A Lacrosse Weekend 2.19.22

Welcome to "A Lacrosse Weekend" my weekly compilation of thoughts, ideas, stories, myths, truths, about the great game of lacrosse. I hope you enjoy it!   

If you are a men's or women's lacrosse player, coach, or parent, I think you will love the weekly content, videos, and analysis 

Shooting Where The Goalie Is

I continue to marvel at the genius of Jeff Teat and the subtle details of his game that he displays every time he plays..  The intangibles of his game including deception, anticipation, reading the play, poise are truly what make him great. 

One thing I've been interested in lately is the way Teat uses his sidearm swing angle to make a goalie think he's shooting far side and while he pulls it nearside and actually shoots it right where the goalie is, knowing the goalie will move out of the way!  

Here's another example of Teat Shooting Where He Is on a breakaway!

If you want to know how to practice this, the best way is to shoot on your dad, sister, brother or mom in the backyard where you can work on deception and touch while getting a feel for the the shooter vs goalie relationship!

Space Between Stimulus and Response

Demonstrating poise is one of the most important intangibles for coaches. Viktor Frankl author of Man's Search for Meaning had everything taken away from him as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. He says that "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Our players are always looking to us to see how we will respond when things don't go our way. Are we quick to react to mistakes, poor calls from the referees, or things that are ultimately out of our control? Or do we have the ability to S.T.O.P (Stop. Take a breath. Observe. Proceed Wisely) and respond in a way that will help our team move forward in a positive direction. As George Mumford would say, “Respond from the center of the hurricane, rather than reacting from the chaos of the storm.” 

If you are a coach or player seeking to shift your mindset and implement proven free play and box-style concepts into you skillset, the CTP has everything you need. 

Invest in yourself, invest in your team, invest in the Coaches Training Program and make the shift in 2022.

The testimonials page below are just some of the Coaches and Players that have already made the CTP SHIFT.

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Check out these Testimonials...

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Women's Lacrosse Reading The Defense 

One of the most important elements of being a good player is your ability to read the defense in 2man on and off ball situations.  While many players focus on the ball, cut to the ball, or have been told by coaches "Always see the ball" the key to being a great off ball players is not watching the ball, but rather, watching the defender to see how they are playing the pick.   You must recognize if they are switching or staying and if they are staying, you must see if they're going under or over the pick.  Once you have recognized how the D is playing, you can take advantage and THEN LOOK FOR THE BALL!

The drill below called D2P2, which is a on ball / off ball 1v1 + a picker, is a fantastic way to for players learn to read the defense in a no switch situation.   Here's the drill set up:

• Dodger starts with the ball engaged with her defender in a post up at the elbow with a picker and feeder ready to go.
• The dodger uses rockers to shake the defender and step back to have space to use a pick
• The picker recognizes the step back and moves to set a pick 
•  The dodger must make one pass before she can score
• Notice that the player is reading and even baiting the defender to play her on one side of the pick so she can cut the other way!

If you want to see what this looks like in a game, watch the same player reading her defender last season when she was being face guarded, which is a classic no switch situation.  You'll notice how she slows down, watches her defender, and looks for the ball only after she knows she's open!

Matt Landis vs Jordan Wolf

Check out this video of an interview I did with former Notre Dame and PLL Redwoods defender Matt Landis and his match up against PLL Chrome Attackman Jordan Wolf.  Landis was the best cover defender in the world and he was gracious enough to do breakdowns with me on five big time match ups:

1. Lyle
2. Wolf
3. Rambo
4. Cuccinello
5. Fields

If you like this info and are interested in more content like this, check out the JM3 Defense Academy which is full of incredible instructional content!

Check out the JM3 Lacrosse Academies [HERE]

More JM3 Webinars

Register for A Season In A Box Webinar [CLICK HERE]

Register for the 4 Secrets Webinar [CLICK HERE]

Register for the Greatest Motion Offense Webinar [CLICK HERE]

Have a great weekend!