with John Galloway,
University of Jacksonville Head Coach; former Providence College Assistant Coach;
Team USA Co-Captain; Goalie - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Gold medal);
Dallas Rattlers Goalie (2011 - present); 3x Goaltender of the Year Award (2014, 2016 & in 2018 shared the award with Niko Amato):
2x First Team All-American Goalie at Syracuse University, Goalie on 2008 & 2009 NCAA Championship teams (Syracuse);
2x Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award winner (nation's best goalkeeper), Galloway is the second goalkeeper in history to be named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy; recorded most wins for a goalie in NCAA history (59), ranks seventh in the NCAA history in goals against average (7.33)
Before an offense can start a season, it needs to have a set of tenets, or offensive principles, in place that allow its players to be creative on the field, while still having a set of guidelines to fall back on.
John Galloway, Jacksonville's head coach, takes you into the classroom and onto the field as he teaches you how to build the foundation of an offense. In the classroom, he introduces Jacksonville's fundamental offensive concepts and then discusses the science behind their offense, plus how he puts together an offense from year-to-year based on his personnel. Then, Coach Galloway takes you on the field where he presents 15 drills designed around Jacksonville's offensive tenets and rooted in science; these drills include a progressive series of seven shooting drills that simulate game situations from specific areas of the field.
Offensive Principles
Before an offense can take the field, it needs to have in place its offensive tenets: a set of guiding principles that would allow anyone to step onto the field with Galloway's team and understand what they were trying to accomplish on offense. In this section, Galloway presents the foundation of his offense that gives the players and coaches something to fall back on if the offense starts to break down. These tenets include:
- Being a threat to score anywhere on the field
- 'Gassing your cuts'
- Six men with one voice
Science of an Offense
With these principles always in mind, Coach Galloway teaches you how to create an offense that has a solid foundation that can remain adaptable based on your personnel. The science of any offense has four pillars you can always rely on:
- Using dodges to eliminate on-ball defenders
- Being sneaky and lively off-ball to eliminate defenders
- Shooting efficiently with proper overhand form
- Dictating the pace of the game by letting the ball do the work with precision passing
On the Field
Next, Galloway moves from the classroom to the practice field, where he presents 15 drills, including a progressive series of shooting drills, all designed with Jacksonville's offensive tenets in mind. He runs his players through a series of drills that improve dodging, overhand shooting and off-ball movement, all of which can be adapted to fit your offensive needs and personnel.
Drag vs. Dice
In this featured drill, the ball carrier's goal is simple - eliminate their defender. Dodging skinny with their shoulders, the ball carrier does everything they can to make their defender's job difficult and draw a slide. When the slide comes, the ball carrier has to escape to the sideline with their feet, roll away and find the open man, all the while keeping in mind that if they bail on the dodge too early, the defense will have too much time to recover. This drill toggles between a dodge up top and from behind the cage. As a bonus component, your defenders can work on effective double teams by turning the ball carrier back to a specific spot on the field with a ready slide.
After spending 20 years watching offenses try to score on his defense, Coach Galloway has learned what works on offense and what doesn't. What he presents in this video is sure to help your own program develop a successful offense.
59 minutes. 2019.
LXD-05503B:
with John Galloway,
University of Jacksonville Head Coach; former Providence College Assistant Coach;
Team USA Co-Captain; Goalie - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Gold medal);
Dallas Rattlers Goalie (2011 - present); 3x Goaltender of the Year Award (2014, 2016 & in 2018 shared the award with Niko Amato):
2x First Team All-American Goalie at Syracuse University, Goalie on 2008 & 2009 NCAA Championship teams (Syracuse);
2x Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award winner (nation's best goalkeeper), Galloway is the second goalkeeper in history to be named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy; recorded most wins for a goalie in NCAA history (59), ranks seventh in the NCAA history in goals against average (7.33)
The riding game is more than just your attackmen swinging their sticks at long pole defenders. A truly effective ride requires a full-field effort from all of your players, from your attackmen to your close defenders.
In this video, the University of Jacksonville's John Galloway presents an aggressive ride high on energy and long on team effort. Coach Galloway ensures that the attackman, the midfielders and the close defenders all know their jobs and work together from one end of the field to the other.
