6.  Short stick middies job is basically one of containment - you're not there to take the ball away, thats the long stick's job. As has been said, keep him to the channels, don't get beat inside, don't rely on throwing stick checks, and don't go one-handed to throw a check.  If you do, you're already beat and 90% of the time the best you can hope for is to not draw a flag.   Nothing good ever comes from defending with one hand on your stick.

7.  Never chase after the ball carriers stick to try and take the ball away. Whenever this happens, the defensive midfielder gets beat towards the top side.

It is very important for young midfielders to learn the importance of getting back “in the hole”.  This means that when the other team gets the ball, the midfielder’s first objective should be to get back to the defensive side, within the restraining box and let the offense come to them.  Too many young lacrosse players consistently slide up field. For example, say the Tigers take the ball away from the Bears. A Tiger player has the ball in the defensive end and starts running up field towards the Bears’ goal.  At most beginner levels, the Bears’ midfielders will run at the Tiger player and try to take the ball.  This is called sliding up field and is the biggest mistake that an uneducated lacrosse player makes.   The Bears’ midfielders should just run back to their goal, break down and get ready to defend.  With the way lacrosse is played now, sliding up field rarely gets the ball back from the other team, and usually ends up in transition situations and scoring for the other team.  A great lesson for young middies to learn is as soon as the other team gets the ball, get back on defense.  It will help your team, and it will give your midfielders a good foundation for playing solid defense.

8.   If you're a D-Middie accept your role on the team. You aren't going to score a lot of points, but if you are good at defense you will have a lot of fast break opportunities that offensive middies won't.  Most lacrosse players don't get a lot of PT. You have maybe 40 guys on a team and 18 play a lot. That's just the way it is.

If you're middle of the road in stick skills as a middie, you can get more playing time if you're a good groundballer, hustle, play D-Mid, wing on face-offs and man-down defense.

9.  Communicate!  Communicating with your fellow defensemen is vital to a defense’s success. Creative and effective offenses excel at two things – picking and moving without the ball.  It is important to communicate with other defensemen during a pick play so you know whether to switch players or maintain your match-ups.  If your man is going to set a pick on your fellow defenseman, let them know that a pick is coming and from what direction, and then tell them to either “SWITCH” or “STAY ON MAN”.  YOU CAN NEVER TALK TOO MUCH OR TALK TOO LOUDLY ON THE LACROSSE FIELD.  A loud and talkative defense is an effective one. 

10.  Be the toughest son-of-a-gun you can. Never lose a 50-50 ground ball. Always run as hard as you can when out there. You'll be off soon to rest. Part of your job is to set the tone, pace and volume of the game. You want to instill fear and self-doubt in your opponent. This hurts their confidence and makes them less aggressive, which makes you more effective.

When off the ball:

There are six players on the offense, so your man will only have the ball about 17% of the time.  That means 83% of your defensive game is played when your man doesn't have the ball. So you better be good off-ball because that's most of your D game.

1. Spend most of your time looking at your man and the other players without the ball.

2. Use all your senses: FEEL AROUND, LISTEN AND TALK. Your goalie should be telling you where the ball is and what defense you are in and what formation the offense is in. This way you don't have to take your eyes off your man.

3. See the ball 10 percent of the time, just to get more info. Do this with a quick turn of the head, and then see your man again.

4. KEEP YOUR HIPS TURNED TOWARD YOUR MAN AT ALL TIMES! You won't have time to turn and find him if he is receiving a feed. If you think another opponent is behind you, reach your hand out to try to touch him without taking your eyes of your man. Be big in there, push people around.

5. If you're going to look at the ball as it's being passed around the horn, ALWAYS TURN THROUGH YOUR MAN! This means if you are playing defense against the top left middie and he passes the ball to the leftwing attackman, who throws it to the attackman at X, who throws it to the rightwing attackman, you need to move your body in a certain way. DO NOT TURN YOUR BODY COUNTERCLOCKWISE in this situation and follow the ball. You should see the pass to the leftwing attackman and then LOOK OVER YOUR RIGHT SHOULDER to see the ball at X and the right wing, without turning your feet or hips. Thus you have turned THROUGH YOUR MAN to see the ball.

