3-3 Zonde Defense
The 3-3 Zone is your most basic zone. However it is highly effective, in this article we include a video of a game where team used a 3-3 zone defense to win the D3 national championship.
The drill that turned into a game time strategy
This was a man up / man down drill that incorporated fast breaks that became an effective game strategy
Clearing 101 for new coaches
If you are a new to Lacrosse this may help you understand clears a little better.
Rotating Box - Man Down Defense
How many of you use the rotating box to pressure the ball when you are man down on defense? Or maybe just to throw a different look at the offense?
Attack over clear
How can you utilize your superstar to clear the ball without burning him out during the game?
Circle Box Team Defense Concept
I had a very athletic defense with a very low lax IQ. They understood how to get after the ball carrier, press and stay on their bottom hand. But they did not understand off-ball team defensive concepts. Thus I created a few Defensive concepts they could follow regardless if we were in a zone, man to man or even man down.
Running a Zone Defense
Let's go over some basic aspects of a zone and different ways to run it.
4 man low clear
The 4 Man Low Clear is particularly useful at the youth level as it gives an easy outlet to the ball carrier and eliminates the need for a long pass.
Clearing 101
If you are a new to Lacrosse this may help you understand clears a little better.
Scouting Offenses
Depending on the level of play scouting an opposing team can be as little as seeing warm ups and talking to peers or as much as watching hours of game film. Either way it is good to know some basic things about your opponent before stepping on the field.
Pros & Cons of Pressure Defense
Many teams, especially less experienced or skilled teams, can not handle pressure. When I coached games where both teams are less skilled I found a lot of success in forcing the offense to make quick decisions. Typically I found that they would go to the goal and run into the defensive help. Obviously putting pressure can work in other situations as well.
Double pole the inbound
This is a daring defensive move that can catch teams off guard. You may also want to practice it because with under two minutes left if you need the ball this is a tactic you will need to try.
Backer Zone Defense
The backer zone is a great way to let your long sticks pressure the ball while always having the support of a floating defender behind them.
Lacrosse 101 - Clears
After the defense makes a stop and regains possession of the ball it is time to run the clear. Let's go over the basics of clearing
Keys to being a lacrosse goalie
There is a coaching adage: "Offense wins games, Defense wins Championships". If the best defense is having the ball, the next best thing on defense is to have a capable goalie.
Lock 2 Defense
The idea of a Lock 2 Defense is simple: your two short sticks shut off and the long sticks play defense. This works fantastically against teams that are not well balanced on offense -- short sticks shut off the best two offensive players to let the long poles play!
60 defense
I would use this if the other team has strong crease play, if they do not use a crease man such as in a circle offense I would not use it.
3 1 3 settled clear
This is a great clear to utilize a talented midfielder who can leg it up the field.
5 Characteristics We Want from Our Starting Goalie
Here is the solution to create a complete goaltender. Divide the position in to five specific segments, each to be focused on daily and throughout the season. The order and frequency is based on how many practices you have, and how much time you can allocate.
Triangle zone with a top string
Feeling creative? This can be an interesting wrinkle to try in your defense that is not commonly used but easy to teach.