Defensive Positioning

by Kort
(California)

This isn't so much a tip saying to do something as a tip about not doing something. As said in the name of the tip this is for defense; middies and defensemen alike. This came to me in the last game I played in. You should know I play defense and my team uses a sluffing zone defense. If you have played several lacrosse games and seen how different teams work you probably have noticed that most offenses have one or two people who's shooting or dodging skills are better than their teammates. The reason I say this is because defensive positioning is especially important when guarding these players. For example: In my last game the attackman on my side of the net was not very intimidating but quickly showed that he was incredibly fast. Because of this he played slightly higher up the field so he had room to run and shoot. When he got the ball and I stepped up to play him but I was too aggressive and I made the mistake of taking a lunge at him. Like all good attackmen he took advantage of this, beat me towards the goal, and missed a shot luckily. This scenario has probably happened to alot of people and can be easily fixed. In a situation when you are playing someone who has good shooting or dodging skills it is important to play them with the intention of containing them instead of taking the ball. What I mean by containing is when you play someone make sure you keep balanced and only give them light slap or poke checks. If you keep them away from the middle of the field and away from the goal, they will be for forced to pass the ball. Again this method of playing defense is useful mostly against the individuals on the opposite team who have shown themselves to be key players and need to be suppressed. However, personally I prefer this kind of defense to start out with, then get more aggressive when you find a weakness you can exploit.