Defenders Trailing to X

Conversely, you could be slower than the player you are guarding, but guard them quite well.

While dodgers may use speed or strength to gain an advantage, those are not their only tools. They often use deception and techniques to set-up a move to their strength. Here is a simple example: a right handed dodger behind the cage might split to his left hoping the defender will jump to this side. This would then open up a roll-back move or split topside to the dodger’s strength.

So, if dodgers are utilizing moves and techniques to set-up their strengths, defenders must be disciplined enough to use techniques not to fall victim to these moves. A great technique is understanding when and how to trail dodgers vs cutting them off. Today, we are going to focus on one of the most beneficial techniques: “trailing to X”.

What is trailing to "X"?

To be clear, we are defining “X” as below GLE directly behind the cage. The premise of trailing to X is quite simple - when we are covering the ball behind the cage, we want to trail dodgers as they make a move towards X. In general, I find this to be a very good technique. Often times, defenders try to 'jump' a player moving towards X, exposing them to a roll-back from which they cannot recover.

Like anything, there are other variables at play which will determine the extent to which you trail and whether it actually makes sense to trail at all. Some things to consider are the strong hand of the dodger and their ability to use both hands. If a dodger is moving towards their strong hand and they have very little to no ability to use their weak hand, then it may make sense to trail very little or not at all. Another consideration is the dodger’s speed vs yours.

Won't I get beat to the other side?

A common counter to trailing to X is players feel they will get beat to the opposite topside. If you trail by too much this is possible, but it is important to remember one of your main advantages here - defenders can run through the crease and offensive players cannot. A critical component to the “trail to X” technique is the ability to use your crease angle (ie, “run the rail”) once the player crosses X. Remember, we are trailing to X, but once the player crosses X, we can work to get upfield on them again. For some players, this may be where a V-hold can come in handy. You can also see here how Ajax trails, but still does not get beat to the topside.