Coach Guerrero discusses three different scenarios that happen in matches and shows what standups your wrestler should attempt.

Take a look at an additional clip from the DVD, AAU Wrestling Skills Series: Scoring from the Bottom Position.  Also, view other Eric Guerrero DVDs from our extraordinary Wrestling DVD collection!

Both of these takedowns come from the same set-up. He shows a single leg and a front headlock takedown from the underhook. He emphasizes the lock and proper technique from both the single leg and front headlock.

Take a look at an additional clip from the DVD, Bruce Baumgartner: Blueprint for Heavyweight Technique – From the Feet.  Also, view other Heavyweight Technique DVDs from our extraordinary Wrestling DVD collection!

He states that it is very important to weigh your wrestlers before and after practice. It is important to know how much water weight your wrestlers lose. He stresses talking with your wrestlers about diet, nutrition, and hydration. Coach Davis talks about and gives examples of what your wrestlers should and shouldn’t eat.

Take a look at an additional clip from the DVD, Coaching High School Wrestling: Strength & Conditioning for Champions: In-Season, Off-Season and Nutrition Guide.  Also, view other Scot Davis DVDs from our extraordinary Wrestling DVD collection!

The first key point that Coach Manning stresses is to take your opponents hips toward your hand by using your own hips, arms and back legs. He then states that you should pull your opponents wrist to his far hip. Coach Manning also shows you how to attack the other side of your opponent when they are defending the chop in this video clip.

Take a look at an additional clip from the DVD, Top Position: Skills to Dominate.  Also, view other Pinning DVDs from our extraordinary Wrestling DVD collection!

Pre-Practice Action

The action begins with fundamental lines. The players work on using proper footwork for things like how to start and stop, how to turn, and how to pass.

Four lines initiate from on the baseline. The drill starts with players making a fake and then continue by dribbling up the court, coming up to a defender (or coach), stopping abruptly, faking, jabbing, and then making a strong pass back to a teammate on the baseline, who repeats the same thing. The drill continues like this at a fast pace and demands great intensity throughout its duration.

Thunder Share Drill

This next drill works on getting the ball down low, feeding the post, looking for outlets, maintaining proper floor spacing, and making strong drives to the hoop. The action begins with direct drives from half court. Players blow by a defender but can’t get over anxious. Coach Coale reminds players to be patient and to always remember their fundamentals.

Circle Shooting

This final drill is a quick-fire layup drill that starts out in the lane. Players circle around in the lane one after another shooting layups and using both sides of the glass. After a set period of time, players move into jump shots around the free throw line. There are a number of balls going at once. Eventually, the drill moves out of the lane and implements passes stemming from the half-court wing area.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “All Access Oklahoma Women’s Basketball Practice” with Sherri Coale. To check out more videos in our All-Access lineup, click here. 

Basics of the 4-Out 1-in Attack & React

The offense is based on six perimeter spots that can be filled at any time (see diagram in video clip below). The top two spots are guard spots. The wings are 3 and 4 players (or forwards). The post can move block to block. There are also corner spots for whenever you cut and fill out and there’s an overload on one side.

Meanwhile, the line going across the half court along the second hash mark of the free throw line is called the Drive Line. There are specific reactions above and below the drive line.

Learning About Each Spot

Players 1 and 2 – Start just outside the lane-line extended and above the three-point arc. The same thing goes with the 2. This gives us good spacing.

Players 3 and 4 – We want them to be drive-line extended. The reason is that we want players 1 and 2 to have passing options. However, we don’t want to bring them up to the free throw line extended because it congests the offense. It opens up a wider driving gap this way.

Player 5 – This player moves block to block away from the ball. He/she can post up for a one count. If not open, this player must get to the opposite block immediately.

Each player should be outside the college three-point line, more like the NBA three-point line. In other words, we want NBA three-point spacing. This spreads the court and opens gaps for drivers and backdoor options.

Phase 1 – Dribble Penetration

In this first phase of the offense, any time a player penetrates, we want to teach them to make a decision above the drive line. Are you going all the way to the rim and score OR are you going to pitch out? You don’t want to over-penetrate.

Once below the drive line, you must finish the shot or dump off to the 5 player. With the 5 staying opposite of the ball, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense.

Coaching Point: It’s important in this phase to attack the basket to score. You should have an aggressive mentality from the start.

