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As a former two-time captain and starter on defense under Dom Starsia, current Brown head coach Lars Tiffany has a fundamental understanding of what it takes to be proficient on defense as a team.
Learn from one of the game’s sharpest minds as Tiffany highlights some key defensive terms, strategies, and goals. Also, Tiffany runs through some basic slide schemes on the whiteboard before taking to the field for some live simulations.
It’s vital that six defenders and the goalie communicate to each other while playing together in order to be successful and stop the opponent.
The goalie’s focus should always be on-ball. We want the goalie watching the ball and dodgers and talking to the on-ball defender (with terms like step left, step out, step in, etc.). It’s up to the defense when it comes to slides.
Next, we need the defense to say, “Who is the first slide?” At Brown, the terminology is “hot” or “hotman.” This person can also ask questions to build trust in the defense. For instance, things like, “I’m hot,” or “who’s my fill”, or “who’s my second slide?” Fill means to fill into the crease and take care of the crease and the insides first and foremost.
The hot player identifies the fill player. Those extra words really make a difference. Meanwhile, the third slide is “the three” or “crash” into the crease. There’s not always a third slide and getting there isn’t easy.
Okay, so the hot man is identified and has his fill, but when he slides, what does he say? At Brown, the saying is “go.” This player sends himself. If he doesn’t slide, he yells “stop” and he stops the slide scheme. Now you must get back to your man.
The final term is used in our recovery. Once we have slid, the man who has been slid for (the original on-ball man) – when he is flying into the hole – well, we need to talk to him and tell him where to go. In Brown’s schemes, they look to the crease first and find the open man. When looking for the open man, the defense can tell him where to go. If he hears “bump”, he goes to that voice. It tells the man who is beat to come to me and follow me back to my own man so we can match up quickly.
Here are some key terms to determine how the defense will slide. We can slide from different areas with the hot man. Then we can mix up where our fill slides come from.
Coming from the Crease: the hot man slides from the crease.
Crease, Crease: the hot man comes from the crease and the second slide comes from the backside crease.
Adjacent: We may come in hot from the adjacent defender initially. The second slide could be adjacent as well, meaning the first slide hot player and the second slide fill player.
First Slide Hot from an Adjacent Defender, Second Slide from the Crease: The first slide is from the crease defender and the second slide is from the adjacent defender.
Sliding Cross Crease: When we are defending the ball on the dodge from behind the goal.
Cross-Crease Slide: When a defender slides across the crease from the backside.
Brown uses a variety of drills that start at the base level of 1 v 1 and eventually build that up to 6 v 6. The goal is to start with the fundamentals and then evaluate the decision-making skills of each player. The first drill here works on such.
One player will start in the middle with a ball up top and a defender on him. The hot man is on the crease with a coach nearby. This drill is indeed 1 v 1. The slide man is only a decision-maker. The coach will sit there and evaluate his decision-making. The coach will keep the hot man in there for 3-4 reps. Meanwhile, the dodger dodges 1 v 1. The Coach will then have the defender in a good open stance and ready to go. Next, the coach will ask the player about his decision-making. Should he “Go” OR not say anything? The coach has the same vision as the hot man and can give some good feedback right away.
The team’s slide scheme development begins with on-ball play. This focuses on a few key principles, particularly being good 1-on-1 defenders. Here we’re going to work on some on-ball play with an offensive player dodging from up top. The cardinal rule for the defender on the 1-on-1 is to not give up the middle of the field. Remember, the goalie focuses solely on the ball and the on-ball defender.
This 1-on-1 drill can be run from up top, the side and behind the net.
The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “How to Create a Strong Team Defense” with Lars Tiffany. Check out similar defensive videos in our exclusive video library.
In this week’s edition of All-Access, we take you to Denver, Colorado for a behind-the-scenes look inside a University of Denver men’s lacrosse practice. Watch as legendary head coach Bill Tierney leads his squad through a variety of team drills in preparation for an early-season match-up.
Meanwhile, this week’s All-Access session is a terrific way for coaches, players and parents to see exactly how a top college lacrosse program prepares for opponents during the week. In this particular case, Denver runs through three different team drills that get players warmed up, working on a variety of skills, and best of all, keeping guys involved. Be sure to pick up some tips, insights and new drills from his exclusive look and look for ways to incorporate them with your own program.
The Denver men’s lacrosse team is most recently riding the coattails of a 15-3 season in 2010 where the team reached the NCAA Division I Final Four. Before the Pioneers upended No. 3 Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals, the team also defeated Villanova, Duke, and Loyola over the course of the campaign.
The Maze Drill is a full-field stickwork drill that gets everyone involved, warmed up, and moving up and down the field. Four lines are established with three players in each before the drill gets underway.
Players start with the right hand and then move to the left hand. The ball starts out in the corner. The first player throws to the opposite line and then follows to the end of that line. That player then takes the ball and throws a diagonal pass to the next line and he goes behind that line. Basically, every time you throw a pass, you follow and get behind that line. You follow a pattern of across, diagonal, across, diagonal, and so on. Then you can start a second ball and a third ball.
