Universal Defensive Skills: Building Your Foundation

Building a great defense starts with building great defenders. I am a big proponent of building an extremely solid foundation of universal defensive skills. 

Universal Defensive Skills: Building Your Foundation

Building a great defense starts with building great defenders. I am a big proponent of building an extremely solid foundation of universal defensive skills. These are skills that allow players to better execute in any situation. As players get better at these universal skills, a coach can then work to implement them into the scenarios they see fit. 

I grew up playing basketball and have always felt that basketball had a great series of drills to work on the basics of the sport. Examples include the “Mikan Drill” for continuous layups, “Figure 8” dribbling with your head up, “Zig Zag” defensive shuffles with a 45 degree drop-step. A player can easily do all of these on their own and become a much better player when they step into practice. Defenders in lacrosse feel like they do not have drills like this. While we are not (yet) offering a manual of these drills in this email, I will share some ways I have been approaching this with the guys I train.  Many of these drills and breakdowns currently exist in our drill database, but I have dropped in many free links below as well. 

I believe the most universal skills for defenders are approaching the ball, angle play and footwork, slide posture and stance, off-ball awareness and connection, ground balls and clearing. 

1. Approaching the Ball

What starts poor typically ends poor. When we approach the ball we want to be there before the ball gets there. This will force the offense wider and allow us to be set beforehand. Make sure we are taking something away on our approaches -- this is typically the middle of the field or a strong hand. Players can rep approach drills with teammates or cones on their own. Some keys are to imagine the game scenario and slow down the reps to get great control and technique. These do not need to be conditioning drills.

Here is an example of myself explaining some approach work and here is a quick clip of a drill from Brett Makar. Brett is an FCL Athlete and one of best, if not the best, defenders in college lacrosse. Watch his game on the field and it directly mimics his drill work. Note Brett’s speed in the drill – slow and smooth is a great way to rep this footwork.

2. Angle Play and Footwork

Out of an approach our first steps are typically backwards, diagonally, or laterally. We need to rep these movements. Oftentimes players want to make contact too early. Repping these movements can teach players patience and discipline. Lack of patience is one of the most common mistakes I see from defenders. Remember, if you have a good approach and good footwork, the dodger will need to come to you to score. Appropriate drills here can eradicate the reaching and lunging we often see from our D guys. The cue “chin up, chest cp” can help with the lunging. Another phrase I like is "let the contact come to you" to be patient as a defender, think of an offensive lineman pass blocking. Check out our video on “Defending the Baselines”  the “Backyard Defensive Footwork Workout” for some examples on defensive footwork and angles.

3. Slide Posture and Stance

This should be a staple of every defender just like the Mikan drill in basketball. Work on your sideways “102” stance with your "butt to the ballside sideline". Have your off-ball triangle to see both your man and the ball and constantly readjust your positioning. Your stick should be towards the inside, and up at a 45 degree angle ready to chop down. In a game, both the ball and your man will be moving. You have to work to constantly readjust your positioning as a slide. Check out one of our instagram videos on Off-Ball Positioning here for some more reference. 

4. Off-Ball Awareness and Connection

Off the ball you must know who is around you and be connected with your teammates. If you are off-ball and not the adjacent (adjacent needs to be ready to play the ball), then you have to be connected to your teammates either as a slider or slider support (two slide, splitter, etc). Stance, flow, and communication is critical here. Coach Stevens at Cornell is a good friend and ex-teammate of mine. He has a great Coaching through Cancellation video here talking about off-ball defense that is great for some points and tips. 

5. Ground Balls and Clearing

I am lumping these 2 together because ultimately the skill of securing the ball is so important for defenders. Ground ball drills are a must. In these, it is important for players to keep their hands low, accelerate through the ball, and pick their eyes up as soon as they secure the ball. One of the most important skills is being able to roll-away and evade pressure – it is amazing how many turnovers happen because defenders are not comfortable rolling away from pressure and putting the stick in their outside hand. We can rep this over and over. 

6. Quality Reps (How > What)

While there are certainly more skills defenders can pick up, I think if guys can rep and get the fundamentals of these buckets down they will be beyond 80% of the way there. The last thing I’ll say is a common theme I’ve heard from many coaches like Coach Stevens at Cornell and Coach Bernhardt at Maryland. To summarize, they focus a lot on the quality of reps. Coach Bernhardt talks about quality > quantity and Coach Stevens talks about how > what. You can have the best drills in the world, but if players do not attack them with focus, attention to detail, and game-like intensity the translation into effective skills will suffer. 

I hope you find this helpful. Let me know if you have any thoughts or effective ways to train players. We are constantly striving to be the best coaches we can be and share this knowledge with our community!

- Coach Dunn

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