Reactions When a Player Drives

Let’s say that player 1 drives and gets forced to the right. If so, the player on the same side (the 3 in this case) slides up. The 3 keeps NBA spacing and stays wide. Be patient and wait until the ball is driven inside the three-point line. This gives the 3 player options to step up and shoot or make a strong drive to the basket.

If player 1 dribbles to the middle, the 2 man must be patient and will eventually slide right behind. The 4 will also slightly slide up as well. Player 5 must get opposite of the ball. You now have different pitch-out options. All the while, the 3 stays put or moves just slightly to stay out of the shadow of his/her defender.

1-on-1 Play Overview

According to Coach Allocco, the most difficult thing to develop in kids is getting the ball to the rim. There’s too much perimeter to perimeter movement going on and not enough penetration. So why exactly is that the case? Well, kids don’t play outdoors enough anymore. There isn’t an emphasis on the need to get to the rim and score.

For example, in New York City outdoor summer play, kids learn to compete and win on the playground. They figure out how arguments get settled and who’s tough. This is also where those individual skills get developed. If kids aren’t out on the playground and only playing structured tournament games all summer long, they just aren’t developing that 1-on-1 game. Therefore, as a coach, you have to stress 1-on-1 play with your kids.

1-on-1 Musts

Coach Allocco believes it takes three years to get a kid to become a great driver. One tactic that especially helps: A straight line cut. There should never be any banana cuts. Instead, look to go straight to the rim.

Meanwhile, get that defender off balance before you dribble the ball and don’t give up the dribble. If you do give up the dribble, then the advantage has changed to the defender. We need to be stressing that we are going to the basket and not doing any bailout five-footers or spin dribbles. At first your shot might get blocked in the lane. But a year from now, you’ll see that you’ll start getting by people. And when you can get to the rim, you have options.

Michael Jordan’s greatness was his ability to move the defender. By moving the defender, we create a one-second window of opportunity. If you can jab and move that defender back, you now have an opportunity to score. Therefore, get down nice and low. Make short jab steps and get the defender to move his top foot. Also, look to get inside the elbows when you drive.

Jab Series

In this jab series, all players get out on the court with a ball around the three-point line. Each player gets down low and into a triple-attack stance. Your mentality should always be attack, attack, attack. As you take your jab, you want it to be short. Keep your hand on top of the ball so you can go up and shoot it. Also, work on your jabs left. Don’t neglect the weak side.

Moves:

Jab and Shoot

Jab and Go – Push off that back foot and go. Your mentality: Play low to high, get past the defender’s hip, and take it hard to the rim.

Jab and Crossover – Rip it to the left hip and then step with the leg. Then put the ball on the floor and take to the basket.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “Frank Allocco: Developing the Complete High School Player.” To check out more videos focusing on individual concepts, click here.

Sliding Overview

Although often overlooked, defensive slides are absolutely critical to team’s overall success. Slides are all about communication, being on same page as your teammates, being up field from your opponent, having your head on a swivel, and having your stick and body in the right positions. Let’s run through a typical slide scenario.

If the ball is back behind the goal with an attackman, and you are guarding a man on the crease, you are the first slide. Therefore, you need to make sure your head is on a swivel and that you lightly have your stick on your opponent to get a feel of where they are.

If the defender has been beat, you need to slide and take a good angle, get your stick up field from your man, break down, and get nice and low. At this point, you have two options. First, you could tell your fellow defender to stay and double the ball. The second option is to say, “Find One.” That defender will then retreat to the crease and bump that second slide back to his man, and you are all even again.

Check out some examples below of proper slides in action.

Sliding Adjacent

An adjacent slide usually occurs when there is no one on the crease. In this scenario, the nearest man must slide to the attacker that beats our defender.

In the video example below case, Merrill is the “HOT” man. First, it’s key to be above GLE. Also, you fellow defender wants to be taking away the top side and force the offensive player inside.

Why inside? Well, if the player gets beats by the attackman, he will ONLY get beat into the help.  Therefore with the adjacent slide, you will have to slide cross-crease while your fellow midfielder is sliding down to help on the backside. Remember to lead with the stick and follow with the body. Get as low as you can and power through.

Take a look at a few examples in the video clip below.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD ”Brodie Merrill’s ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ Skills and Drills.” To check out more videos focusing on defense, click here.

