Topic 8: Formations for Offense and
Defense
Your young players are learning winning lacrosse. In this topic, we will
introduce a few basic formations for offensive and defensive play. It's
especially important at the youth level that coaches don't try to do too much
from an X's and O's standpoint because this can lead to confusion and
frustration for their players. When teaching and practicing team-level
strategy, try to keep things as simple as possible. The goal should be to
give players a foundational understanding of offensive and defensive sets
that can be built upon as they advance to higher levels. We believe the
easiest way to begin this process is by installing a simple 2-3-1 formation.
Use the videos and training notes included in this topic to teach players how
to run and defend against this set. Be sure to present the techniques and
concepts of the formation step-by-step and take advantage of the 2-3-1 Cone
Drill to get players hands-on experience. You'll notice that we also have
provided introductions to two other offensive formations, the 1-4-1 and the
2-2-2. Avoid over-loading your team by starting with the 2-3-1 and watching
how your team progresses before trying to install either of these other two
sets. Try to spend equal time between teaching team offense and team defense.
This topic has some great video drills with instructions for training young
defenders on how to cover various offensive formations. Make use of the Shell
Drill to give your defense experience communicating with each other and
reacting as a unit to the offense's movements. Let's get started!
Practice Plan
Warm-up lap with cradling
reinforcement
Stretch
Line Drills
(passing, scooping, dodging, ground balls, shooting)
Overview of team
offense and defense
Skip-pass demonstration
Introduce 2-3-1
Offense
Introduce 2-3-1
Defense
2-3-1 Cone Drill
Introduce Shell
Drill
Run Shell Drill
(emphasize)
Half-field scrimmage
Final
thoughts
