The poke check

[sammyduelist]

ive got a question on the poke check

Do i use both my hands to thrust it or just my bottom hand?

[NuKoN]

Its more your bottom hand.. and make sure not to lunge with your feet.

[Dose]

use your top hand to guide the stick and your bottom hand to push

[sammyduelist]

Its more your bottom hand.. and make sure not to lunge with your feet.
what do you mean by lunging

[marflax33]

what do you mean by lunging

Take a step forward or fall forward from the momentum of the check. Theres no need to go that hard.

edit- My technique. Usually, being quicker than most around here, i can get myself into a position where i can poke between their 2 hands, providing they arnt one hand cradleing. I go straight through the gap, and follow through with my shoulder. Unless they swim move me, or switch to one hand and somehow manage to keep the ball (very unlikely) it gets it done. Or i just poke them in gaps of the padding, than they might get way mad and make bad descisions, but thats not my usual style. Only if im desperate.

[fossil8412]

My coach overly stresses the importance of the poke check. He feels that a proper poke check is striking someone in the sternum as hard as you can. In my opinion, that would result in a lunge and is simply immoral in the lacrosse book of morals and ethics.

[NDKnights157]

My coach overly stresses the importance of the poke check. He feels that a proper poke check is striking someone in the sternum as hard as you can. In my opinion, that would result in a lunge and is simply immoral in the lacrosse book of morals and ethics.


yeah i agree with the unethical part

[Kwick_STX]

If you do take a step forward on a poke check, then any good attackmen will time it up and either split or face dodge you and he'll be gone.

I'm an attackmen so I don't know if it's "right," but some of the good defenders I've seen go so far as to take a step back when poking.

[sammyduelist]

ok thanks, also, where should i aim in poke checks?

[Dose]

i usually aim for the gloves or the stomach. a good move is the poke and lift. when theyre about to pass the ball, poke their gloves and lift them up

[Kwick_STX]

Between the hands is where I get them the most if that helps. Or on my bottom hand.

[iplaylax22]

the power comes form your bottonm hand but our top hand should guide it

[stegmakk]

do not lunge with pokes...gets you off balance and out of position...
when running with someone i poke bottom hand (poke and lift) or if you can poke in between the stick and his body (poke and pry)...
if from up top or behind and the guy is taking a run at you they are going to either face or roll or bull dodge...either way the stick will move to at least midway across their body...a check aimed at the chest area (timed as the stick is crossing) is a good poke...
dont go to high with pokes because if you get a part where your stick can slide up you have a good chance of getting a facemask

[JerseyD540]

If you do take a step forward on a poke check, then any good attackmen will time it up and either split or face dodge you and he'll be gone.

I'm an attackmen so I don't know if it's "right," but some of the good defenders I've seen go so far as to take a step back when poking.
Taking a dropstep when poking is a very good technique. By doing this you ensure you dont overplay them and you gain position by being one step ahead

[the next 'one']

you really want to use both hands, the top hand to guide the stick to where you want it to hit the other guy, and your bottom hand to thrust it forward. also remember to keep your feet squared, so if he gets by you, you dont let him blow on past you, you have your body still to stop him.

[dschrammie]

As a d-pole, it's important that you keep good footing. Don't crossover on your side step, stay square and watch the hips. Don't be fooled by what the player's doing with his stick. We teach our high schoolers that the poke check is the least used and most effective check. The players that listen to us do well...the ones that don't listen to us end up in the penalty box (because of ridiculous attempts at slap checks, or better termed 'slash' checks).
The lunging that others have mentioned will be your demise. You must control yourself. Play good position d with controlled pokes and the guy you're playing will very likely make the mistake.
If he's one-handing, then you know he's not passing/shooting...he's gonna try to take you. I try to just play good position d so that I'm the one calling the shots on where he goes. At the same time, I try to time his cradle...most players have a very defined cadence to their cradle. So if you time it right you can get your stick past the player's torso and in the way of their cradle. Don't force it though...that'll turn into the self-destructing lunge and the player will either swim or roll on you. So I just try to time it and if the player tries the swim or roll, my positioning has me ready to cut him off and force him outside.
If he has 2 hands on the stick then you have to be prepared for the fact that he can do something with the ball. Again, your positioning is extremely important, but this is also where we incorporate the combination 'poke & lift'. Make sure you're messing with their bottom hand...they'll either mess up their throw, or they'll take the ball back outside and look to dump it to somebody else.
Side note...while you're taking the man with the ball you'd better hear the rest of the defense calling the slide package! If I don't hear anyone yelling it then I start calling it out - "who's got the go?!!" Communication is what makes a good defense great.

