Andrew Fink's Lacrosse Coaching Sessions: Installing Aggressive Defenses & Running a Wing Offense

with Andrew Fink,
first-ever University of Saint Joseph Men's Lacrosse Coach (inaugural season - Spring 2020);
interim University of Saint Joseph Women's Lacrosse Coach (for Spring 2019);
former Mount Ida College Head Men's Coach,
8x Conference Champions; 4x NCAA Division III qualifier, 4x Coach of the Year NAC/GNAC;
Boston Storm General Manager (UWLX)

Jump inside the mind of an experienced collegiate lacrosse coach with this wide-ranging instructional video featuring University of Saint Joseph Head Coach, Andrew Fink! You'll learn multiple kinds of zone defense, how to run an aggressive man down defense, two types of adjacent defense, how to play physical defense with your hands and checks, how to run Fink's 20 Wing Offense, and more!

Zone Defense

Start by observing two kinds of zone defenses courtesy of Coach Fink. He explains the advantage of implementing both varieties of zone, which are:

• Brown Zone - Uses three defense poles up top to deter outside shooters
• White Zone - An aggressive system used against teams with great dodgers

Fink states that both zones can be especially beneficial for teams with limited personnel, as running them allows players to work as a cohesive unit and increase positive team chemistry.

Man Down

Every lacrosse team will end up having to play man down defense at some point. While many teams simply try to hold on and survive during the man down period, Coach Fink bucks that philosophy in favor of a "go get 'em" approach that emphasizes generating turnovers for extra offensive possessions.

In this segment, you'll learn four different man down defensive sets:

• Bingo - Used to jump a player and attempt to create a turnover
• Spartan White - Utilized when an offense has good attack players inside
• Spartan Brown - Deployed to stop a good outside shooting team
• Red - Used to predict a pass from the wing to "X" and jump the pass to force a turnover or bad pass

Adjacent Defense - Man-to-Man / Playing Fast

Coach Fink details two types of adjacent defenses that you can implement with your own team. Each defense creates pressure situations that take away the opponent's strength.

The systems you'll learn include:

• Blue Defense - Used for normal situations and focuses on minimizing inside shots
• Black Defense - An aggressive approach used to "blitz" teams and create turnovers

Both the Blue and Black defenses can be used to cater to your team's personnel and will result in low percentage shots from the opposing offense.

Physical Defense with your Hands & Checks

Coach Fink covers how to help your defensemen transition from illegal body checks to playing physical defense with their hands. Beginning with an overview of his philosophy on why it's important for a defenseman to use their hands as weapons, Fink dives deep into how a defenseman can punish an opposing player, establish an imposing presence and dictate play on the field.

Running a Wing Offense

In this segment, Coach Fink takes you through the basics of his 20 Wing Offense. Effectively a large open set, the 20 Wing forces defenses to slide from uncomfortable positions. With no offensive player on the crease, defenses must always be wary of backdoor cuts. Additionally, the 20 Wing exposes any defensive players who are prone to ball-watching.

As an added bonus, Fink discusses the players traits he prefers at each position within the 20 Wing, emphasizing versatility. Goaltenders must be able to get the ball out and up the field quickly to start transition, defensemen must be able to run stride for stride with offensive players while maintaining an aggressive mindset, midfielders have to be versatile enough to dominate on both sides of the ball, and attackmen need to be physical and able to press the cage.

All Things Defense

Finally, Coach Fink concludes by discussing a broad range of defensive schemes, introducing a zone defense with its companion man down setup. He also reviews the aggressive adjacent slide defense his teams have become known for before transitioning into a discussion of his own team's 20 Wing offense, which must be defended with adjacent slides. Lastly, he offers up his ideas on defensive locks, presenting two strategies for eliminating the other team's best offensive players.

There's no doubt about it - Coach Fink covers miles of content within this unique collection of coaching instruction. Beginners and experienced coaches alike will be sure to gain new ideas for defense, offense and more upon watching this video.

2 Discs - 311 minutes. 2020.