D Quickstick+ oppostite hand skills?

[spark_goalie]

Its my first year and im becoming a D and i was wondering if i need to work on my quickstik's and opposite hand skills to be a good d. I cant really get any coaching now so all i can do is hit the wall.

[Snake~eyes]

Definitely should work on both hands. You need to beable to pass, catch, cradle and shoot. Quick sticking isn't that important, just workin on being able to pass and catch with both hands.

[bigDman]

dont need to quick stick but you deffently need both hands

[lax1234]

both hands is the most important thing you should work on if youre just starting out

[roughrider]

I hate to be the one to disagree with the group, but left hand is only really important in college it seems, and still if you are good enough you can survive with just 1 strong hand (Powless my proof), but that is rare.

[spenny]

there's 2 schools of thought on this. other than goalie, D is the only position on the field where you can get away without having an off hand.

in my experience,, it really isnt that important.

mind you i'm not saying dont work on your off hand, but there are plenty of guys out there, college players, too playing D with little or no off hand.

as a coach, i will pick a D man with one bulletproof hand over a guy who's pretty good with both hands.

[DukeLax2]

yea u dont need lots and lots of skill with ur off hand but u do need to be a cradle n throw with it, id ur playing on the left u cant just walk the dog everytime, its too vunerable. if ur taking the ball up feild on hte clear u gotta b able to cradle lefty n throw or roll back

[fungi27]

im not very good with my left hand. i try to work on it but i dont get any better. im decent at quickstick though

[CTLaxer]

The age old lacrosse saying of "If you can't go lefty and righty you're only half as good as you should be" applies. A common misconception is that defensemen don't really need to have good stick skills since all they do is use them as blunt objects. Second to perhaps your goalie, d-poles need to have some of the best stick skills on your team. What's the point of having a stellar attack or a great goalie if you defense can't get the ball up the field cause none of them can do anything besides beat on attackmen?

Back in high school my coach had a habit each year of moving an attack or middie(usually a middie) to defense because of their stick skills. Examples of these are Jamie Kennedy(Duke), Wes Lippman(Dartmouth) and Jamie Hanford(Loyola, Mammoth, Bayhawks). The only defensemen that I've seen excell at this sport are ones that have great stick skills and can go both ways.

Does this mean you have to be able to do that? No, I've seen huge defensemen that were like linebackers and could barely hold a ball in their stick, but they served a purpose. There's also the kid who could be pretty good but only uses one hand and can't go the other way. They get some playing time, but it's been my experience from when I played to now when I coach that a defenseman that can go lefty and righty decently and confidently will get a lot more playing time and will be much much more effective as a player than someone who is really good one handed.

[spenny]

CT, there's a big difference between having a great or even good on-hand and a weak-to-nonexistant off-hand and having no stick skills whatsoever.

its a lot harder to play with a dpole than a shortie, poles that can play both ways are at a distinct advantage, but having an off-hand that's marginal is of no use if their on-hand isnt pretty darn good

my .02

[blckout20]

I know in my experiences, having skills with my off hand has gotten me playing time that I might not have had otherwise. I'm the most confident player on our team when it comes to running the ball upfield. Being able to use both hands helps me go 2 any place on the field and have an advantage over the attackman such as running down the left side line if i cant cradle lefty and throw lefty im pretty screwed. Also, being able to make good passes and clear the ball well with either hands makes the goalie clear the ball to me a lot and when I go upfield after a cuple of times I draw attention from the middies and defense and they come to me leaving attackman open. I'm not saying to be a descent player you need to be able to use both hands I know people who I think are respectable who have pretty much no left hand at all but to excell you need 2 be able to use both hands without a doubt.

[timmy]

you need to be able to master 3 checks, the poke, lift, and slap. in that order. footwork footwork footwork. you need that. you can get away with one hand, but only in high school. once you play above high school you need a left.

[LAXatt]

isnt the slap the least effective and the check that is most likely to get a penalty for

if so y would u need to memorize it

sry i wouldent know i play mid but need defensive work

[blckout20]

Some people just don't like the slap because its overused and can be turned into a penalty if done wrong. If you know what you're doing tho the slap can be somewhat affective. It can disrupt an attackmans cradle, keep them with one hand on the stick, get them to go the way you want, etc. I like the slap check and it is a check that should be used but it is overused by a lot of players who don't know what checks to throw when and wut they are trying to do by throwing a check.

