Transition & Recognition

Transition & Recognition
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 3V2 With Ghost Cuts Diamond Keep Away to the Goal Small Field Build Up Game Build Down Game
3V2 With Ghost Cuts - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
*Additional Coaching Point: Can you manipulate defense to get open?*		Offense – Moving with and without the ball, passing, and maintaining good spacing Defense – Pressuring the Ball, sliding/recovery
Diamond Keep Away to the Goal - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A fun and engaging groundball and transition drill that works on both offensive and defensive teamwork & spacing Set Up Set up cones in the shape of a diamond in the playing area. You can make it larger to force longer passes but the stand length should be about 8-10 yards away from each other. On the sideline, set up 3 lines of each team, depending on your group size. They should be alternating (dark, light, dark, light, etc..). Coach rolls a ball into the field (doesn’t have to be inside the diamond), and the team that picks up the ball is on offense. Another teammate from the winning team will join, giving them an advantage (4v3). At this point the game-play will move to the cones, and the defense has to stay inside the diamond while the offense needs to stay out. Play keep away until coach blows a second whistle, and then its live to the goal! Coaching Points and Principles Progressions Make the groups smaller (2 lines of each color) so it turns into a 3v2 for more spacing at younger ages if you have more than 4 players (5v4) we can put an offensive players on the crease who can rotate in and out during the keep away play		Ground Balls Offense – Make good passes, a teammate should be at an adjacent cone. If the player with the ball carries, the offense should move like a carousel maintaining their spacing. In transition to the goal, find the open teammate/advantage and get a good shot on cage Defense – Communicate, who has ball! Need no play the ball, and have backside zone since we are playing with 1 less player. One the ball is passed, a new defender should slid to the ball, and the previous defender on ball needs to get back inside for backside supper and help
Small Field Build Up Game - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A fun small sided game that focuses on transition play with both advantages and creating advantages. Set Up Set up a small fair area field, we’re using the restraining box area here and put two attack and 2 defense in on each end. Set up midfielders at the midline on their defense end lined up in a single file line. The game is going start with one team have an advantage so we’re giving the dark team the ball first they go down and play three on two. Once the play ends a new offensive player from the defensive team will come in on the wing. The offensive midfielder will stay on the field and get back and play defense and there will be transition other way going 3v3. Same thing, play till the whistle and then a new player will come on and then we’ll go back down the other way 4V3. We are building this up until I get to 5v5. One team will have advantage for every rep, one team will play all even every rep. Once you finish the 5V5, start a new round and give the other team the chance to start the ball and have an advantage every rep. Coaching Points & Principles Progressions Add a shot clock Play full field		Transition play – recognize all even or advantages If playing with advantage, find the 2v1 and try to get a shot off quick If playing all even, focus on creating advantages by clearing space, dodging, drawing slides, etc..
Build Down Game - Link to Drill	Set Up	Focus Points
A fun game that works on transition play and finding the advantages Set Up Create a small playing area, and split group into 2 teams. Start with a 4v4, and play until a dead ball (Goal, Save, Turnover). The last offensive player to touch the ball, leaves the game. The defending team now goes on offense playing 4v3 to the other goal. Same rules apply, last offensive player to touch, leaves game. Continuing playing with these rules until you get to 1v0 against the goalie. Restart a new game, and give the other team the start so they play with uneven advantages. Coaching Points & Principles		Transition Play – Playing fast Finding the advantages Defense organization – unsettled, all even

Jump to a Section

3V2 With Ghost Cuts
Diamond Keep Away to the Goal
Small Field Build Up Game
Build Down Game

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.

3V2 With Ghost Cuts

Additional Coaching Point: Can you manipulate defense to get open?

Set Up

Create an 8×8 box using cones. Put 3 offensive players on the perimeter and 2 defenders in the middle. The offense is to play keep away. The offense must make a backdoor cut after every pass, cutting to open space. The defense must always pressure the ball and constantly sliding and recovering

Coaching Points & Principles

Offense – Moving with and without the ball, passing, and maintaining good spacing
Defense – Pressuring the Ball, sliding/recovery

Progressions

Make the box smaller and harder, or bigger and easier depending on skillset
Play 4v3 or 5v4

Diamond Keep Away to the Goal

Set Up

Set up cones in the shape of a diamond in the playing area. You can make it larger to force longer passes but the stand length should be about 8-10 yards away from each other. On the sideline, set up 3 lines of each team, depending on your group size. They should be alternating (dark, light, dark, light, etc..). Coach rolls a ball into the field (doesn’t have to be inside the diamond), and the team that picks up the ball is on offense. Another teammate from the winning team will join, giving them an advantage (4v3). At this point the game-play will move to the cones, and the defense has to stay inside the diamond while the offense needs to stay out. Play keep away until coach blows a second whistle, and then its live to the goal!

Coaching Points and Principles

Ground Balls
Offense – Make good passes, a teammate should be at an adjacent cone. If the player with the ball carries, the offense should move like a carousel maintaining their spacing. In transition to the goal, find the open teammate/advantage and get a good shot on cage
Defense – Communicate, who has ball! Need no play the ball, and have backside zone since we are playing with 1 less player. One the ball is passed, a new defender should slid to the ball, and the previous defender on ball needs to get back inside for backside supper and help

Progressions

Make the groups smaller (2 lines of each color) so it turns into a 3v2 for more spacing at younger ages
if you have more than 4 players (5v4) we can put an offensive players on the crease who can rotate in and out during the keep away play

Small Field Build Up Game

Set Up

Set up a small fair area field, we’re using the restraining box area here and put two attack and 2 defense in on each end. Set up midfielders at the midline on their defense end lined up in a single file line. The game is going start with one team have an advantage so we’re giving the dark team the ball first they go down and play three on two. Once the play ends a new offensive player from the defensive team will come in on the wing. The offensive midfielder will stay on the field and get back and play defense and there will be transition other way going 3v3. Same thing, play till the whistle and then a new player will come on and then we’ll go back down the other way 4V3. We are building this up until I get to 5v5. One team will have advantage for every rep, one team will play all even every rep. Once you finish the 5V5, start a new round and give the other team the chance to start the ball and have an advantage every rep.

Coaching Points & Principles

Transition play – recognize all even or advantages
If playing with advantage, find the 2v1 and try to get a shot off quick
If playing all even, focus on creating advantages by clearing space, dodging, drawing slides, etc..

Progressions

Add a shot clock
Play full field

Build Down Game

Set Up

Create a small playing area, and split group into 2 teams. Start with a 4v4, and play until a dead ball (Goal, Save, Turnover). The last offensive player to touch the ball, leaves the game. The defending team now goes on offense playing 4v3 to the other goal. Same rules apply, last offensive player to touch, leaves game. Continuing playing with these rules until you get to 1v0 against the goalie. Restart a new game, and give the other team the start so they play with uneven advantages.

Coaching Points & Principles

Transition Play – Playing fast
Finding the advantages
Defense organization – unsettled, all even

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