[Longpole5435]

yeah i agree with the unethical part

Are you kidding?
That is one of the better ways to break a drive by an offensive player with your first check. Sternum, or hip are good aiming points

[sammyduelist]

ok thanks
our season ended pretty badly but i cant say i did extremely terrible although there is alwys room for improvement

[zanderaruba]

ok thanks
our season ended pretty badly but i cant say i did extremely terrible although there is alwys room for improvement
ya samson the season ended pretty bad. i am rly pissed i got sick and missed the 2 last games. u did well. tons of improvement. i look foward to playing wit u next yr

[The Playmaker]

Acually, there are two different checks (I use both) that you can throw that work/look like a regular poke check. The first is obviously a poke check, in which you use your bottom hand to poke their gloves. The second is more of a stab, where you used both of your hands. When you stab, people will usually go from a stab check to a two-handed takeaway check. I use the stab to push the attackmans bottom hand down when he lifts his hands to pass/shoot, but not to where it lets the ball release, and when he tries to pass/shoot, use the momentum of him bringing his hands up to make the lift more affective.

[sammyduelist]

ya samson the season ended pretty bad. i am rly pissed i got sick and missed the 2 last games. u did well. tons of improvement. i look foward to playing wit u next yr
thanks im looking forward to play with you next year too


Acually, there are two different checks (I use both) that you can throw that work/look like a regular poke check. The first is obviously a poke check, in which you use your bottom hand to poke their gloves. The second is more of a stab, where you used both of your hands. When you stab, people will usually go from a stab check to a two-handed takeaway check. I use the stab to push the attackmans bottom hand down when he lifts his hands to pass/shoot, but not to where it lets the ball release, and when he tries to pass/shoot, use the momentum of him bringing his hands up to make the lift more affective.
i guess this season ive done more stabbing then poking , i sorta just jabbed them with 2 hands, but i never went for a takeaway check and stuff because i didnt want to over play
in what position would it be not over playing?

[UNCdefense]

in what position would it be not over playing?
i have no idea how to answer that question cause i odn't udnerstand what you were asking but this stab thign the "playmaker" was talking about doesn't make much sense...that's just another name to sayw hat we've been saying not to do & in your post u said u use it...either way another thing i'd like to note is you said after you stab u push down on their hands this can be effective if they're just holidng their stick still but pushing down on their bottom hand when htey're shooting/passing is just going to help them shoot or pass...Unless they have a lot of whip or something the pass/shoot will go jsut as normal completely unaffected......A better choice of check when someone is going to shoot or pass is to either lift that bottom hand or if you're accurate & fast enough as they bring the stick forward you can poke check the upper part of the shaft to disrupt their flow.....I odn't know if any of that is what you meant or what but I got completely lost in your post & all I could pull out of it was something about stabbing w/ the stick

[sammyduelist]

overplaying as is committing to much

[UNCdefense]

Well, you can overplay them in almost any direction ti's not just a distance thing it's also a position thing...Distance wise you needa be close enough to them to throw checks but not so close that there's only 1 or 2 ft between yall because then u have less time to react to their cuts/dodges...generally speaking I would say a little less then your sticks length..whatever u feel comfortable with
another way you can be out of position is playing too much to one side....after a while you'll learn to play more to their strong side & leave their weak side open but for now just focus on staying between them & the goal & giving yourself some room to anticipate/react to what they're doing

[sammyduelist]

ok thanks
would playing them more on their strong side force them to go out? just a question

[CnSLax3]

Try to take away their strong side be steppinbg to their left/right (which every his is) and force them to their weak side, if they try to power their way on their strong side lay them out.

[sammyduelist]

but lets say they are a righty coming up their right side, and i force them to go towards their week side, i would be driving them towards the middle and i dont want that do i?

