A Lacrosse Weekend 7.25.20

Welcome to "A Lacrosse Weekend" my weekly compilation of thoughts, ideas, stories, myths, truths, about the great game of lacrosse. I hope you enjoy it! 

MLL Highlights

This morning I spent four hours  pouring through MLL games looking for interesting clips to write about on this blog.  There are incredible players in this league and I'm so fired up to share some of my findings!

The Victoria Look Back

When I was trying out for the Colorado Mammoth in the fall of 2002 at 35 years old, Gary Gait was on the team and I noticed that every time he caught the ball, he would look at the head of his stick before he would shoot.  I was like, "WTF" is he doing?  Years later I happened to ask the GM at the time, Steve Govett, if he ever noticed and he said, "Oh yeah, that's the Victoria Look Back."  It is an amazing way to freeze a goalie.  Watch the clip below of Ryan Lee and watch the goalie's reaction!

The Victoria Look Back is also an amazing way to freeze a defender!  Here's Matt Rambo with an accidental Victoria Look Back for the game winner in last year's PLL Championship game!  Rambo is running right handed towards X, swims back to his left, Landis gets his stick in there, which makes Rambo think he may have lost the ball.  Rambo naturally looks at his stick which freezes Landis and the rest is history!

Here's a JM3 Athlete messing around with Victoria Look Backs in a pick up game!  Watch how the look back hesitation freezes the defender!

Shayne Jackson's Step Back Move

If you haven't seen much of this player, you need to Google his highlights!  The reigning NLL MVP, this understated lefty is a wizard off ball, but has uncanny poise to go along with quickness and toughness.  The clip below is a very interesting use of a physical dodging, a step back, and Multiple Hitches!  The patience is so sick!

Frank Brown Trip Move

A move invented by PLL Chaos Head Coach Andy Towers, the Trip Move is surprisingly rare, given the fact that it almost always results in a huge problem for the defense when the on ball defender falls down!

 

Challen Rogers Insane BTB Hammer

Rogers is a 2x Transition Player of the Year in the NLL because his superior athleticism on defense coupled with his insane skills on offense.  Watch how the Coquitlam Adanacs product uses physicality to set up a hammer of a BTB!  This is pretty insane!

Randy Staats / Challen Rogers 2man Game

Randy Staats is a master in the 2man game.  The NY defense was trying to go under the pick and hedge with the shorty.  Staats knows how to hang up two players in this situation by putting on the breaks just as the defender commits to go under.  I personally think this defensive concept is flawed because it is so easy to get two players on the dodger if you slow down the way Randy does here.  What makes this all the more interesting is the shorty drops his stick and starts pointing at Rogers, who had subtly held the shorty's stick as he was hedging, making this scoring chance a forgone conclusion!  Finally, watch the way Rogers shoots this ball!  It's a classic Low High Wind up where he completely hand cuffs the goalie!   

Randy Staats Diving Backhand

Randy is one of my favorite players to watch and learn from!  In this clip, the defense was playing a COMA slide style of Big-Little 2man Defense where the shorty, who's man is picking, doesn't even go behind, but rather stays in front to slide.  Staats is savvy in the 2man game and deliberately "Invites" the defender over the pick in a permanently trailing position.  The back hand pump just before the full extension of the diving backhand reach is a think of beauty!

Ryan Lee's Diving Overhand / Backhand

Ryan Lee, an Ontario native who is a righty forward for the Colorado Mammoth is an off the charts shooter and finisher!  The shot he makes here is very interesting and I'm not sure if I've seen it before.  The play looks like a classic come around back hand, but then Lee flips the ball in what I would describe is an "Over hand / Backhand motion" that causes the goalie to drop while the ball sails high!  Most backhand shots are reaches and are naturally backhand / sidearm whereas this one the stick starts low and releases vertical.  Very interesting! 

Lyle Thompson One Hand Reach

Lyle Thompson makes the game look so easy!  Here Lyle closes down the cushion of the lefty defender and uses a little jump stop hesitation that was selling right to right, but set up a clean spin move!  Notice Thompson's subtle low fake to get thee goalie to drop as he takes off from just inches past the goal line, reaching over the top and taking the hit from the slider who was just a fraction too late! Ridiculous!

Girls Lacrosse Player Development

I am a proud girl dad and because of that I've put a ton of time into understanding women's lacrosse and trying to find the best ways to help girls develop into high level players!  I coach girls HS lacrosse and I have worked with a ton of girls in my JM3 Athlete Program with exceptional success on the field, in recruiting, and in a love of the game!

Check out this testimonial from the dad of one of my players.  If you think this would be the kind of program you would like for your daughter, feel free to email me at [email protected] .  The JM3 Athlete Program is not for everyone and it is not cheap, but the results have been incredible! 

Another element of the JM3 Athlete Program for girls that is incredibly exciting is the girls truly learn the game at a new level.  A club coach was telling me yesterday that he over heard one of my JM3 Athletes explaining to teammates at a club practice off ball motions that involved her sealing her own man for her teammate to Curl over the top.  This type of knowledge and understanding is rare in men's and women's lacrosse!  This is the type of IQ that provides a huge advantage both on the field and in a coaches office during an interview!

JM3 Girls Lacrosse Academy

In the video testimonial above, this dad references the online content in the JM3 program.  This is the most comprehensive development model you will find anywhere!  Check out this video walk through. 

 The Gait Stick

Make no mistake, the Flex Mesh pocket will change the game of women's lacrosse. The pocket expands with centrifugal force aka cradling and has created the best hold of any women's stick that still throws great!  

My daughters play with these sticks and call them, "The best stick they have ever had!"  Check out the descriptions below:

  

 

If you want to get the JM3 Discount or see more, go to Laxpocket.com and use the coupon code JM3 to get 10% off these incredible sticks!

 

Have a great weekend!