The Maze Drill is one of Coach Tierney’s all-time favorite team drills. Read more about this effective drill, and many others, in our recent article entitled, “Coaching Tips: Ways to Improve Your Team Practices.”
The Rapid Fire Drill is a 2-on-1 intensity drill that gets players going hard for a good five minutes. One guy is fighting to get possession of a ground ball from two other opponents. A coach will throw out the ground ball and it’s basically a battle for positioning. As for the two teammates, one player looks to box out the opposition so a teammate can scoop up the ground ball.
The Breakout Drill is a 6-on-6 simulation using a 45-second shot clock. As soon as there’s a shot, save, or turnover, the goalie corrals the ball, yells “Break”, and looks to ignite the transition break up field — and quickly. The team on offense should look for the transition opportunity, but if there’s nothing there, they can also set up their offensive set play and look to score off of that. Players should keep in mind the 45 seconds on the clock.
Denver used his drill to practice it’s transition game for an upcoming game against Syracuse, a team notorious for its ability to score on the break. According to Coach Tierney, “If we stop their transition game, we stop them.”
The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “All-Access Lacrosse Practice with Bill Tierney.” To check out more videos featuring Tierney coaching at Denver and Princeton, click here.
Many of our player development features this summer have focused on helpful tips, workouts, and drills that players can use during the offseason – no matter if they have access to a lacrosse field or not. When it comes to getting the body prepared for the rigors of the lacrosse season, there are a number of useful exercises and workouts players can turn to.
In this week’s player development feature, we highlight 12 easy drills to improve dynamic flexibility. The drills — led by renowned strength & conditioning coach Alan Stein — are easy to implement and most can be done at the gym or on the field.
By incorporating dynamic flexibility exercises to your workouts, your athletes will be well prepared for competition. The following exercises will help your players with their Achilles, hip flexors, low back, hamstrings, calf muscles, and core.
Stay in place. Hug your knee to your chest. Stay stationary. Go for about 10-12 seconds. Switch knees each time.
Stay in place. Be sure to hug your heel on the backside.
Toes should go up toward the nose. Reach down and touch your opposite foot that’s stretched out. Switch and stand up in between. Stretch those hamstrings and calf muscles.
Start with a lateral lunge to the left and then back to the right. Keep your ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders always facing forward.
Now add a crossover step. Lunge to the left, step right over left, and bend straight down. Then lunge to the right, step left over right, and bend straight down.
Get down in a catcher’s position. Keep your heels on the ground and put all 10 fingers on the ground. Raise your hips up as high as you can (legs straight) and don’t let your fingers leave the ground. Go low to high each time and then back to low.
Start by leaning into a wall at a 45-degree angle. The foot that’s on the ground should stay stationary. The tendency is to open it up – but don’t do that. Then, swing across with the opposite leg and go high on each swing. Open your hips up as far as you can. The foot on the ground stays stationary. Go with the right leg first, so the left foot is planted firmly on the ground.
Now stand parallel to the wall. Now, use your inside leg and swing from front to back. This really works that hip flexor. Do 10 reps on each side.
Face forward and try to swing across like before, but this time open your hips up and out. You will actually move your leg behind you, but the other leg will stay completely stationary.
Lay face down on the ground. Your arms should be at a T with your palms on the ground. Take your left heel and try and bring it all the way up to your right hand. Keep your hands and shoulders as close to the ground as you can. Then bring them back to center and repeat on the other side. Do three on each side.
Your back should be flat on the ground. Your arms are at a T again. Meanwhile, your arms and legs are 90 degrees so that your heels are pointed up to the sky. Do a set of wipers. Bring your legs down on one side and touch the floor. Then bring them back up and touch on the other side. Repeat. Do 3-4 on each side. Keep those arms and shoulders down.
These are stationary lunges. Your right foot will remain stationary the entire time. Step forward and reach back. Every time go back to center. Then go forward and reach back. Do 4 reps on each side. Be sure to reach straight back and look back, too.
The previous exercises can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “130 Pro Power Strength, Power, and Explosiveness Drills” with Alan Stein. To check out more videos in our extensive video training library, click here.
We have recently released two Tennis DVDs featuring Renata Marcinkowska. She is a tennis pro and instructor as well as a former 2x All American at Oklahoma State University. The titles of the two new Tennis Drills DVDs are:
20 Drills for Creating Versatile Tennis Players
The Most Common Tennis Errors and Corrections–Second Edition!
Purchase these two Tennis DVDs as a pack and save $5:
The Renata Marcinkowska 2-Pack
This new release of three Basketball DVDs features Mike Jones. He is the USA basketball national team U16 & U17 Assistant Coach. The titles of the three Basketball DVDs are:
Building the DeMatha Team Defense
Mike Jones: The DeMatha Flex Offense
Purchase these three Basketball DVDs as a set and save $15:
Mike Jones: The DeMatha 3-Pack
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