Building an Offense: Culture, Player & Team Development

with Travis Harrington,
Bryant University Assistant Coach / Offensive Coordinator;
ranks 9th all-time in goals scored at Bryant University;
2012 USILA/LaxWorld North-South game participant

If you want to build an offense that scores consistently, then you need drills that develop your players' confidence. This video from Bryant University assistant coach Travis Harrington breaks down his approach to offensive execution by starting small and building to larger offensive concepts. Coach Harrington also offers up pointers on his offensive philosophy and how to introduce a new offense to your team.

Building Confidence

Harrington shows how to build an offense through various stages, including stickwork, approaches from in front of and behind the cage, and re-approaching when initially turned away by the defense. He incorporates both attackers and midfielders in his drills to help every athlete who could be involved in an attack become confident in the offensive system. By having players learn movement without defenders, they can learn the offense without the added pressure of having to also beat a defender. Once athletes have gained confidence with their sticks and with where they are supposed to be on the field, then the addition of defense isn't as big of a deal.

By breaking drills up into small stations to start, your players will get a lot of reps in non-pressure situations so they can focus on proper technique. From there, Coach Harrington shows how to grow to larger field concepts, which is a natural progression that helps players comprehend overall motion and movement. Harrington does a great job of observational coaching to make sure athletes use proper technique, footwork, and hand placement.

Drill Work

You'll see Coach Harrington break down various drills using diagrams and discussion. A total of 26 drills are included in this video and are laid out in such a way to show the natural progression and growth of offensive ideas/tactics.

One of the featured drill sections includes a progression of development shooting drills. This series also touches on stick skills and technique, which will help your offense operate on a higher level. You'll also get a box progression for team shooting that reinforces approach technique and shooting from different angles.

This video from Coach Harrington contains many valuable concepts for offense. His drills start with technical work and progress to include movement and larger offensive concepts. This is the perfect answer for any coach who needs building blocks to start or improve their offense.

172 minutes. 2019.