Christian Cook On The Crease Slide

First, if you are standing on the crease and are the slide man, the first thing you should do it play “ball-side” of your man. If you play on the other side of your opponent you will not be able to make a clean slide and may be caught up.
Second, slide early and not late. If you slide late, it is a waste and you aren’t doing your job. It is always better to err on the early side of sliding. How early you slide will rest on several factors. You need to know your teammate who is playing defense, how good the individual opponent is at dodging and what type of stance your defense is in. If you are playing an aggressive sliding defense and there is a fast player dodging, and your midfielder is slow playing defense, then you will want to slide extremely early, while if you are playing a passive defense and the dodger is slow while your midfielder is an excellent defensive player, then you may want to “fake-slide.” Your coach should have specific directions for you.
Third, I don’t think you should slide across the top to help a midfielder unless it is specifically designated by your coach as a double or something else. Along those lines, whenever you slide, the most important thing to remember is to “break-down.” Too many players go for the big hit and get beat by a quick face dodge or split. Slide, break down early and try to poke check the man in the chest. Furthermore, slide to where the man is going, not to where he is.