Drills For Timing The Bow Tie

Originally Published in: Lacrosse Essentials - Provided by: Human Kinetics

The following drills, shown in figures 3.7 to 3.9, are competitive drills with active defenders. Each drill follows the same setup and execution. All these drills isolate important parts of the offense. Once players master the individual parts, put them together for the complete offensive package.

Setup

Begin as in a 3v2 drill and work your way up to a 4v4 drill. In the 3v2 drill, the feeder is uncovered, which gives him an opportunity to learn how to read the defense.

Execution

The feeder, working on his timing and footwork, has the opportunity to read the defense without being concerned that a defender is guarding him. After the two creasemen (A2 and M3) learn the timing and spacing, add a third defenseman to cover the attack man at X (3v3).

BOW TIES (3V2)

In the 3v2, defenders cover the two creasemen, and the feeder at X is uncovered.

An attackman (Al) works on feeding the bow tie. The onside creaseman (A2) picks for the offside creaseman (M3) at the offside pipe about 5 yards off the GLE (see figure 3.7). The drill emphasizes that the onside cut (M3) drives off the pick by A2 as the feeder. (Al) plants his foot at the GLE. The pass to the onside cutter is made on the first step back from the GLE. The feed to the offside cutter (A2) is made on the second step back from the GLE.

BOW TIES (3V3)

This drill is the same as the 3v2, but adds a third defenseman (see figure 3.8). The feeding attackman must drive hard from X to the cage as if he were going to shoot. He must believe he is a threat to dodge and shoot at all times. If he beats his man, he must read the defense and react accordingly. If no defensive player slides to back up and cover him and he has beaten his man, he must be able to shoot. If someone slides to him, he must read the defense and find the open man. The key is to teach all offensive players how to read the defense and find the open men. This can only be accomplished through practice and repetition. A portion of practice has to be devoted to this teaching technique every day.

The second part of the drill is for the attackman to get separation from his defenseman, which allows space to feed. This is the most important part of the bow tie because you can't always count on beating the defenseman, but you can always create separation so that you have space to feed. It is important for players to master these skills. Although there are many aspects of the game that you may not be able to control, you can control this aspect of the game. Feeding bow tie and shooting bow tie demand nearly perfect execution to be effective. They must be practiced every day.

BOW TIES (4V4)

Add a second feeder to work on mirroring, roll throwbacks, and timing maneuvers. Mirroring is when two players, usually one with the ball and the other without the ball, rotate to position themselves directly across from one another. Typically, this involves rotating around the crease. The two attackmen behind can work on their two-man game as well as their bow-tie feeds. They can either mirror each other or pick for each other behind (see figure 3.9). The attackmen only feed when the timing is right. They control the offense. It is comparable to a football quarterback. In lacrosse, whoever has the ball controls the tempo. If players are patient and execute, they will control the game. This is the area they are able to control.