Building Game-Ready Defenders

with Janine Tucker,
Johns Hopkins University Head Women's Coach;
Director of Tucker Lacrosse;
5x IWLCA Regional Coach of the Year;
10x NCAA Tournament appearances (6x Division I, 4x Division III);
all-time winningest coach in Johns Hopkins history;
in 2016, became the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 250 career wins;
member of the Positive Coaching Alliance National Board of Advisors;
member of the Collegiate Officials Association (COA);
member of the U.S. Lacrosse Long-term Lacrosse Athlete Development Model Committee

Janine Tucker, head women's lacrosse coach at Johns Hopkins University and one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history, brings you into her method of developing defenders at Johns Hopkins. With a focus on improving footwork, developing a strong mindset, and increasing communication, Coach Tucker shows you how to develop a cohesive helping defense as well as one that is instrumental in starting your offense.

Footwork and Stickwork

An important defensive focus at Johns Hopkins is footwork. Coach Tucker makes the point that "your stickwork is only as good as your footwork" and through a series of three drills demonstrates how she teaches these skills together to her team.

Help Defense Awareness and Communication

Communication is another defensive focus for Coach Tucker. You'll see her emphasize defensive communication throughout the 12 drills presented. Additionally, you will watch Tucker place her defense in scenarios in which they need to read the play, communicate effectively, and react as a unit in order to be successful.

Start the Attack

Through a set of three drills, you will discover how to improve your defenders' ability to use their defensive skills to jump-start your offense. Whether from a goalie clear or securing a loose ball, see how Coach Tucker trains her defenders to quickly look up field for transition options to start a counter-attack.

Tiger Ground Ball Drill

In this highly-competitive drill that ties many of the concepts in this video together, defenders battle 1v1 for a ground ball and quickly look for an "added" teammate. This drill works on cleanly picking up a ground ball and quickly looking for an open teammate, who must have great off-ball movement.

This video from Coach Tucker will show you how she develops defenders by focusing on the concepts of footwork, angles, mindset and communication. The white board segments associated with each field session, along with highlighted coaching points, will help you develop your defenders rapidly.

121 minutes. 2020.