Box Triangle Stick Skill Drill
This is your basic game of keep away with a bit more structure. This drill is also commonly used in hockey and soccer. For lacrosse this not only works on the stick skills of the offensive player but also teaches the defense how to slide and recover as well as handle Man Down or unsettled situations.
four players on the perimeter set in a box with three defenseman in the middle.
The offensive player will pass to the open man.
Defensive players should never let a skip pass go through and should instead give the offense the adjacent pass. If a skip pass goes through the defense should do some form of token punishment. ie... 5 push ups. This prevents the defense from cheating and hanging out on the perimeter and is how a defense would have to play in regular Man Down in a lacrosse game -- just as the offense should be looking to find a "skip to score" pass.
When the defensive player is off-ball he should sluff into the middle
when a pass is made and the defenseman is on-ball he should try to get on the offense player's hands or check the stick of either the passer or the receiver, or he should try intercepting or knocking the ball down.
When a ball is knocked down or dropped the offensive player who last touched the ball will go into the middle becoming a defensive player and the defensive player will now go on the perimeter becoming an offensive player.
The defensive players should always slide to the ball forming a nice rotating triangle.
Note: For beginners you can make it 4v2 or 5v3 to make passing a little bit easier.
Note: Smaller the box the more challenging for the offense, the bigger the box the easier it is for the offense.
Variation: You can also place a an offensive player in the middle, if that player catches the ball it is a big win for the offense and big loss for the defense as it simulates a player catching the ball in the crease in front of the goal.
If the offense completes 10 passes (whatever number you designate) the defense does push ups. At that time all 3 defensemen go to the perimeter and 3 offensive guys go in to the center. The offensive guy who gets to stay out on the perimeter is the one left holding the ball at the end of 10 passes. This tends to promote a fun dynamic of "who's the lucky guy that is going to end up with the ball?".
This will also end up being a brisk cardio workout for the guys in the center triangle and drives home the point that in lacrosse games the defense generally has to work harder to react to offense while the offense usually determines the tempo of play.