6. Cover the offensive players, not spots, even when in zone. (i.e. adapt the shape of your zone to their formation).

7. As for playing team defense, when in doubt slide early, help and double often.

Tips for a New Lacrosse Goalie

Goalies might be the most important player on the lacrosse field.  It's important for coaches, especially youth lacrosse coaches, to cultivate goalies.  It has been said that good goaltending is worth more than a 6 goals per game attackman.

 

Goalie is also perhaps the most intense lacrosse position.  Goalies take both a mental and physical beating to ensure that your team wins.

Here are some goalie tips from Lacrosse-Information: 

TIP #1)  Get the most protection you can afford.  If you feel safe, you can focus better on the ball and not worry about getting hurt.  Don't try to copy what your favorite college lacrosse goalie wears.  A young goalie will be getting shot on by players who don't have the accuracy Division I and professional lacrosse players have.  There will be a lot of balls coming directly at your body, not at the corners or the holes.  If you're protected adequately and feel safer, you'll play better.

TIP #2)  Know your "ready position". A proper ready position means that your top hand thumb is at eye level, and the top of the stick is level with the cross bar.  Your knees should be bent, and your feet should be shoulder width apart. Finally, in order to have extra give when you stop a shot, your hands should be about 1 1/2 feet out in front of you.

TIP #3)  Always know where the ball is at on the playing field. When the ball is in the other end of the field practice focusing on the ball at all times. Watch it go from player to player. Don't take your eyes off it at all. If you catch yourself seeing more than just the ball just try an refocus until you can stay on the ball for a length of time. At first you will notice all sorts of other things and that's o.k. Just work on trying to see only the ball moving from stick to stick. When the ball comes in your end of the field this drill will help you a ton. Also, use your good vision to look into the shooter's eyes. Nine times out of ten, the person shooting the ball is looking directly where he is going to shoot it. Use this to your advantage, and become a better goalie. 

TIP #4)  Become a good passer. If you make a good save, make a good pass to your teammate.  Don't throw the ball right back to the opposition.  You can save every single shot, but if you can't pass the ball, then you won't be a good goalie. 

TIP #5)  ALWAYS step to the ball.  Stepping to the ball allows you to cut off the angle a little bit more, which gives you a slight edge.  It also allows the goalie to go out and attack the bounce shots.  Rather than just waiting for a hard-to-get bounce shot to come to you, you should go to it. By attacking the shot, you are putting yourself in a better position to save a goal.

TIP #6)  BE LOUD! Let your defenders know who is cutting, where the ball is, who is passing.  Let them know everything.  During a game, talking will help out your defense.  As the goalie, you are the captain of the defense. So let them know what you see, every second of that game. Talking not only helps out your defense, but it allows you to be better prepared for the shot. Goalies who don't talk get lazy (not seeing the cutters, or even the shot!).

Here is a list of things that a goalie can say to help communicate with the defense. It is important that the defense know this list as well.

1. "Ball Side Right, Top Right, X" - Tells defense-men where the ball is on the field.
2. "Cutter" - Offensive player is cutting to the net looking for a pass.
3. "Ball down" - Any time the ball is on the ground. (Everyone should say this)
4. "Slide" - Bring an extra man to the person with the ball.
5. "Clear" - The goalie has the ball, so break out and look for a pass.
6. "Mark up" or "Number up" - Find the player you are guarding.
7. "Check" - Check sticks because there is a dangerous pass coming.

TIP #7)  Be on the lookout for cocky, loud mouthed players. These guys almost always shoot high.  When you spot a player who looks and acts better than everyone else, then odds are he is shooting up high. (take this one with a grain of salt...)

 

TIP #8)  Know how to handle the lacrosse ball. Whether you like it or not, sooner or later, you are going to have to come out of the net. So, when that happens, be prepared.  Make sure your cradle is good enough to resist a few stick checks.

