Individual and Group Practice Drills 2-Pack

featuring Mike Morgan,
Merrimack College Head Men's Coach;
2019 and 2018 NCAA National Champions;
2017 USILA Division II National Coach of the Year;
Five Straight NCAA Tournament Appearances (2015-19);
2017 NCAA National Championship Runner-up;
All-Time Winningest Coach in Program History

with Bryan Brazill,
Merrimack College Assistant Men's Coach/Offense

Successful offensive players are able to generate shots on goal in a variety of ways. Whether they are carrying the ball, working to get open off-ball, creating space for the ball, or simply being a part of an offensive system, a top-notch offensive player has multiple ways to generate points.

Using small-group drills and individually-focused drills, Merrimack College coaches Mike Morgan and Bryan Brazill demonstrate 12 drills that develop elite offensive players. Morgan and Brazill use whiteboard illustrations and practice footage to share how and why these drills are effective, and even give you ideas on how to modify the drills to fit your team's needs. Many of these drills can replace traditional stickwork drills that aren't represented in a true game situation.

Small Group, High Repetition Drills

Learn stickwork drills that encourage many touches in a game-like fashion. These drills teach and reinforce skills, and are structured to get players lots of reps.

• 3 Man 4 Cone: A great warm-up drill that teaches players to support the ball while working on multiple disciplines for handling the ball.
• KS Drill: Used to get a lot of touches on the ball while having players work on coordinating their lower and upper bodies to handle the ball.

Dodging Progressions

This section contains effective drills on how to build strong dodgers in a way that translates directly to game situations.

• Dodging Progressions: A shooting drill that doubles as a tool to teach players multiple dodges in various locations on the field.
• Zippo Island: A 1v1 drill used to teach re-dodges.

Drills to Teach Offensive Concepts

Several drills that teach and reinforce the offensive concepts that make up their offensive philosophy are shared in this section.

• NASCAR: A 1v1 drill that teaches players how to attack the ball while it's in the air, followed by a dodge off the pass.
• Creative Triangles: A 3-man shooting drill that represents a piece of the total offense. Players are encouraged to be creative in learning how to play in a group of three within the offense as a whole.

This video will give you a great set of drills to efficiently develop your offensive players. You won't only learn the drills Merrimack uses regularly, you'll also get teaching points to modify the drills to suit your needs.

49 minutes. 2017.

featuring Mike Morgan,
Merrimack College Head Men's Coach;
2019 and 2018 NCAA National Champions;
2017 USILA Division II National Coach of the Year;
Five Straight NCAA Tournament Appearances (2015-19);
2017 NCAA National Championship Runner-up;
All-Time Winningest Coach in Program History

Winning lacrosse requires a great defense. And a great defense is made up of players that have excellent fundamental individual skills. The stronger your defense is on an individual level, the better your team will perform in the game. Defenders must be great ball handlers, make quick decisions when defending and clearing, and have the discipline to play team defense whether they are in one-on-one or group defense.

Using a wide range of defensive practice drills, Coach Morgan demonstrates 12 drills in two parts. The first part focuses on individual stick skills: passing, footwork and communication. The second part builds from small group drills designed to work on slide rotations, communication, approach angles, spacing, and concludes with 7v7 in the box play focusing on slide packages and transition drills. Throughout the instruction, Morgan stresses footwork, communication, approach angles, vision, and teamwork.

Before each drill, Coach Morgan breaks the drill down on a white board and walks you through each drill on the field. The drills are designed to provide multiple repetitions during a short period of time to allow defensive players to handle the ball in a variety of situations, while also being able to fill a practice plan with other areas of the game. These easy-to-follow drills can be modified based on numbers and level of play.

The Individual Defender

A great individual player has great fundamental individual skills: fast and efficient footwork, the ability to approach and breakdown, to play on-ball defense, as well top notch stick skills with passing, catching, and ground balls. Morgan shows you how to advance your players' stick skills by creating game-like situations as well as adding pressure and competition to drills. This results in improved carryover from practice to actual game play.

Utilizing the B.O.C.E. (Backpedal, Open, Close, Engage) drill, Coach Morgan has his defenders develop a regimented system to turning away an offensive threat when they are in a 1v1 scenario. This reinforces how defenders can have a plan for terminating a threat without giving up a strategic position.

• Back pedaling of a dodger
• Opening up the hips to the path the opponent is taking
• Closing the path to keep the opponent from gaining a threatening position
• Engaging the opponent's body

Team Defense

Team defense requires players that know where to be positioned on the field under a variety of situations. Players must be able to slide and recover to support each other and be in constant communication. Morgan utilizes uneven situations in several of his drills to coordinate 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 slide packages into 2-3 man segments. Once the players are comfortable with these concepts, he moves to more complex slide drills that force the defense to communicate and use all the skills they performed throughout the video.

The Richter Drill adds a unique twist to an old favorite: the fast break drill. Through modifying the number of players and their alignments, Morgan is able to quickly teach a variety of looks, including slow breaks, to challenge his defense to think ahead and work together.

If you want to increase the effectiveness of your defensive and enhance transition opportunities, this video is perfect for you. Coach Morgan not only provides your players the highest volume of repetitions for fundamental defensive skills, he also puts it all together into a team concept that is easy to follow and implement into your own game plan.

59 minutes. 2017.