with Jim Stagnitta,
Premier Lacrosse League Head Coach;
former Charlotte Hounds (MLL) Head Coach; former Denver Outlaws Head Coach;
former University of Pennsylvania Assistant Coach; former Rutgers University Head Coach;
2013 and 2016 Brine MLL Coach of the Year; 2013 MLL Runners-Up;
F. Morris Touchstone Award - USILA Division I Coach of the Year (2003)7 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Final Fours
A team can't score if it doesn't have the ball. That's why developing an outstanding face-off player is so critical for every program!
In this video, Jim Stagnitta, with help from Blase Mantineo of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, presents 18 drills designed to train face-off skills. You'll begin with the fundamentals of proper face-off technique before advancing to individual skills, partner drills and then exits, with each drill building off of the previous one. Stagnitta and Mantineo also present in-depth instruction about a variety of counter moves and even counters to an opponent's counters.
Skill Development
A unique and special skill set requires a unique and special set of drills. Here, Stagnitta and Mantineo teach the basics, beginning with proper stance and body positioning before demonstrating several drills designed to increase hand speed and attune the face-off player's reactions to the whistle.
From there, the coaches teach the fundamentals of the clamp. In an individual skills section, they present three drills to build up the face-off player's ability to clamp quickly and effectively, breaking down the required skills to the smallest pieces and adding elements incrementally.
Exits
Securing the clamp is only half the battle, as the face-off player needs to know how and where to escape after securing the ball in the back of their stick. Stagnitta and Mantineo present the four exits every face-off player must learn, emphasizing the importance of recognizing what the opponent is trying to do and how to take the ball away from them. You'll see the fastbreak exit, in which the player goes forward with the hope of scoring a quick goal, and then the defensive exit for when the opponent blocks the fast break. The lesson closes out with two variations of a right shoulder exit that are alternatives for when the opponent blocks the fast break exit.
Counters and Countering Counters
If the opponent is quicker or stronger on the clamp, every good face-off player needs to know how to counter the opponent's opening gambit. Stagnitta and Mantineo give you three counter moves - the Sweep, the Rejam and the Shovel - designed to precisely counter the opponent's strengths.
In the event your face-off player is winning all of the clamps and the opponent begins to counter, you'll also be taught counters to the counters, demonstrating how to counter the Sweep and the Rejam.
Popping to Space
In this featured drill, the face-off player works in conjunction with two wing players. The face-off player, without an opponent, uses all of the skills learned earlier in the video to quickly clamp down on the ball and rotate around, looking for the proper exit. At the same time, the two wing players rotate in conjunction, one staying in line with the butt end of the face-off player's stick and the other directly opposite. The wing players work to stay in line with the face-off player while communicating where they are and where the safe exits are.
This video is a must-have for any coach or team looking to improve its performance in face-offs. The face-off is broken down to its most fundamental elements and is presented in an easy to understand way that can be taught at any level.
44 minutes. 2019.
LXD-05489B:
with Jim Stagnitta,
Premier Lacrosse League Head Coach;
former Charlotte Hounds (MLL) Head Coach; former Denver Outlaws Head Coach;
former University of Pennsylvania Assistant Coach; former Rutgers University Head Coach;
2013 and 2016 Brine MLL Coach of the Year; 2013 MLL Runners-Up;
F. Morris Touchstone Award - USILA Division I Coach of the Year (2003)7 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Final Fours
With over 30 years of coaching experience, Jim Stagnitta understands the importance of building skills and fundamentals from the ground up. This is particularly true when it comes to stick skills and shooting, which are the most critical components to any successful offense. In this video, Coach Stagnitta shares his philosophy on the fundamentals of stickhandling and shooting, building up each set of skills through a series of progressions.
Altogether, you'll get 25 drills designed to turn quality athletes into quality ball handlers and shooters. Beginning with basic stickwork drills appropriate for all levels of play, Stagnitta introduces five basic concepts, each with a number of variations that turn one drill into several. Putting players into more game-like scenarios, Coach Stagnitta adds a layer to the simple pass and catch, introducing live play drills complete with dodges, roll backs and step backs to avoid a sliding defenseman.