Phase 1 - Prevent the Breakout
In Phase 1, immediately after the clearing team gains possession of the ball, the riding team must do everything it can to prevent transition going the other way. Here, Galloway first walks you through the job of the attackman, emphasizing their need to immediately get in the face of the ball carrier and cover the floater and the clearing midfielder opposite the substitution box. Then, he shows you how the three midfielders drop to the midline, led by the Honcho, and the substitution pattern for getting the LSM onto the field. Finally, Galloway shows how the close defenders "cover the jersey" of the clearing attackman and take them out of the play.
Phase 2 -Seesaw Technique
Phase 2 begins after the initial ball carrier passes out of trouble and the clearing team sets up its clear. The attackmen drop back to the midfield line in thirds, with the near-ball attackmen jumping the ball carrier with an Ace Approach. The midfielders, meanwhile, also back covering thirds, begin their seesaw technique. The near-ball midfielder jumps up with the defending attackman, as the two try to catch the ball carrier in a double team along the sideline and force a turnover or pass. The other two midfielders, working in unison with the on-ball midfielder, get heavy and deep to prevent any transition, seesawing back and forth as the ball crosses the field.
Phase 3 - Getting Back In
In the event the clearing team gets across the midfield line, Phase 3 kicks in with a "Fire" call. The midfielders and close defenders drop back into the hole and must match up quickly to defend from the inside-out and pipes up. Any poor off-ball pressure can be made up for with strong on-ball pressure as the defense tries to snuff out any odd-man scenarios as quickly as possible.
Coach Galloway's approach to riding makes the difficult task of putting together a full-field ride easy for any coach to learn and team to implement. If you're searching for answers for your team's riding effort, look no further!
62 minutes. 2019.
LXD-05503C:
with John Galloway,
University of Jacksonville Head Coach; former Providence College Assistant Coach;
Team USA Co-Captain; Goalie - 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World Championship (Gold medal);
Dallas Rattlers Goalie (2011 - present); 3x Goaltender of the Year Award (2014, 2016 & in 2018 shared the award with Niko Amato):
2x First Team All-American Goalie at Syracuse University, Goalie on 2008 & 2009 NCAA Championship teams (Syracuse);
2x Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award winner (nation's best goalkeeper), Galloway is the second goalkeeper in history to be named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy; recorded most wins for a goalie in NCAA history (59), ranks seventh in the NCAA history in goals against average (7.33)
In today's game, a successful goaltender needs to do more than just stop shots. They need to initiate the clearing game, become an offensive trigger and even step out as a seventh defensive player.
This video featuring Jacksonville's head coach John Galloway takes you right onto the field and begins building up the skills required to become a 60-minute goaltender. He begins literally from the ground up, introducing the foundations of a proper stance, from the goaltender's feet to their hands. From there, Galloway shifts to an extensive warm-up routine that does so much more than just get a goaltender's body ready for a game.
Through a progressive series of drills Galloway develops all of the skills necessary to become an elite goaltender, from making kick saves to suffocating the ball and controlling rebounds. Not content with just a shot-stopping goaltender, Coach Galloway introduces a drill designed to turn a goaltender into a seventh defender who jumps into passing lanes and ends possessions before a shot is even taken.
Building a Foundation
Warming up a goalie isn't as simple as calling out a corner and taking a shot. Through a series of 10 drills, Coach Galloway teaches you how to not only properly warm up a goaltender, but also build up their skill and technique along the way.
Starting with Footie, a drill designed to teach a goalie to get their hips through a save in order to control the ball, Galloway begins every warm-up below the goaltender's waist, first rolling balls at the feet and then shooting low corners in the Corners drill. Each drill in the warm-up period is designed to get a different part of the goaltender's body prepared to make a save, ultimately working in unison.
Footwork and Mobility
Of course, for the goaltender to be able to explode to the ball, make the save and control the rebound, they must have excellent footwork and hip mobility. This next series of drills is all about explosiveness and preparing the body to reset before each shot and then explode to the ball, first with the hands, then the feet, and then the hips. Each drill is designed to eliminate false steps and help the goaltender learn to attack the ball.
More Than Just a Shot Stopper
Finally, recognizing the potential for the goaltender to be an aggressive and disruptive force, Coach Galloway demonstrates how a goaltender can become another defender and shut down an offense before it can even take a shot. Acknowledging the risk but appreciating the potential reward, he teaches a goaltender how to determine whether a ball carrier intends to shoot or pass and then jump out into pass lanes when appropriate to stymie the opponent's attack.
This video from Coach Galloway will teach you exactly what it takes to become a championship goaltender as well as how to train elite goalies yourself!
56 minutes. 2019.