Spider Shooting Drill

Coach Faith’s squad spends up to 20 minutes per day working on shooting alone. This particular drill is always at the top of the list. With no goalie in net, the focus here is squarely on shooters working on mechanics and getting in a ton of reps. The more reps you can get, the better. Eventually, we’ll get into drills that help with accuracy, but the key now is to focus on shooting form and getting his hips, shoulders, and legs into every shot.

How it works: Two players will go at the same time. One coach will be feeding a player for a right-handed shot while another coach will be feeding a second player for a left-handed shot.

Each coach will toss a ball out. Players will catch it, step, and shoot. In the video, notice the position of the cones. These cones will help you stay even with the goal. Also, while the players are shooting, remind them to keep that front shoulder pointing in towards the goal. This helps keep them in line with the net and leads to higher accuracy.

Shooting Shuttle

Once again, the focus here is on how the players turns their hips, shoulders, and get their legs into each shot. Although a different drill, we’re using the same concepts as the Spider Drill. Now, essentially, the players will be doing it on a line.

How it works: Players will split up into two different lines facing one another. Two players will go at a time. The drill begins as one player will pass across to the other. While on the run, that player will catch the pass, come across the designated line, and shoot on the move. The action goes back and forth between left and right-handed shots.

The drill really helps keep the shoulders locked. You always get the feel of the legs getting into each shot and not just using the arms.

Goal Line Extended Drill

This final drill is helpful towards learning how to shoot around a defender. You can really get creative with your stickwork and shooting as well.

First, you must learn how to shoot on the GLE and shoot accurately on an empty net. This is a chance to get a feel of where the ball should be in the stick. Also, try to really work on extending your stick and imagine shooting around a defender.

How it works: Players go one at a time and start just behind the GLE. Each player will extend their stick out towards the field and shoot on cage from there. Be sure to get a lot of reps and try to snap the wrist on each release.

Tip: Coaches should look to place their stick out so that shooters don’t release with a side arm motion. They will be forced to adapt and shoot under your stick.

Finally, place a coach or manager at a designated spot on the field and have the players sprint out and around them before shooting on net. By shooting around a defender, this replicates game situations and gets players shooting differently each time.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD ”Individual & Team Practice Drills for Women’s Lacrosse” with Mike Faith. To check out more videos featuring shooting drills and offensive tips, click here. 

Hand Placement

First, your top hand should be as high as the rules allow you to get. The further up you can get, the better (and obviously playing within the rules of the game). This is where the force is going to come from. If you are down lower, you will lose a lot of leverage.

Eventually you have to make a decision about which grip to use. Do you go with a regular grip or a reverse/motorcycle grip? Well, both have advantages. For instance, the reverse grip can be quite effective, but it limits what other moves you can use. Meanwhile, the regular grip allows you to have more counters and helps disguise what you are doing a little more.

All the while, your left hand is really important and don’t use it effectively enough. Where you place your left hand depends on which  move you are going to do.

*Now follow closely as Coach Donahue provides some examples of proper hand placement during face-offs.

Tip #1 – If your hand is close to your other hand, with a very short movement, your handle can go a long way. While it can be quick, the problem with this is that with your hands that close, you lose power. If the opponent is using a power move on you, you won’t have any strength.

Tip #2 — If you bring your hand all the way down to the end of the stick, your hand has to move farther and it’s much slower. But you have power.

Foot Placement

When it comes to your feet, they MUST be able to support what you are doing with your hands. For example, most kids in lacrosse camps have their feet back too far on face-offs. In this position, they simply won’t be able to move their hands very well.

Therefore, keep the right foot close to the hands. This will allow a player to get his weight off of his hands, also allowing the athlete to get their right shoulder over the ball, which is where you want to be anyway.

Meanwhile, the placement of the left leg is a bit trickier. It can actually take a while for a player to figure out where he wants it and what works best. Many times it often depends on the size of the player. For instance, taller guys may have to stick their leg out a little because otherwise it’s just not comfortable any other way.

Also, try turning in a little bit, especially if clamping. This will really help you get to where you want to go.

The previous clips can be seen on Championship Productions’ DVD “The Encyclopedia of Face-Offs.” To check out more lacrosse videos featuring face-off tips and techniques, click here.