Off-Ball Defense – Location on the Field

By: Don Zimmerman and Peter England

Originally Published in: Men's Lacrosse

Provided by: Human Kinetics

When playing off-ball defense, a general rule is that the closer your man is to the goal, the more of a threat he is to receive a pass - and the more you have to focus on him (compared to focusing on the ball). You adjust to where your man is located on the field in relation to the goal. The fundamentals include vision or focus (man versus ball), body position (square versus opened up), and cushion (tight or loose). Your mental and physical focus changes depending on where your man is located in relation to the goal and to the ball. Your vision, body position, and cushion will changed based on where your opponent is on the field.

The area of the field in front of the goal is a place of keen defensive interest. Off-ball defenders have to balance watching their man and watching the ball base on their man's distance from the goal. This area can be broken up into three zones (see figure 9.2), and each zone has specific rules for off-ball defenders to apply.

• Red zone (GLE to 8 yards out) - If your man is in the red zone, you should have 90 percent of your attention on him and 10 percent on the ball. Even inside, you still have 10 percent of your attention on the ball. You can never solely focus only on the ball or on your man. Your body position is square to the opponent. In the red zone, you get really tight, provide no cushion, and automatically switch.
• Yellow zone (8 to 15 yards out) - If your man is in the yellow zone, your focus is now 50-50 (50 percent on your man and 50 percent on the ball). You start to open up your hips into a "half" body position. You tighten it up but provide more cushion than in the red zone. A pick may be a bit more urgent than in the green zone because an attacker can pop for the ball and then catch and shoot. The rule on switching is that it's up to the discretion of the defenders.
• Green zone (15 to 20 yards out) - If your man is in the green zone, your attention is 70 percent on the ball and 30 percent on your man. You use an opened-up body position. In the green zone, you provide lots of cushion. Defenders have no need to automatically switch on picks because there is a lot of cushion and defenders can get through the picks.

In addition, off-ball defense is about adjusting to the movement of your man and the movement of the ball. Your man will move along the perimeter, from the perimeter to the inside, and from the inside back to the perimeter. Here are some rules to follow based on whether your man is on the perimeter or on the inside:

• If your man is on the perimeter, you should play between your man and the goal, shading to the ball side. You can afford to allow some cushion.
• If your man is on the crease inside and the ball is out front, you should play between your man and the ball (topside)and allow very little cushion. If your man is inside and someone throws the ball to him, you want to be in the passing lane and minimize the direct path of the ball to him. If you play behind him, he can cut directly to the ball, meet the ball, and then turn and shoot. If you play behind him and you need to slide upfield to help a teammate, your slide will be longer, and you may be sealed off more easily by opponents on the crease.

Let's look at a few scenarios to illustrate these concepts. The first scenario explains how an off-ball defender will adjust his approach based on the movement of his man from the perimeter to the inside. The second scenario explains adjustments on movement from the perimeter to the inside with a give-and-go. The third scenario explains adjustments on movement from the perimeter to the inside and then back to the perimeter.

Scenario 1

Midfielder 1 has the ball out top; midfielder 2 is on the perimeter with his defender. If midfielder 2 takes his defender to the crease (cuts inside), the defender must turn and adjust his position so that when he is inside and the ball is out front, he is now playing topside with no cushion. If the defender doesn't adjust his position and continues to play between midfielder 2 and the goal, midfielder 2 can cut back for the ball and shoot (see figure 9.3).

Scenario 2

Midfielder 1 is out top; midfielder 2 has the ball out top with his defender. Midfielder 2 throws the ball to midfielder 1 on the perimeter and cuts down for the ball (give-and-go). The defender uses proper give-and-go defense by opening up to the ball and his man. As midfielder 2 starts to cut, the defender plays between his man and the goal, shading to the ball side. As midfielder 2 gets closer inside, the defender needs to adjust to a topside position with no cushion because midfielder 2 can pop out from the crease to get the ball (see figure 9.4).

Scenario 3

The attackman has the ball behind the goal at position 2. The midfielder is at position 3 on the perimeter with his defender. The defender drops his midfielder and gives him cushion. The defender is playing between his man and the goal (man-goal position), giving the midfielder a lot of cushion. The midfielder cuts directly toward the attackman. If the defender plays man-gaol, the midfielder has a clearer path to the feed. If the defender plays man-goal, but "shades" more to the ball side, then the midfielder has to arc away from the feed. If the midfielder is not open for a feed, he will go back out top to the perimeter. The defender recovers out top, giving the midfielder more cushion, and changers from playing ball side to playing the man-goal perimeter position. The following drill will help players learn the proper technique for making adjustments on defense (see figure 9.5).