Set Up
Put players in groups of 5 (or 4 or 6 depending on your team size) on the sideline area. This drill is for ALL players so you can have 4-5 groups on the sideline spread out. Put a cone about 5 yards away, and another cone 10 yards away. Start the drill with a defender at the 5 yard cone, and a player with the ball starting at the front of line. When working on dodges with younger players, we focus on some of the foundational principles, like attacking the butt end of our defender. This forces them to cross their body to stay in position. The defender will start as a token defender and the player carrying ball will dodge/attack the butt end side. Once they get past their defender, they must run around the 10 yard cone and carry it back to the start of the line. The defender will chase putting pressure on them, forcing ball control and escapes throughout the rep.
Coaching Points and Principles
- Ball control – cradle the stick close to body so it stays protected
- Dodge the butt end off the defender
- Change speeds to make it difficult for the defender to stay in front of you
Progressions
- Make the players make a pass to the next teammate in line