[Dan]

See, I like to think I'm still a midi when I get the ball. I dodge when I shouldn't, but I can still do it. I mean, I do almost have the bulletproof right hand. You shoulda seen me during winter league before I broke my hand. I had amazing control. Because, I like to brag, darn it.

[D4lax]

i feel that through your middle school years off hand isnt completely necessary. but once you get into high shool and college it is.

[LAX-L-DER]

Take away skills, running starts and stops, and ground balls have always been my focus. If I take the ball away, get it to my goalie or midfielder, and if I can do this 100% of the time then, I've done my job well. I don't worry about dodging. I know I'm at a clear disadvantage with the long stick. The worst thing I can do is loose the ball up field and create a fast break for the other team. As far as clears, I'm am always looking to get the ball to a short stick or make the cross field pass to the open defenseman. I have run up the sideline occainsionally. For that, you want the stick head to the outside, so if it gets checked out of your stick it goes out of bounds, and does not create a fast break for the other team.

Welcome the the land of non-scoring, no glory, we lost because of our defense.

[DukeLax2]

thanks for the lesson on basic skills... wehn u run up the sideline u walk the dog, and u should worry about dodging wat r u gunna do if theres sum infronta u? gilman?? d men need to b able to dodge sumwhat effectivly

[LAX-L-DER]

Your welcome Dukelax2. I've been on this board for a small amount of time and I can see already your the biggest trash talker here. You should try basketball. Thanks for coming out. Now I can add you to my ignore list. You poser.

[DukeLax2]

no i speak the truth, stop crying and i do play basketball thank you very much

[spenny]

Originally posted by LAX-L-DER
Your welcome Dukelax2. I've been on this board for a small amount of time and I can see already your the biggest trash talker here. You should try basketball. Thanks for coming out. Now I can add you to my ignore list. You poser.

ouch!

[lax1234]

both hands, but not as much quicksticking

[blakelax25]

Originally posted by LAX-L-DER
Take away skills, running starts and stops, and ground balls have always been my focus. If I take the ball away, get it to my goalie or midfielder, and if I can do this 100% of the time then, I've done my job well. I don't worry about dodging. I know I'm at a clear disadvantage with the long stick. The worst thing I can do is loose the ball up field and create a fast break for the other team. As far as clears, I'm am always looking to get the ball to a short stick or make the cross field pass to the open defenseman. I have run up the sideline occainsionally. For that, you want the stick head to the outside, so if it gets checked out of your stick it goes out of bounds, and does not create a fast break for the other team.

Welcome the the land of non-scoring, no glory, we lost because of our defense.

I personally hate when d men play like u. theyre too wussy to run up field so they either force the ball to the goalie who gets jumped or to the middies who get either laid out oir cant even catch the ball when their defendar5s are right next tot hem. And the worst is when attackmen actually play d on them, even tho they dont have too, but still jump them and they have no idea what to do cause they cant dodge and have no stick skills. id ather a d guy run the ball up and lose it where there other players to help him then for them to lose it on our defensive side and have the attackmen get it and it be a 3 on 2r

[blakelax25]

Originally posted by LAX-L-DER
Your welcome Dukelax2. I've been on this board for a small amount of time and I can see already your the biggest trash talker here. You should try basketball. Thanks for coming out. Now I can add you to my ignore list. You poser.

ive been on this board for quite some time also and i can already see your gonna be another old head ragging on the young kids cause there pissed off they never made it and these kids still have oppurtunities and the bodies to keep playing

[DukeLax2]

Originally posted by blakelax25
ive been on this board for quite some time also and i can already see your gonna be another old head ragging on the young kids cause there pissed off they never made it and these kids still have oppurtunities and the bodies to keep playing


i love it hah

[Havernaf]

Yeah you just need to drown that type of person out... "the older they get the better they were"...

[exile lacrosse]

Originally posted by LAX-L-DER
Welcome the the land of non-scoring, no glory, we lost because of our defense.

yes d may get blamed for losses, but as for non scoring and no glory, speak for yourself. ive had goals and assists, all of wich are equal to a point. and as for no glory, well, i have no idea where u play but as far as i know, the only d that dont get glory are the ones who dont play.