Progressive Skill Development for Goalies and Defensemen

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

Defense may win championships, but great defense isn't possible without proper footwork and body positioning.

In this two-part video, J.B. Clarke presents 14 progressive drills that will help your goalies and defensemen develop and maintain the proper body positioning and footwork that shuts down opponents. Each set of drills is designed as a series of layers that ultimately blend together to create the complete defensive player.

In the first part of the video, Coach Clarke takes you through a series of easy-to-understand drills that lead to the synchronization of your goalies' hands and feet. In part two, he breaks down and builds back up all of the pieces required for a defensive player to excel in 1-on-1 and slide-and-recover situations.

Goalie Hands and Feet

Goalie instruction is at a premium for every program, everywhere, as good goalie coaching is hard to find. Coach Clarke provides a one-stop shop of drills and techniques that have allowed Limestone to produce some of the best goalies in the country on an annual basis. This is the perfect training program for preseason and out-of-season play.

Using warm-up techniques and drills designed to isolate the different skills of goalie play, Coach Clarke and his staff demonstrate six drills that develop both hand and foot fundamentals of lacrosse goalies. Coach Clarke provides ongoing commentary and drill breakdowns on syncing a goalie's movements, demonstrating how a misstep can lead the hands astray and how lazy hands can inhibit the feet.

Body Positioning for Defensemen

Once again implementing the part-whole method of teaching, Coach Clarke transitions from developing goalies to developing defensemen.

Using small groups of defensemen, Coach Clarke shows how he prepares his team's body and stick position when defending the ball one-on-one, and how to break-down the field in relation to the ball.

Coach Clarke emphasizes the use of proper footwork, and ideal hand-placement to explain how his stout defensive team is able to keep the best offensive teams in the nation at bay. A major emphasis is placed on progression - starting with body positioning, and then working up to checks and then off-ball play, all while maintaining body positioning and foot-work. Coach Clarke emphasis several key points in each drill:

• Hand placement and how to angle a defenseman's body and stick when on-ball
• Footwork when approaching the ball, playing the ball, and recovering after the ball is moved
• Communication among defensemen
• Allowing attackmen to operate only in non-threatening areas of the field

Defensive Midfield Play

Not content with only developing close defenders, Coach Clarke presents a progressive set of drills designed to build technique in both long- and short-stick defensive midfielders. The drills emphasize stance, body positioning, footwork, and communication. Like the drills for defensemen, these drills can be performed in small and large groups, and explain how the body, feet, and stick work together to produce outstanding defensive midfield play.

You'll also see how to enhance ball-handling skills for long-stick defensemen and midfielders, particularly off of all-important ground balls.

In this outstanding instructional video, Coach Clarke provides everything you need when planning ways to develop defensive players, particularly during off-season training. You will not only learn how to develop stickwork, hand placement, and footwork, but also when to use these advanced techniques. Limestone College is renowned for having one of the best defensive teams in lacrosse. Learn how they develop their players using techniques from one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the sport!

58 minutes. 2017.