TAKING AND DEFENDING A DIRECT FREE POSITION! by Coach Thomas Neil Zacoi Playing successful women s lacrosse demands that you know and are able to do a lot of things well. And achieving this goal requires using the most important piece of equipment you own which sits on top of your shoulders! You must also remember Routine is your friend, and nowhere in the women s game are these statements more true than when taking a Direct Free Position from the Arc. A Direct Free Position (DFP) is one of the most exciting and challenging restarts in women s lacrosse. Why? If the player is going to shoot, she only has a second or so to do it, and she can t take more than a few steps forward before the defense collapses on her. If this isn t anxiety producing enough, add to it the facts that her teammates, opponents and the umpire are talking and some are being moved, all the coaches and spectators are seemingly screaming at her, the girl who fouled her is breathing down her neck while standing only four meters behind her and she has a dozen questions to quickly answer. It s little wonder a DFP is so nerve racking! Although the game is the best teacher, the following information combined with practice will better prepare you for taking this important and potentially game- changing restart. At the outset please know there is one thing that has to be done every time a girl shoots from a DFP. When the umpire blows the whistle, she must move forward. She can t hesitate or even worse rock backward before running in. Mastering the skill of exploding forward can be facilitated by knowing your anchor foot from your lead foot. And, even after one makes that determination, it s wise to try DFP s with your left foot and your right foot forward to see which works best for you. Legendary golfer Babe Didrikson-Zaharias said, The formula for success is simple: practice and concentrate, then more practice and more concentration. KNOW YOUR LEAD FOOT FROM YOUR ANCHOR FOOT: To determine your lead foot from your anchor foot, you can cross your arms and see which one is underneath. The foot on that side of your body is usually your anchor foot. You can also put your heels together and do some falling starts, noting which foot you step forward with first. Another helpful technique is, from a prone position, jump to your feet; run forward and see which foot moves first. [ 1 ]
PLACING YOUR FEET: When taking a DFP, visualize an Olympic sprinter placing her feet in the starting blocks. Some coaches suggest turning your feet sideways while toeing the line, others tell you to point them straight at the goal. It all boils down to practice and personal preference. The vital point about foot position is what s effective for you! You will see a myriad of set-ups, but they are generally divided into two schools of thought regarding foot placement. The first school teachesthat you should toe the line with your lead foot, put most of your body weight on your anchor foot, and on the umpires whistle, explode forward taking the first step with your lead foot. The second school teaches to toe the line with your anchor foot putting most of your body weight on it. On the umpires whistle, step forward by bringing your back foot in front of your lead foot. Regardless of the technique you employ, it s important to be practiced and confident, set up the same way each time and explode forward on the umpire s whistle. HOLDING THE STICK: Some coaches suggest holding the stick behind your head to hide the ball from the goal keeper while others don t seem to care. Some coaches encourage players to use a stick with yellow shooting strings to camouflage the ball from the keeper, but others think that s ridiculous. Like foot position, you need to be confident, comfortable and hold the stick the same way every time. Remember, it is illegal to hold your stick or have any part of your body inside the Arc prior to the whistle. I can say one thing with absolute certainty, if you are not a quick starter or a fast runner;,it is risky to lift your stick up and back to get more power when you take the shot. A girl on either side of you or the one who fouled you and is standing behind you, may be able to catch you and check your stick from the side or behind. Coach Crista Samaras suggests using a half-stick technique where you hold the stick near the throat and bring your opposite hand half way up the shaft. Her advice is especially good when you have opponents on the adjoining hashes. This shooting style takes practice and you must swing the butt end to the outside of your body. If you don t, you can hit yourself when taking the shot. This is an effective alternative to the traditional vertical or sidearm shot that every accomplished player should have in her arsenal. SETTING UP AND THE MENTAL CHECK LIST: On the whistle and hand signal, and as the umpire is directing you to the closest hash to take the DFP, you should quickly look around and ask yourself the following two questions: [ 2 ]
