Face-off beginner

[ftDpole35]

I have been playing defence for just over 2 years now, and I am pretty good. On varsity I play LSM and get in on man down and such- this season hopefully Ill start for my junior year. Anyway... at the JV level -where I play my winter league games- all of our middies suck. I dont say that to be mean, but they have horrible stick skills, are slow, and never come off the field on penalties.

Ive been talking to the guys on my team, and Im going to start taking face offs in a week. (tomorow night I might take a few with my d-pole) I did some trades on tlf and managed to get a descent swizzle, and a nicely strung answer (I hope they're good for F/O's) but I am yet to develop any F/O skills. Ive read the two face off tutorials, and I think that they have really helped me, but I need some drills to practice.

I have the jump and clamp down pretty well (considering I kept on practicing it until my arms nearly fell off) but the push and half clamp I cant really get. The push I believe that Im having trouble with because i think that I dont have my right arm low enough. The half clamp (where you pop the ball up for all you fogo experts) it may be because I am practicing with my revo pro.

Any advice on this would be great - Also, I couldnt really find anything on what kind of stance i should be crouched in. Sorry If its a long read, but please help!

[Psycogk023]

"I couldnt really find anything on what kind of stance i should be crouched in[QUOTE]"
Ftdpole35- it is mostly all preference, jsut keep adjusting your self until you can find something comfortable where you can allow your hands to have little to no weight on them, for quick moves. Also practice using your body and moving your feet after the whistle so you can get good position to rake the ball out to yourself or your wingmen.

[MACDADDY]

just get your team F/O guy to do faceoffs with you till you find your style of play. after you find your style, start practicing.

[ftDpole35]

alright. Ill talk to him on monday- any other advice would be sweet

[faceofflax15]

The answer will warp pretty fast though, We've discussed numberous ways to work on FO's in the Fo thread.

[Gannonthecannon]

dude....use your pole... i take draws with my pole and i find i can use the leverage to work it out pretty well, and if you lose, well heck just stand up and break his arms

[MaKiMaKi13]

check all the face off stickies that are posted at the top of this forum

[Blue]

The answer will warp pretty fast though, We've discussed numberous ways to work on FO's in the Fo thread.

I agree with everything you say about the answer. This is my answer after 1/2 a season of facing off.

http://www.imagesocket.com/view/IMG_2905dcb.JPG
http://www.imagesocket.com/view/IMG_2907ec2.JPG

This is the second time i have posted these pictures, but they do get the point across.

[murderlax]

The half clamp (where you pop the ball up for all you fogo experts) it may be because I am practicing with my revo pro.

Any advice on this would be great - Also, I couldnt really find anything on what kind of stance i should be crouched in. Sorry If its a long read, but please help!

yea the move you're talking about is the plunger. this move is a little harder with stiff heads but it works really well. but beacause LSM's have to have a stiffer head for checking, it's a little harder to get certain moves down. i actually prefer a more flexible head, but i have gotton used to using a more stiff one,(razer pro)

o and if you play LSM, (like me), try to face with your pole. i dont find it any harder really.

[stinisonfire]

>Stance/Set-up:

The correct stance is one of the most important aspects of the face-off. There are many ways you can set up for a face-off, everyone has there own style. But it is important to remember these three tips:

1. Don't put any weight on your hands when setting up, you should be able to lift your hands off the ground when doing a face-off and still keep your balance. Also not putting a lot of weight on your hands allows you to move a lot quicker.

2. Set your hands on your stick the same way for every face off; this way you are practicing proper technique, and it is harder for the other man to read what move you are going to do. Place your right hand on the top of your stick as close to the throat as you can, and the left hand in the middle.

3. Line up as close to the ball as you can

As quoted by GeorgiaMiddie2

http://www.lacrosseforums.com/showthread.php?t=62001

There are 5 pages of f/o tips in there. The vids are from RIT and he's absolutely nasty @ faceoffs, so check that out.

[insane-laxer]

Look at this videos... they should help you...

http://kudda.com/clinic/Face-off_Positioning

http://kudda.com/clinic/Face-off_Techniques

http://kudda.com/clinic/Face-off_Wing_Play

oh... and welcome to the world of facing-off, the game within the game (I love that slogan :agree:)

the insane