Playing man-on-man defense sounds simple enough -- just defend your designated player. But there is much to learn about defending on the ball, defending away from the ball and providing defensive help when an offensive player advances the ball into scoring position. Additionally, improved stick technology has aided offensive play and made it more difficult to defend players one-on-one.
Step 1
Develop your overall athletic ability. The best athletes have an opportunity to be the best lacrosse defenders. Speed, strength, lateral quickness and agility are all assets, along with great hand-eye coordination.
Step 2
Learn the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent. Understand what moves you need to overplay against. Learn your opponent's individual tendencies and learn the tendencies of the whole offense. This will give you the best possible chance to defend your assigned player.
Step 3
Use your body and your field position to dictate the path of the offensive player. Steer players wide to take away their shooting angle. On the sides of the field, angle opponents toward the sideline and use the boundary as an extra defender. Maintain good defensive position by keeping your feet shoulder-width apart. In the boy's game, use your stick to check the opponent's stick or hands on the stick. A "lift check" can be used to lift the opponent's bottom hand up and jar the ball loose.
Step 4
Protect the inside away from the ball and take away passing lanes. Stay between your player and the goal. As in basketball, remain aware of pick plays and backdoor cuts. Midfielders away from the ball should always be as low as the ball on plays in front of the goal. When the ball is behind the goal line extended, midfielders should move down close to the crease rather than remaining out high with their player; this helps the defensive team keep players in help position. How closely you defend players adjacent to the ball depends on your team's defensive philosophy or defensive call.
Step 5
Understand the defensive sliding principles used by your team. Communicate clearly with teammates in slide situations. Often when an attacking player moves into scoring position near the goal, the first help slides over from the crease. The defender whose player is furthest from the play then slides down into the crease for support. Players who get beat must recover quickly to get back and pick up the open player.
Tips and Warnings
- On a stick check, use a short stroke to avoid slashing penalties. Good zone defenses use man-to-man principles to match up.
- Hitting the opponent in the head is a high-sticking foul. Hitting the opponent with the shaft of your stick and your hands apart is a cross-checking foul. Over-the-head checks expose you to breakaway offensive moves.
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