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Understanding How to Learn Fundemental Defense Skills
by Christian Cook March 1, 2002 (c) YouthLacrosseUSA.com
Christian Cook holds Casey Powell scoreless all last
MLL season!
I was fortunate in college to be coached by the best
defensive mind in the game, in my opinion, and would
like to share some of the rules I was taught that have
helped me develop my game.
- Young defensemen are often under the impression
that the best defensemen are those that take the ball
away time and time again, or those that have the most
checks.
- In reality, the first priority for any defenseman
is holding his offensive counterpart scoreless –
regardless of how many times he strips the ball.
A coach would certainly rather have a defenseman that
never gets beat on his side (even if he doesn’t
strip the ball that often) vs. a defenseman that can
strip the ball but still gets beat occasionally. When
I teach young players how to play defense I stress the
fundamentals. It takes years to develop into a great
defenseman, that is why many of the greats are somewhat
older than their offensive teammates.
Defensive play can be broken down into two distinct
sections:
- 1. Individual,
- 2. Team.
This column will focus on playing as an individual
(which, in reality, is far less important than team
play). The following three elements are the keys to
being a great defensive player in my estimation:
I. Head – a defensive player needs to know
where they are on the field at all times. If field awareness
is lacking, the player will not know where to line up
against their opponent. While all coaches employ different
defensive systems, it is important that they have strict
guidelines for how they want their players to line-up
against their attackman/midfielder at each spot on the
field.
II. Feet –
footwork and footspeed are very important and are distinctly
different. Young defensemen should work on their footspeed
via speed workouts, drills, jumping rope and other exercises
recommended by their coach. They should also work on
their footwork via drills developed by their coaches.
Good footwork lays the foundation for being a good positional
defensemen while good footspeed can make the difference
between a good and a great defenseman. The best defensemen
are not the fastest, they are the smartest and have
the greatest footwork. However, great footspeed puts
a player in a position to take chances and push their
play to the edge – while having the speed to recover.
III. Stick – the last thing a player should
think about while playing defense. I know this may somewhat
counter-intuitive, but it is quite true. A defenseman
should only start worrying about his stick once he has
his head on straight and his footwork down to second
nature. To be a high school or collegiate All-America,
only three checks are necessary: 1. slap; 2. lift; 3.
poke. If used in combination with great position –
they can totally neutralize an offensive player.
While each of these elements of playing individual defense
is important, where the real difference is made is in
the team defensive system.
I will focus on that team defense in my next column.
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