[CnSLax3]

Its not as bad if u get beat to his weak side and plus the slide should come. And say he's coming right hard push left and maybe step back and intercept him on the left side, u don't have to play right on him u can give alittle room so u don't get beat. Try to funnel him to the sideline.

[Longpole5435]

but lets say they are a righty coming up their right side, and i force them to go towards their week side, i would be driving them towards the middle and i dont want that do i?
YOu drive him down the side and give him his strong hand.

[carolinafreak]

use your bottom hand to push and your top hand to guide it
*275*

[sammyduelist]

Its not as bad if u get beat to his weak side and plus the slide should come. And say he's coming right hard push left and maybe step back and intercept him on the left side, u don't have to play right on him u can give alittle room so u don't get beat. Try to funnel him to the sideline.
What do you mean, im a bit confused
What im saying is if im playing the top left, and im playing him and he begins to drive. if i force him to his weak side, that would be forcing him towards the middle and ive been told to never do that
so should i do that, or give him his strong hand and force him to the side away from the goal

[Longpole5435]

What do you mean, im a bit confused
What im saying is if im playing the top left, and im playing him and he begins to drive. if i force him to his weak side, that would be forcing him towards the middle and ive been told to never do that
so should i do that, or give him his strong hand and force him to the side away from the goal

As i said, you send him down the alley, giving him his strong hand. It is a cardinal sin to give a ballcarrier the middle of the field (or topside for that matter).

[sammyduelist]

ok gotcha
amd whats the best way to force some one to where you want them to? body posistioning so that your in the way so he doesnt go where you dont want him to or checking them on the side you dont want them to go?

[Longpole5435]

ok gotcha
amd whats the best way to force some one to where you want them to? body posistioning so that your in the way so he doesnt go where you dont want him to or checking them on the side you dont want them to go?

You should turn your body as if to block the ballcarrier and have the long part of your stick blocking the same way.. Few will try to run through this. If they do, throw a hard poke at their hip/stomach/chest and then punch hard with your hands.

[Jesse]

Are you kidding?
That is one of the better ways to break a drive by an offensive player with your first check. Sternum, or hip are good aiming points
I agree. It stops the attaker from dodging. And also im much bigger and it can make them very unbalanced and suprise them.

[sammyduelist]

whats the best way to practice the form and accuracy of your poke checks??

[dschrammie]

Been a while since I've been in here. Anyway, when it comes to forcing the player one way or the other, I think that's going to depend on a couple of things. If I'm playing point (whether I'm a shorty defender or playing pole) and the ball is coming down the center, then I try to dictate where he will go by using my body positioning...usually that's forcing him to go to my right, in other words to his left hand. Now if the ball is coming from the wings or from X, then I force the player away from the middle. I'm not going for any take away checks because I'm trying to force the player into our defense's slide...and that's the other thing that's important here. The defense MUST understand the slide package and be able to depend on everyone doing what they're supposed to do. That means constant communication from everyone on defense, especially because the 1st, 2nd and 3rd slide will constantly be changing as the ball moves.

But back to the poke check. I personally agree with UNCdefense, I would not be trying a "stab" for the poke...that is usually going to make a player over-commit. I'm not saying it always does...and if it works for someone, fine...I just would NEVER teach that technique to any of my players. Also I never teach them to force the bottom hand down (which appeared to be the suggestion to go along with the "stab" technique). This does not mess up the ball handler's throw very much...he'd still be able to get a pass or shot off easily. I always teach that you LIFT the bottom hand. This will totally mess up the player's ability to get a good shot/pass off.

As far as the "best" way to practice form and accuracy...hmmm, well, form you can practice on your own. You can practice side-stepping while throwing pokes and just get a feel for how hard and how far you can throw the check WITHOUT any lunging or over-committing. When it comes to accuracy, you just have to get out and do it with another player. If you can, try to change up who you practice against because everyone has a different style and a different cadence to his cradle. You'll want to try to learn how to time the checks based on that cadence, as well as timing when to add the lift (I don't lift off of every poke...I change it up so the player doesn't get a feel for what's coming next...poke-lift...poke-poke-poke-lift...poke....poke....etc).
And remember, your positioning is VERY important. Don't get so stuck on watching his stick and trying to nail the poke that you forget to watch the hips...you have to be ready for him to try to swim or roll on you when you throw the poke.