Set Up
Put your players in a 1-4-1, and our main goal is to get the defense to rotate and continue rotating, generating a high % shot. We also want to find the short sticks, and find ways to attack them and force them to slide to a pass, that we can re-dodge. Here would be some progressions to think about
- Work the Crease – you have 1 player guarding 2 on the crease. Work the ball on the perimeter and have those players inside moving and cutting to try to find a quick shot inside
- Use pops to overload – A perimeter player can carry the ball, and one of the crease players can pop into that space they just left. We want the ball carrier to drag that defender on ball, so when we throw to a pop player, the defense has to slide and rotate
- Picks – We can use the inside players to set picks for perimeter players, forcing the defense to rotate immediately.
Coaching Points & Principles
- Rotation – We want to get the defense into rotations/slides. The best shots will show after the defense rotates more than twice
- Play fast – Move the ball quickly, the slower the ball moves, the easier it is for the defense to get back to a neutral position and we lose any advantage
- High % shots – Usually the defense plays a zone because they believe their goalie will save outside shots, or they want to take away your strong dodgers and they don’t match up well. We don’t want to settle for the first shot, rather a high % shot inside or on the perimeter from one of our better shooters
