Coaches on BTB

[jmplax31]

What are most coachs tell there players these days about behind the back shots?

[FredtheCat]

I'm not a coach, but mine don't really care if a player tries it, as long as it's a bad angle shot where there aren't many shot options.

[timmy]

my coach is a flashy player (shows us air gait demos at pracitce) so he doesn't mind. if any of you have ever played arlington high you'd know what i mean by us being a flashy team.

[HdGLaxWarrior]

My coach really doesnt care unless we are losing, if someone tries that and they miss, a lot of laps will be done. Not to mention full field sprints.

[TheKOB]

if you don't do it or it doesn't work in practice, then don't do it in a game. If you have a bad angle, pull it out and pass the ball around again. Don't waste an opportunity trying to show off...it's a team sport.

[spenny]

Originally posted by TheKOB
if you don't do it or it doesn't work in practice, then don't do it in a game. If you have a bad angle, pull it out and pass the ball around again. Don't waste an opportunity trying to show off...it's a team sport.

that pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter.
if you can actually make the shot (and i have a couple that can) you are free to take it in a game.

an overhand shot with no angle (say, 1 yard above GLE, or worse yet, shooting from the restraining line) will piss me off more than a BTB from in front of the crease.

poor shot selection will get you into the dog house faster than a flashy but appropriate shot, EVEN if it doenst go in.

[Petem0ss]

I went through a big harangue this year on when I thought it was appropriate (running out of angle) & that it should be practiced (on your own time, AFTER you practice shooting overhand).

It's like a BTB pass on a 3-on-1 break in basketball - if you throw it at an appropriate time, execute it & we score, it's a beautiful thing.

If you throw it just for the sake of going behind the back & you miss or the goalie saves it, just come straight to the substitution box & we'll discuss it. Or more like I'll discuss it & you can listen.

[timmy]

Spenny: question for you. why don't you want your players shooting overhand from 1 yard above GLE? do you want it sidearmed of passed? and why?

[WarriorLax22]

so if going behind the back looks like the only option, it's ok?

the one behind the back shot i can remember clearly that screwed up an entire game was in 2002. brad dumont scored two sweet goals on the run. some time later, ryan boyle has dumont right on the crease. makes the pass, and dumont goes behind the back and it completely misses the goal. to make things even worse, sol bliss was there to back up the shot...but is a shot like this acceptable?: http://www.insidelacrosse.com/images/user/media_file/btbSave.mov
it's an around the world, but still...

[Petem0ss]

Originally posted by WarriorLax22
http://www.insidelacrosse.com/images/user/media_file/btbSave.mov
it's an around the world, but still...

The guy made a sweet split-dodge but could've increased his angle by continuing left-handed instead of changing hands, he beat his guy really badly. Looked like he went BTB because he was running away from the slide coming across the crease & Mulligan hung the pipe.

Of course, that's all easy for me to say LOL.

[spenny]

Originally posted by Petem0ss
Or more like I'll discuss it & you can listen.

lol!
"it's funy cos it's true!"
--homer simpson

the best is when they see "the look" as they are coming off the field and try and hide from me at the far end of the bench.

[WarriorLax22]

oh, my bad. that wasn't an around the world. it happened so fast that i thought he continued left-handed. also, he didn't split dodge; he made a swim move...not that it really matters. yeah, if hartofilis just waited for the slide to come, he might've been able to feed it to #21. but it probably would've been a backhand feed.

[spenny]

Originally posted by timmy
Spenny: question for you. why don't you want your players shooting overhand from 1 yard above GLE? do you want it sidearmed of passed? and why?

i dont currently have any sharpshooters who can make that goal, my first choice is they keep going upfield to get a better angle, if they cant keep moving up, they either need to back behind x or look for an open man with a better angle.

i really want to know what the deal is with sidearm. i teach the kids how to do it properly, and they still cant do it right. it seems to me that the average player on my team has a better chance scoring BTB than sidearm.

going BTB is ok if: a) you can actually capable of completing the shot and b) if the shot is appropriate. brad dumonts 2002 shot does NOT fall into this category (at the time i thought tierney was going to have a stroke right then and there.)

in that movie, i dont think he thought he could change hands and still get the shot off. he should have hit dan clark (#21) who was more open.

[CTLaxer]

Back in high school my coach would've killed us if we tried behind the back stuff in a game. And if we actually did and god forbid missed, he would kill us and then do the serious damage.

My thoughts are if you can do it in practice well enough and(here's the crucial part) you know when to do it(1 on 1 with the goalie isn't an appropriate time) then I guess I have no problems with it as a coach.

[Dan]

There was a freshman, the only one on varsity, last year, who made outside shots all the time. He was a great player, but his shots often got saved. Our coach once said something like "I woulda killed you if you had missed that shot." I mean, he was laughing, because it was a close game and stuff, and it was good that he scored, but in reality it was a shot that was often saved. So, there's that. I can't do behind the back, especially with a pole, so I won't be trying it.

[timmy]

Spenny, what level of kids do you coach? It might just be the age.

[spenny]

i coach 7th and 8th graders, but we have a real mix of skill levels,
i have some kids that started in 2nd grade and then have kids that are complete novices.
i have had some real sharpshooters in the past, but no one currently that i'd trust with that extreme low angle shot. the odds just arent worth taking that shot. (i do have one if he's been practicing this summer will probably be making those shots this spring)

[LAX-L-DER]

Just a thought:

If you can master this type of shooting, it gives the offensive player another advantage over the goalie. The ball will be comming out of a different area of the offensive players body. I wouldn't discourage it. Have them make it part of their wall routine.

[tall_chris]

I frown upon it becuase majority of the time that means you are right on the crease and either A) Doing the shot will make you step in the crease, B) You will screw up the shot and their defense will get the ball. C) It may go in if you are not laying on the ground.

I always vote for pulling out and drawing out the defense and make a nice skilled shot with open room to shoot.

[wingslax5]

My coach says everything on goal should be an overhand shot.

[RockStar]

My coach says everything on goal should be an overhand shot.

If you're shooting from outside, certainly.....more power, more control, no questions

However, If you run an aggressive offense where you try to drive the ball inside, there's sometime's a need for more creativity. You sometimes run out of room while cutting to the net and don't have a great angle for a conventional shot. So, sometimes an alternate type of shot (sidearm, elevator, BTB, etc.) can be the order of the day. This is especially true if you can make the goalie bite on a fake before you shoot.

[LaxRef]

Just a thought:

If you can master this type of shooting, it gives the offensive player another advantage over the goalie. The ball will be comming out of a different area of the offensive players body. I wouldn't discourage it. Have them make it part of their wall routine.

As others have pointed out, the problem is that it looks cool, so kids practice it when they can't even shoot overhand yet. Master the basics, then learn the tricks! It's like in fencing, *everyone* wants to learn to do flick hits because they look so cool, but they aren't worth much if you can't do the basics.

[ex-lax]

i dont have a small angel

[boogie95]

Overhand, Overhand, Overhand......percentages are overwhelmingly in your favor

[jmplax31]

Since this threads getting a little more attention I'm going to re-open the poll. Vote away

[OutBurst]

My old coach would laugh if anyone tried it, whether they made it or not.

My new coach I don't really know about because I have yet to play for him.

[mustang_lax]

Overhand, Overhand, Overhand......percentages are overwhelmingly in your favor

Not if you're standing right on GLE