Developing an Elite-Level Defenseman

with Jim Stagnitta,
Premier Lacrosse League Head Coach;
former Charlotte Hounds (MLL) Head Coach; former Denver Outlaws Head Coach;
former University of Pennsylvania Assistant Coach; former Rutgers University Head Coach;
2013 and 2016 Brine MLL Coach of the Year; 2013 MLL Runners-Up;
F. Morris Touchstone Award - USILA Division I Coach of the Year (2003)7 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Final Fours

It's not enough to just be a good defender or have good stick skills. In the modern game of lacrosse, in order to be a complete defenseman, a player must have the ability to stop the opponent from scoring a goal and then pick the ball up off the ground and create scoring opportunities in the clearing game.

In this video, Jim Stagnitta takes you through a series of drills that hone in on the fundamentals necessary to become a complete defenseman. Beginning with simple stick handling drills, Coach Stagnitta presents 12 drills that build upon each other. With an intense focus on the details and fundamentals of defensive footwork, Stagnitta presents five progressions to build proper approach technique.

Stick Handling and Offensive Skills

Every defenseman must be able to get the ball off the ground, move it up the field and create transition. Through a series of four simple drills that can be adapted for any level, Coach Stagnitta demonstrates the proper technique for picking up ground balls and how to complete all of the passes a defenseman will need to make with a long pole. From there, he introduces a clearing drill with multiple iterations, turning one drill into several. This section culminates with a simple and fun continuous shooting drill that incorporates defensemen, midfielders and goalies.

Defensive Footwork

After Coach Stagnitta gets his defensemen catching and throwing like offensive players, he runs them through a series of defensive footwork drills. Focusing on the details and layering one on top of the other, Stagnitta clearly and concisely lays out the steps any player can follow to become a great defender. With these fundamentals in place, he introduces three live drills, each of which can be adapted and modified for the appropriate level, that put these skills to the test against live offensive players.

Live Approach to the Ball

The final drill of the video, Coach Stagnitta's Live Approach to the Ball drill, pits a lone defender against three offensive players who are stationed around the perimeter. The defender starts in the middle where they can see all three offensive players. A feeder makes a pass at random to any of the three offensive players. The defender must approach the ball carrier using all of the fundamentals taught earlier in the video before going 1v1 against the ball carrier, aiming to keep the ball carrier away from the middle of the field.

This is a great video that will show you exactly how to build up a defenseman step-by-step on both the offensive and defensive end of the field!

53 minutes. 2019.