Playing with Advantages

Playing with Advantages
Please Note:The practice is designed to bring value across multiple age levels. You can use this as a foundation to build and develop your own practice. With that being said, we highly encourage you to adjust the drills based on your team’s age and skill levels. Lacrosse Drive should always be used as a starting point — you can make drills easier or harder by changing the constraints.	To make a drill easier, you might Increase the playing area, reduce the number of defenders or rules, add time or space to make decisions	Activities 3v1 Rondo 2v1 Groundballs 2V1 Recognition Shooting Drill Read The Movement of the Defense 4v4
3v1 Rondo - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A keep away game for younger players! Set Up Create a playing area using cones or lines on the field. There will be 3 offensive player on the outside, and 1 defender inside. The players on the outside will play keep away. The defender will try to be deceptive, move towards the passer to knock down or intercept passes! Play for 30 seconds then switch the players. You can also sub a player in quicker, off they intercept or knock down a pass. Coaching Points and Principles Progressions Play 4v2 Make it harder for the offender and play 3v2 or 4v3		Offense – Move your feet to make good passes. Off ball SHOW TARGET and call for help Defense – Keep your stick in the air in passing lanes / use deception
2v1 Groundballs - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A ground ball drill that works on playing with pressure and moving the ball quickly Set Up Put players in groups of 6 or 9, and have the 2 outside lines be offense, middle line is defense. Coach rolls a live GB into play: If the offense wins, defender must play the ball, and offense needs to make 3 passes If the defense wins, they run away from pressure and pass back to coach Coaching Points & Principles		Ground Balls – Accelerate through, start teaching “Ball” and “Man” Playing vs pressure, defense always pressure the ball or runs away from pressure Passing and movement – offense must move into passing lanes to connect 3 passes
2V1 Recognition Shooting Drill - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
We use this drill to start introducing reading the defense in uneven situations Set Up Put 2 lines up to about 5 yards apart. Add a coach in the middle as the defender. We are starting this drill with a ground ball, you can start with a pass as well. The players will criss cross attacking the goal. The player clearing through, is cutting under their teammate which we want to emphasize. As the ball carrier attacks the goal, the coach will either slide to the ball, or slide to teammate without the ball. Players must recognize the slide and react to it! Coaching Points and Principle Progressions Make it a 3v2 Set up on the wings for a different look Use constraints like off-hand only		Spacing – Clearing space under your teammate, not above Read the defense – when a slide comes to you, we want to move the ball. When you have free space, we want you to take it and shoot it Shooting – shot placement and finishing the ball on cage Passing – making great passes to your teammates
Read The Movement of the Defense 4v4 - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
START 3v3 And then move to 4v4		Offense – read the slides, move the ball to pressure Defense – Slide, Recover, Communicate

Jump to a Section

3v1 Rondo
2v1 Groundballs
2V1 Recognition Shooting Drill
Read The Movement of the Defense 4v4

Please Note:The practice is designed to bring value across multiple age levels. You can use this as a foundation to build and develop your own practice. With that being said, we highly encourage you to adjust the drills based on your team’s age and skill levels. Lacrosse Drive should always be used as a starting point — you can make drills easier or harder by changing the constraints.

To make a drill easier, you might Increase the playing area, reduce the number of defenders or rules, add time or space to make decisions

To make a drill harder, you might: Shrink the field or add boundaries, add defenders or touch restrictions (e.g., “one-pass before shooting”), or Limit time or space to force faster decisions

Small adjustments to field size, player numbers, and rules can significantly change the challenge level while maintaining the same core learning goal.

3v1 Rondo

Set Up

Create a playing area using cones or lines on the field. There will be 3 offensive player on the outside, and 1 defender inside. The players on the outside will play keep away. The defender will try to be deceptive, move towards the passer to knock down or intercept passes! Play for 30 seconds then switch the players. You can also sub a player in quicker, off they intercept or knock down a pass.

Coaching Points and Principles

Offense – Move your feet to make good passes. Off ball SHOW TARGET and call for help
Defense – Keep your stick in the air in passing lanes / use deception

Progressions

Play 4v2
Make it harder for the offender and play 3v2 or 4v3

2v1 Groundballs

A ground ball drill that works on playing with pressure and moving the ball quickly

Set Up

Put players in groups of 6 or 9, and have the 2 outside lines be offense, middle line is defense. Coach rolls a live GB into play:

If the offense wins, defender must play the ball, and offense needs to make 3 passes
If the defense wins, they run away from pressure and pass back to coach

Coaching Points & Principles

Ground Balls – Accelerate through, start teaching “Ball” and “Man”
Playing vs pressure, defense always pressure the ball or runs away from pressure
Passing and movement – offense must move into passing lanes to connect 3 passes

2v1 Advanced Anticipation & Recognition Beginner Box Lacrosse College Decision Making Foundational Skills Ground Ball Battles Ground Balls High School Intermediate Men’s Lacrosse Passing U10 U12 U14 Women’s Lacrosse

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2V1 Recognition Shooting Drill

Set Up

Put 2 lines up to about 5 yards apart. Add a coach in the middle as the defender. We are starting this drill with a ground ball, you can start with a pass as well. The players will criss cross attacking the goal. The player clearing through, is cutting under their teammate which we want to emphasize. As the ball carrier attacks the goal, the coach will either slide to the ball, or slide to teammate without the ball. Players must recognize the slide and react to it!

Coaching Points and Principle

Spacing – Clearing space under your teammate, not above
Read the defense – when a slide comes to you, we want to move the ball. When you have free space, we want you to take it and shoot it
Shooting – shot placement and finishing the ball on cage
Passing – making great passes to your teammates

Progressions

Make it a 3v2
Set up on the wings for a different look
Use constraints like off-hand only

Read The Movement of the Defense 4v4

START 3v3 And then move to 4v4

Set Up

Put player on field in a 4v4. The offense will start with their backs turned to coach, and coach will tell which defender is the slide/help. Offense can turn back and get set, on whistle, the defender guarding the ball leaves the field and the directed help player slides to the ball. The offense must read where the slides are coming from and move the ball to find the best shot. The defense must slide, rotate, and recover to try and get the offense back to neutral by the time their 4th player gets back into play!

Coaching Points & Principles

Offense – read the slides, move the ball to pressure
Defense – Slide, Recover, Communicate

Progressions

Play 3v3 with the youngest players
Build to 5v5 and 6v6 for youth, high school, and college levels