The "20 Wing" Offense: Philosophy, Drills, and Adjustments

with Andrew Fink,
first-ever University of Saint Joseph Men's Lacrosse Coach (inaugural season - Spring 2020);
interim University of Saint Joseph Women's Lacrosse Coach (for Spring 2019);
former Mount Ida College Head Men's Coach,
8x Conference Champions; 4x NCAA Division III qualifier, 4x Coach of the Year NAC/GNAC;
Boston Storm General Manager (UWLX)

This video from coach Andrew Fink features the philosophy behind the "20 Wing" offense and provides a series of practice drills that emphasize and reinforce fundamental concepts in that set.

Coach Fink gives you a detailed explanation of the 20 Wing offense by first demonstrating the philosophy of the offense on a whiteboard and then by demonstrating the offense on the field, first in a skeleton setting with no defense, and then in a full contact 6v6 situation. The 20 Wing is a highly effective offense with clear principles that lacrosse players at a variety of levels can access and execute. It's effective in its use of spacing and off-ball awareness, but its principles are simple enough for teams of all levels to execute.

"20 Wing" Drills

Prior to explaining the specifics of the 20 Wing offense, Coach Fink runs through a series of drills designed to prepare his team physically for practice while simultaneously developing essential stick skills and situational awareness. These drills cultivate habits for players of all positions and help establish an up-tempo, highly engaged practice atmosphere. Some of these drills emphasize shooting skills, while others focus on executing transitional situations both offensively and defensively. These drills can be useful regardless of whether or not the team utilizes the 20 Wing offensive set.

The next phase of Coach Fink's presentation features a series of seven dynamic shooting drills that are designed to replicate the key shooting spots within the 20 Wing. These drills foster both the cognitive recognition and physical execution of the offense. These drills reinforce players' understanding of the offense while helping develop their skills.

Counter-Adjustments for the "20 Wing"

The biggest benefit to running the 20 Wing offense is the manner in which it forces most defenses to adjust their sliding schemes. After explaining how the 20 Wing is designed to function and then explaining how most defenses will attempt to defend it, Coach Fink provides a series of counter-adjustments for teams to apply once defenses have reacted to the 20 Wing. This added benefit provides an entirely new dimension to a highly effective offense.

Coach Fink describes the "25" and "Wild" sets, which are an invaluable benefit to coaches running this offense. By offering a series of simple adjustments that still adhere to the base principles of the 20 Wing, you'll see how to attack the goal using in a number of different ways against a variety of defensive adjustments.

The 20 Wing offense is an innovative and original offense that is relatively easy to teach and to execute. Teams at all levels can run this offense, and the drills used to support the offense will benefit players' skill development in a variety of offensive situations. This offense, taught by Coach Fink, is a tremendous addition to any offensive coordinator's toolbox and is one that players can easily adopt and execute.

86 minutes. 2019.