Developing Offensive Tenets

with John Galloway,
University of Jacksonville Head Coach; former Providence College Assistant Coach;
Team USA Co-Captain; Goalie - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Gold medal);
Chrome Lacrosse Club goalie (PLL);
Dallas Rattlers Goalie (2011 - present); 3x Goaltender of the Year Award (2014, 2016 & in 2018 shared the award with Niko Amato):
2x First Team All-American Goalie at Syracuse University, Goalie on 2008 & 2009 NCAA Championship teams (Syracuse);
2x Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award winner (nation's best goalkeeper), Galloway is the second goalkeeper in history to be named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy; recorded most wins for a goalie in NCAA history (59), ranks seventh in the NCAA history in goals against average (7.33)

Before an offense can start a season, it needs to have a set of tenets, or offensive principles, in place that allow its players to be creative on the field, while still having a set of guidelines to fall back on.

John Galloway, Jacksonville's head coach, takes you into the classroom and onto the field as he teaches you how to build the foundation of an offense. In the classroom, he introduces Jacksonville's fundamental offensive concepts and then discusses the science behind their offense, plus how he puts together an offense from year-to-year based on his personnel. Then, Coach Galloway takes you on the field where he presents 15 drills designed around Jacksonville's offensive tenets and rooted in science; these drills include a progressive series of seven shooting drills that simulate game situations from specific areas of the field.

Offensive Principles

Before an offense can take the field, it needs to have in place its offensive tenets: a set of guiding principles that would allow anyone to step onto the field with Galloway's team and understand what they were trying to accomplish on offense. In this section, Galloway presents the foundation of his offense that gives the players and coaches something to fall back on if the offense starts to break down. These tenets include:

• Being a threat to score anywhere on the field
• 'Gassing your cuts'
• Six men with one voice

Science of an Offense

With these principles always in mind, Coach Galloway teaches you how to create an offense that has a solid foundation that can remain adaptable based on your personnel. The science of any offense has four pillars you can always rely on:

• Using dodges to eliminate on-ball defenders
• Being sneaky and lively off-ball to eliminate defenders
• Shooting efficiently with proper overhand form
• Dictating the pace of the game by letting the ball do the work with precision passing

On the Field

Next, Galloway moves from the classroom to the practice field, where he presents 15 drills, including a progressive series of shooting drills, all designed with Jacksonville's offensive tenets in mind. He runs his players through a series of drills that improve dodging, overhand shooting and off-ball movement, all of which can be adapted to fit your offensive needs and personnel.

Drag vs. Dice

In this featured drill, the ball carrier's goal is simple - eliminate their defender. Dodging skinny with their shoulders, the ball carrier does everything they can to make their defender's job difficult and draw a slide. When the slide comes, the ball carrier has to escape to the sideline with their feet, roll away and find the open man, all the while keeping in mind that if they bail on the dodge too early, the defense will have too much time to recover. This drill toggles between a dodge up top and from behind the cage. As a bonus component, your defenders can work on effective double teams by turning the ball carrier back to a specific spot on the field with a ready slide.

After spending 20 years watching offenses try to score on his defense, Coach Galloway has learned what works on offense and what doesn't. What he presents in this video is sure to help your own program develop a successful offense.

59 minutes. 2019.