(1) Is there a teammate or opponent to my left and right; (2) Is the goal keeper left or right handed? Let s examine these questions in depth. TAKING THE SHOT: It s common knowledge that the majority of shots taken by high school players are thrown right to the goal keeper. That said, you can do something about it. Shot selection is important for a number of reasons. It is usually more difficult for the goal keeper to make a non stick-side save. It s also more physically demanding for her to save waist high or lower shots. A ball usually skids and picks up speed on wet surfaces. Bounce and rising shots can be effective but aiming at or in front of the goal keeper s feet is less effective than aiming behind her. Although cradling prior to the umpire s whistle may calm you down, it subliminally distracts your entire body. You would be better off doing a deep breathing or visualization exercise. It is also vitally important not to cradle while running in to take a shot. Pick one square of net to aim at but look in the opposite direction so you don t telegraph it to the goal keeper. If you are positioned at the top of the Arc and have an opponent on the closest stick-side and/or back-side hash, run diagonally toward the goal and away from her. This will give you more space to shoot. If you have opponents on your stick-side and back-side hash, running diagonally will also help boxout the back-side opponent. If you are fleet footed and run in all the way, it is imperative that you make the goal keeper move first (with a fake) before taking the shot. After you ve released the ball continue running forward, looking for a rebound. If you miss, run after the ball with your stick extended if it s going out of bounds. Your momentum may propel you forward fast enough that you could pick up a rebound or be the closest player to a ball going out of bounds. According to Ms. Janine Tucker, head women s lacrosse coach at Johns Hopkins University, It s not just about the player taking the shot; the entire offensive unit needs to be a part of it. Simply put, on the umpire s whistle, four things happen simultaneously: (1) The girl taking the DFP moves; (2) Her closest teammate to the end line is ready to win a shot going out-of-bounds; (3) Her teammates closest to the goal circle are ready to pick up a rebound; (4) Her teammates above the Arc are ready to defend if an opponent wins the ball. If you have a teammate standing on either hash, you are in luck! She can screen the opponent(s) on her side of the field, allowing you to run in unobstructed and take a shot. If there s an opponent on either or both hashes, you must quickly decide: (1) Should I run in and [ 3 ]
shoot; (2) Should I run in diagonally, box one of them out and shoot; (3) Should I reverse my foot position, put the stick in my non dominant hand, run in and shoot; (4) Should I try to surprise the goal keeper and take a long shot without running in; (5) Should I pass the ball to a teammate who is open or who has a better angle to shoot; (6) Should I bounce out and not shoot at all? Once you make these decisions, you must answer the following four questions: (1) If I shoot, where should I aim; left or right, high, middle or low; (2) Am I playing on grass or turf; (3) Is the surface dry or wet; (4) Should I take an over head, rising or a bounce shot? Once you decide all of this, it s time to take the shot! DEFENDING A DIRECT FREE POSITION: Successfully defending a direct free position takes a combination of confidence, intelligence (good decision making), determination, attitude and speed. And, every defender around the Arc has a job. With hard boundaries and the new out-of-bounds rule, it is imperative that your teammate closest to the end line runs with her stick extended to win an errant shot. Teammates positioned to the left and right side of the goal keeper are responsible to pick up rebounds and win ground balls. Your attackers positioned in the midfield must be ready to defend (ride) opponents if the ball turns over and moves up field. The defender(s) positioned on the closest hash(es) to the ball are responsible to block the shot. However, they do not run to the ball carrier. They run with their stick extended to an intermediate (imaginary) target located half way between the ball carrier and the goal keeper. The defender(s) closest to the goal circle are also responsible to block a shot, but they must be ready to pick up a deflection and/or win a ground ball. If a defender is positioned below the goal line extended, it is her responsibility to win an errant shot going out-of-bounds. Lastly, the defender who committed the foul and is position on the Fan directly behind the ball carrier must do one of two things. On the whistle she can either: (1) Chase the attacker and try to back check the ball (which is more often than not, futile), or Coach Tucker has a secret weapon; (2) Encourage her to break out upfield. Now, in the event of a save, the goalie has an immediate outlet upfield in a position to start a fast break. Obviously, if the attack team keeps possession, that same defender or her closest teammate to the Restraining Line must hustle back to play defense. [ 4 ]
I am profoundly grateful to my mentor and colleague, Ms. Cheryl Ann Lassen,for editing this work. She is a phenomenal coach, member of the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a tremendous role model for girls, and has singlehandedly done more for women s lacrosse than any other person in Western Pennsylvania. I also want to acknowledge Coach Janine Tucker, as well as, Coach Crista Samaras for their world-class instruction and sage advice. I strongly suggest you purchase their books, video tapes and magazine articles. A lot of girls feel like they need to wear what everyone else is wearing. But it s good to have your own trend. People will start following it. Miley Cyrus [ 5 ]