Control The Ball

If you want to control the game, you have to control the puck. That means you and your team must maintain the advantage by increasing shots on your opponent's goal, and denying opportunities for your opponent to score on your goal. If you want to get the advantage quickly, then you must work hard to win the face off, the battles along the boards, in front of the goals, and use pressure to keep the puck in the offensive end - as far away from your goal as possible. The same is true for lacrosse. In field lacrosse you haven't got any boards, but you can force the ball out of bounds off your oppanant. You also have to keep the play in bounds if it is you who controls the ball.
To get to this position in a game you must use your basic skills; good effective passing, stick handling, skating (foot work ie: running, turning, dodging) while keeping the ball in your team's possession. You'll notice that we put a lot of emphases on skating around opticals with your head up, and quick stopping to recover the puck - rather than make wide sweeping turns that could allow your opponent to gain control of the puck. You need to maintain a good center of gravity and stay low by bending your legs - not your back. You don't want to lose possession of the puck just because you lose your balance from a check or sliding along the boards. We saw yesterday how a gentle nudge from another player or not looking where you are going could cause a player to lose control of the puck. We're not even talking about checking here, just bumping into another player who may even be your own team mate could cause you to lose the puck. You also need to keep the puck or ball away from your opponent's stick. Keep your body between you and the player who is covering you. Don't hang your stick out where your oppanant can easily knock the ball/puck away. On long and short passes you need to move into position to catch the pass. Go to it, don't wait for the ball or puck to get to you. Make sure your passes are not going to be easily intercepted, and make sure your teammate understands the pass is meant for him/her. Communicate with each other either vocally or with looks that you and your teammates all understand. Learn to anticipate where the play is going and visualize where you want it to go. If you can't imagine where or what you want and need to do, you probably don't understand what you should be doing to make it happen. You may not start out with the puck/ball. You may have to go and get it. You may have to use your speed to overtake a player, or you may have to deliver good clean checks to separate a player from the puck-not the player from his head. Players who go out to hurt someone usually end up in the box or out the door. That doesn't mean that you avoid checking. A bad check could take you yourself out of the game. Timing is everything. Good gap control and anticipating where a player is going, and where the puck is going are essential skills. Watch a player's chest and don't fall for feints or quick dekes. Angle puck carriers to the boards, and try to hold the red line, not your blue line. In lacrosse, try to slow the advance down, and force turnovers. If you trip over the blue line or run into your own players, you end up giving the other team the advantage and will have a hard time helping your team gain control of the ball. In the end it still comes down to who scores the most goals. A team could control the ball most of the time during a game and still lose because they didn't do anything with the puck/ball when they had control of it. You could also be facing a team with a great goalie who just slams the door shut. These things do happen. I still think you'll find that you have the advantage if you control the puck/ball and control the game. Now you've got the ball - do something with it. It only takes one goal to win a game. It doesn't have to be pretty. Ugly goals count too. A big thing I push every year is to be in the moment. This means eliminate hesitation and keep your head in the game. Don't just watch the game when you're out there, and don't daydream. Every player steps out onto the ice or the field with a lot of potential. It is up to us coaches to present opportunities and direction to help you realize your full potential. Don't think we won't use every trick in the book to get you to realize that potential, but it's up to the player to reach and work toward that goal. Hopefully we make it a positive experience with just a little bit of fun along the way. Pucks do funny things. Sometimes they bounce in ways you never expect, so be ready for anything.