Coaching Aggressive Team Defense

with J.B. Clarke,
University of Tampa Head Men's Lacrosse Coach;
2026 NCAA National Champions;
2x SSC Coaching Staff of the Year (2024, 2025);
2022 NCAA National Champions;
2022 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) NCAA D II Coach of the Year (along with staff);
Limestone College Head Men's Coach from 2011 to 2021;
3x NCAA D-II National Championships (2014, 2015, 2017);
Back-to-Back NCAA D-II National Champions ('14-'15);
2014 and 2015 USILA Division II Coach of the Year;
2016 NSILA D-II Coach of the Year; 2016 NCAA Tournament Runner-up;
5 straight Conference Carolinas Regular Season & Tournament Champions;
Washington College Head Coach from 1999 through 2012;
400+ career wins; has coached in the NCAA Final Four at the D- I, II and III levels

Up-tempo or pressure defenses have become a prominent scoring option for teams at all levels across the nation. Well-executed defenses are based on applying pressure and using angles to force teams to their weaknesses instead of their strengths.

Using a progression of defensive practice drills, J.B. Clarke demonstrates how Limestone College plays fast and aggressive defense to force players into uncomfortable positions. This pressure leads the offense to bad shots and turnovers. Coach Clarke presents drills which are used to perfect these situations. Each drill is diagrammed on a white board and then demonstrated on the practice field in real time.

Team defense commands players that know where to be positioned on the field under an assortment of situations. Defensemen must be able to communicate, be on ball, slide and recover. Clarke deploys even and uneven settings in numerous drills to organize the individual fundamentals of approaching and breaking down with the teamwork skills of rotating a defense while still covering the crease side. He begins with a series of drills that break down the field into numerical values and then into a simple slide packages into three-man segments.

Defensive Drills

Coach Clarke provides a variety of competitive and high-energy drills that are focused on improving defensive communication, positioning, movement, and stick skills. The Trojan Drill is a unique drill that Clarke demonstrates. It forces offensive players to play defense and vice versa. This helps both sides learn tendencies and plays of the other. Additionally, this drill helps:

• Players on defense learn how to approach the ball on defense to take away the offensive player's strength.
• Offensive players learn how to play defense and understand the defensive triangle.
• Offensive players learn holds, which allow them to learn how to beat holds when they are on offense.
• Players on defense learn that they must communicate specific terms, which make it easier to recognize their responsibility.

Other drills include:

• Lil Irish - A great slide and recovery, approach and communicating drill. This drill has offense initiate a dodge and the defense must approach the dodge with an angled slide. The second defender must recover to the open man. This drill provides a great opportunity to show proper communication when playing defense.
• McQuade Scramble - This is a great drill that initiates as a 6-on-5 and quickly goes into an all even situation. This enables the defense to switch from an uneven scramble to a situation where they recognize the all even setup and quickly transition into a man on man pressure defense.
• Warrior - This is another scramble drill that initiates as a 4-on-3 and continues to transition until it reaches a 6-on-6 all even situation.

With Clarke's defensive drills and philosophies, you'll be able to simplify difficult defensive situations during practice so that responsibility for slide and individual positioning can be learned and confidence gained for chaotic game situations.

74 minutes. 2017.