Break Away from USLaxCamps.com Based on the Mark Millon Video "Offensive Wizardry"

ff ever there was a time to choke, it's now.

After a long, hectic battle for a loose ball, you find yourself alone at the restraining line with the ball. There's nothing between you and the goal except 15 yards of green grass.
You start your sprint for pay dirt and watch as the goalie fortifies his position between the pipes.
In the next couple seconds, you will ask and answer several questions in your head: Where should I shoot the ball? Should I throw a fake? If so, how many? Is there a defenseman closing in on me?
But there's one question you can't let slip through your mind: What if I get stuffed?
You can't think of the embarrassment. You can't tell yourself that this is so easy you should score it 100 out of 100 times. You can't realize that the goalie has nothing to lose and plenty of glory to gain. You can't worry about coach pulling you out of the game. Or about letting your teammates down. Or about looking like a chump in front of that cute girl in the stands.
Because in this situation, confidence and a clear head make things a lot easier. As in any athletic endeavor, mental imagery can play a key role. Fortunately, guys like Baltimore Bayhawk Mark Millon are willing to help out their fellow players.
Here, Millon takes us through the proper procedure for burying a breakaway.

The Burst

Whether you've just scooped up a loose ball, stolen an errant pass while riding, or received a pass from a teammate, the most important thing to do when you find yourself alone behind the defense is to sprint immediately toward the goal.
Any split second of hesitation will allow the defensive players to catch up with you. Equally important is stick protection. Notice how Mark Millon uses his body to shield his stick from the trailing defenseman.
There is nobody between you and the goalie, so for the first few steps, you don't need to worry about looking up to feed a teammate or getting your stick ready to throw. You will be doing the shooting, just as soon as you get to the goal.

Here, Millon shows us what not to do. As you hustle toward the goal, don't get careless with your stick. In the photo, Millon shows a common mistake made when players leave their stick hanging where the defenseman can get a check on it.

A common position for running with the ball, one that an absentminded player might mistakenly fall into, is to keep the stick by your head or behind you.
Instead, hold the stick in front of you, shielding it with your body. One option is sometimes called "Pizza in the oven" where you hold the butt end of the stick with one hand and extend your arm in front of you.

The Approach
In some cases, you won't have time or space to worry about your approach angle. But if you do, here Millon provides some key tips.
When approaching the goal from straight up top, let yourself drift very slightly to one side. If the stick is in your left hand, as it is for Millon, let your body drift slightly to the right. If your stick is in your right hand, drift slightly to the left.
The purpose of this is to make sure your stick is in the center of the goal. This gives you the best shooting angle.
And while fading a little to the side is helpful, fading too much can cut off your shooting angle and make it tougher to hit the shot.
So keep your body inside the pipes.
Since no game or shot is ever the same, you inevitably will have one-on-one opportunities with the goalie from more than one angle.

At left, Millon shows the proper way to approach when you have a breakaway from the side.
Whether it's directly from the wing or from the top corner of the box, the ideal approach is to sweep across the front of the goal.
Do not run directly at or outside the near pipe. That cuts off the shooting angle, making your job more difficult.
Approaching properly forces the goalie to leave the near pipe and follow you across the goal, making it tougher for him to make a save.

The Fake and Finish
Depending on the proximity of the defenseman, Millon may or may not throw a fake before shooting. At right, he's put some space between himself and the trailing D-man, so he's got time to fake.
But notice how he's throwing the fake. He doesn't bring the stick all the way out in front of him. It's just a quick wrist pump and head fake. While running full speed, you probably won't have time to get the stick in front of you and then pull it all the way back to shoot.
But, Millon noted, in this situation, a well-placed hard shot without a fake should be sufficient. Whether or not you threw a fake, using deceitful body language is a must.

In the photo at left, taken from the goalie's perspective, Millon's body language leans up high and to his right, which will make the goalie lean in that direction.

But as you can see, the shot is going low and left, exactly the opposite place he's leaning. It's OK to choke up on the stick a little if you have to. It'll help protect the stick if the defenseman is close behind.