TIP #9)  Do not be afraid of the ball!  Newer goalies often have a tendency to be afraid of the ball hitting them.  As a goalie, you want the ball to hit you, because that means that you made the save!  To get over this fear, just tell all of the players at practice to aim at the goalie and not the goal.  Eventually, and many bruises later, he will be so accustomed to lacrosse balls hitting him, that he won't be afraid any longer.  This also goes back to Tip #1 - Wear enough protection!

TIP #10)  Always keep a good, positive attitude!  If you give up a goal do not get down on yourself or your defense.  You can't take the goal off the scoreboard but you can recognize what you did wrong, practice that step or specific movement, and get the next one!  Have confidence in your abilities to stop the ball.  If you lose your confidence, your defense will soon follow.  Always believe you can save every shot.

Instructional Videos of the Week: Goalie Play

It can sometimes be a challenge to find new goalies in youth lacrosse.  The following video series is a good starting place for new goalies and those wishing to play goalie at the youth and high school level.

The video below is part 1 of a 6 part video series covering the fundamentals of goaltending from IMG Lacrosse Academies.  View the other 5 videos in the series on Laxbuzz

HowToPlayLax.com - For the Beginner and More Advanced Player

Josh Sims

We recently stumbled across a new website called HowToPlayLax.com powered by Icon Lacrosse.  This website has a lot of great information and instruction for players new to lacrosse and also has an advanced section that most players who've already played the game could benefit from.  Instruction is provided by Josh Sims and Trevor Tierney, two of the games biggest stars.  On the website you'll find a Beginner section with video and text instruction on throwing, catching, scooping, cradling, shooting, positional concepts, drills and games.  The Advanced section covers all of the above concepts from a more advanced perspective and also adds specific ideas for attack, midfield, defense, goalie, stickwork drills, positional drills, training and recruiting tips.  It's a very comprehensive site that also includes a good section on Team Concepts.  For northern Minnesota lacrosse players just getting started, this is a good site to check out.

The Importance of Ground Balls

Coach B talks about the importance of ground balls.

Attacking a ground ball

"From the moment I started playing lacrosse many years ago, every single coach I have had has endlessly communicated how important it is to master the art of picking up ground balls.  At the early youth level, the ball undoubtedly spends a great deal more time on the ground then in the air and so getting an early start on becoming adept at picking up ground balls (GBs) is a skill that will pay dividends as a lacrosse players career continues.
Even though they may seem like just a small part of the game, ground balls are crucial to both team and individual success in lacrosse. The ability to pick up a ground ball quickly and fluidly is right up there in importance with throwing, catching, and cradling. From the team standpoint, control of ground balls means more possession time and more scoring chances, as well as keeping the ball away from the opponent’s offense."

Coach B continues, "At the higher levels of lacrosse, the number of GBs a player or a team picks up is a very important statistic.  No coach will ever pass up the opportunity to play a player who is skilled at picking up the GBs.  Controlling the ground ball wars is a great way to give your team the best chance to win the game. The more possessions your team gets, the more likely your chances for victory."

Instructional Video of the Week: Wall Ball

NOTE: Always wear your gloves when practicing wall ball

Homegrown's First Day in Duluth

From Homegrown Lacrosse Blog

Today's classes were similar to day one of any Phy. Ed. unit but as always, they possessed a unique routine. I worked at Lowell Music Magnet Elementary School with Mrs. Bergerson and her student teacher, Mr. S. Chaun taught at Lincoln Piedmont and from what I hear, the kids loved it. Assisting me, was Alex McNamara, a junior attackmen on the UMD squad. In 2008, Mac worked as an LDP counselor at the first ever Homegrown Summer Camp I ever worked. In 2009 and 2010, I played against Mac, two times each year. Today, we were working to introduce our sport to the students in Duluth, with the goal of facilitating the continued growth of lacrosse in the area.

Day one is always interesting. Some of the kids are intently focused on observing every detail of the introduction, while the rest of the kids can barely sit still, impatiently waiting to get their hands on a lacrosse stick. Either way, our sport is growing with the one by one accumulation of ambassadors to the sport. For every student who has a great experience with lacrosse (especially for the first time), we've developed a constituency who will positively advocate for the sport.

Read the rest at Homegrown Lacrosse Blog