The second half of the video shifts the focus to shooting, literally starting from the ground up as players work on their shooting form from their knees. With each drill building on the last, Stagnitta presents more than 10 shooting drills, all of which can be adapted to suit your team.
Basic Stickwork
Keeping things simple, Coach Stagnitta starts with four variations of the traditional partner passing drill. Foregoing outdated line drills altogether, Stagnitta then shifts to drills that not only require three or four players, but more importantly require players to catch and throw on the move while focusing on form and technique.
Live Play
With so many offensive sets triggering with an individual dodge from the top of the box, it's important for the dodger to know exactly what to do if they draw a slide and can't get a shot off. Here, Stagnitta teaches that exact skill by having his players run through a couple variations. After initiating with a dodge and running down the alley, players first throw their sticks to the sideline and roll back to pass the ball back up top. Anticipating early slides, Stagnitta introduces a variation on the roll back, as his players step away from the slide and pull pass across their body.
Shooting
Presented through the lens of his trademark belief in progressive skill development, Coach Stagnitta gives you nearly a dozen shooting drills that vary in skill level, all of which are rooted in the fundamentals. An emphasis is placed on proper form and technique, with Stagnitta stressing the need for the back shoulder to finish toward the opposite pipe in the first drill and the last.
Coach Stagnitta gets his players moving with a short series of drills that begin with a quick dodge and a quick release. Position-specific exercises follow, including drills that emphasize overhand form and shooting after contact. Adding one last piece, Stagnitta runs his players through a final series that requires a feed, a catch, a dodge and a shot, all while using the form and technique built throughout the video.
The depth of this presentation is outstanding, but Coach Stagnitta relays everything in a way that is easy to follow for programs of any level. Improve your athletes' stickhandling and shooting abilities today!
55 minutes. 2019.
LXD-05489C:
with Jim Stagnitta,
Premier Lacrosse League Head Coach;
former Charlotte Hounds (MLL) Head Coach; former Denver Outlaws Head Coach;
former University of Pennsylvania Assistant Coach; former Rutgers University Head Coach;
2013 and 2016 Brine MLL Coach of the Year; 2013 MLL Runners-Up;
F. Morris Touchstone Award - USILA Division I Coach of the Year (2003)7 NCAA tournament appearances, 2 Final Fours
It's not enough to just be a good defender or have good stick skills. In the modern game of lacrosse, in order to be a complete defenseman, a player must have the ability to stop the opponent from scoring a goal and then pick the ball up off the ground and create scoring opportunities in the clearing game.
In this video, Jim Stagnitta takes you through a series of drills that hone in on the fundamentals necessary to become a complete defenseman. Beginning with simple stick handling drills, Coach Stagnitta presents 12 drills that build upon each other. With an intense focus on the details and fundamentals of defensive footwork, Stagnitta presents five progressions to build proper approach technique.
Stick Handling and Offensive Skills
Every defenseman must be able to get the ball off the ground, move it up the field and create transition. Through a series of four simple drills that can be adapted for any level, Coach Stagnitta demonstrates the proper technique for picking up ground balls and how to complete all of the passes a defenseman will need to make with a long pole. From there, he introduces a clearing drill with multiple iterations, turning one drill into several. This section culminates with a simple and fun continuous shooting drill that incorporates defensemen, midfielders and goalies.
Defensive Footwork
After Coach Stagnitta gets his defensemen catching and throwing like offensive players, he runs them through a series of defensive footwork drills. Focusing on the details and layering one on top of the other, Stagnitta clearly and concisely lays out the steps any player can follow to become a great defender. With these fundamentals in place, he introduces three live drills, each of which can be adapted and modified for the appropriate level, that put these skills to the test against live offensive players.
Live Approach to the Ball
The final drill of the video, Coach Stagnitta's Live Approach to the Ball drill, pits a lone defender against three offensive players who are stationed around the perimeter. The defender starts in the middle where they can see all three offensive players. A feeder makes a pass at random to any of the three offensive players. The defender must approach the ball carrier using all of the fundamentals taught earlier in the video before going 1v1 against the ball carrier, aiming to keep the ball carrier away from the middle of the field.
This is a great video that will show you exactly how to build up a defenseman step-by-step on both the offensive and defensive end of the field!
53 minutes. 2019.