Drills to Improve Your Team on Offense and Defense

with John Sung,
Virginia Tech Head Women's Coach;
led VT to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018;
former Winthrop University Head Women's Coach;
2x Big South regular season and Tournament champions ('15, '16);
2x Big South Coach of the Year ('15, '16);
former NCAA Division I Lacrosse Committee chair;
member of the U.S. Lacrosse Convention Education Committee

If you establish good fundamentals with your team, your program will have a higher baseline of success. This video from Virginia Tech's John Sung provides several drills that will give your players the opportunity to work on their fundamentals both offensively and defensively. Sung's drills progress from individual play, to small sided play, to larger full field concepts. Sung demands good footwork and stick work from his players, both of which are essential building blocks to having a successful offense and defense.

Drill Work

The Teamwork 1v1 drill, and variations thereof, provide several opportunities to work on skills that are essential to the game of lacrosse. The variations of the drill (starting off of a pass, starting off of a ground ball, starting off of a skip pass) are all realistic, game-like situations that allow your attack to focus on fundamentals with stick and ball protection. At the same time, your defense can work on their footwork, their awareness of where the ball is and how they need to react to their player/ball. The exercises shown by Coach Sung give ample opportunity for correction of a player's footwork and body positioning without disrupting the flow of the drill. Additionally, his drills provide plenty of reps to all members of the team (attackers, defenders and goalies).

The 3v2 Blitz drill is a great drill to progress to from 1v1's. It includes disguised conditioning/fitness which helps keep your team in game shape. Additionally, the drill provides a competitive piece which makes players work harder and push each other, which in turn will help your team get better overall. Sung highlights certain performance aspects of the player demonstrators in the drill, which is great to follow and learn from as a coach.

'Clearing Landmines' is a clearing exercise which calls for your attacker to defend and ride your defenders, while calling for your defenders to be good ball handlers and keep their eyes down field to avoid the "landmines." This drill helps attackers reinforce their ability to defend and encourages the defenders to play through if there is a turnover. By asking the attackers to force the defenders towards cones (landmines) scattered throughout the field, you will teach them to be more reactive and to think on their feet, rather then having everything be scripted/choreographed.

Coaching Feedback

You'll see Coach Sung and his assistants offer feedback to players throughout the video, which is great for the viewer because it points out areas of improvement that aren't always identified when introducing the drill. A total of 13 drills are included and start with basic, but important concepts of 1v1's. The video progresses on to building up to 3v2 drills, introduces a sideline trap with a 5v4 drill, and finishes with full 7v7. This progression will allow you to build your practice in a practical manner, starting small and ending with larger field concepts. Additionally, each drill introduced by Coach Sung gives ample opportunity to discuss the various offensive and defensive concepts that each player needs to be able to understand.

Coach Sung shows how to build from fundamental individual concepts to larger full field concepts. The drills in this video can be simplified or enhanced to fit any level of play. Sung places a big emphasis on his on-field coaching, explanation of the drills and the importance of key components, which will help you lead your team to be more well-rounded and successful in the seasons ahead!

87 minutes. 2020.