with Mike Faith,
Franklin & Marshall Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
Back-to-Back NCAA DIII Final Four appearances (2016-17);
2x Centennial Conference Champions (2017 & 2015);
former Elizabethtown College Head Coach,
2x Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Champs and 2x MAC Coach of the Year;
Division III All-American midfielder at Salisbury University
While competing in one of the most competitive lacrosse conferences in Division III and an always challenging non-conference schedule, the Franklin and Marshall women's lacrosse team never seems to have issues finding the back of the net, averaging at least 12 goals per game during the entirety of Mike Faith's tenure. This video offers a unique perspective as to how the Diplomats consistently score goals despite playing against top-tier competition.
Many offenses quickly become overly complex, causing confusion and frustration. As a result, players fall back to their comfort zone skills and play like seven individual players instead of a team. In this video, Coach Faith teaches two offensive concepts that are simple enough for the beginning player to grasp, yet flexible enough to work at the college level.
Easy to follow whiteboard explanations followed by clear and well-paced live video will give you the confidence you need to present these offenses to you team. Additionally, a full set of supporting drills will break down the offensive skills your players need to execute effortlessly during games.
Basic Motion Offense
This offense highlights your players' athleticism and dodging skills. Coach Faith walks through the concepts of the basic motion offense and shows how to divide the attack unit into groups, and how these groups work with each other. These fundamentals of the offense are worked on in a series of drills that teach and emphasize the movements and passing that will make this offense work for you. See players work on a variety of position-specific movements/dodges that help make them successful in this offense. The understanding of what's presented will enable the development of variations of this basic offense.
Stacking/Screening Offense
Coach Faith walks through the concepts of a basic stack, or screening offense. Understand how the implementation of this offense can create congestion and confusion in the attack zone by setting screens and picks both on- and off-ball. Many defenses simply cannot handle that level of confusion and congestion. Through a series of three drills, Faith teaches a few of these movements that will help your team create and capitalize on opportunities. Emphasis is placed on ball movement and spacing to create open looks off feeds.
Coach Faith outlines two separate, yet complementary offenses that your players can learn and implement quickly, freeing you to move onto teaching the finer points of the game without wasting time putting in complicated and confusing offensive schemes.
40 minutes. 2017.
LXD-05267B:
with Mike Faith,
Franklin & Marshall Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
Back-to-Back NCAA DIII Final Four appearances (2016-17);
2x Centennial Conference Champions (2017 & 2015);
former Elizabethtown College Head Coach,
2x Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Champs and 2x MAC Coach of the Year;
Division III All-American midfielder at Salisbury University
During a successful run at the helm of the Franklin & Marshall women's lacrosse team, Mike Faith has established the Diplomats as one of the most dominant defensive teams in the sport.
Coach Faith will teach you the two man-to-man defensive systems that he has used to develop his team into one of the top defensive teams in the country. He'll show you how to transform your basic man-to-man defense into one that is more aggressive and incorporates double teams to create more turnovers. You'll learn three secrets to making basic man-to-man defense more successful.
Next, you will learn Coach Faith's high pressure man-to-man backer defense. You'll see how Faith divides the field into quadrants to teach his teams exactly how to execute this aggressive defense. Backer defenses have been so successful in women's lacrosse that more and more teams are using them. An added benefit is that by learning what makes a backer defense successful, you'll also learn how to beat it with your offense when opponents use it against you.
Each defense and all the drills are presented clearly and thoroughly in a whiteboard session and then shown again in live video walk through and with offense.
Fine Tune Your Man-to-Man Defense
Coach Faith spends a great deal of time explaining how F&M runs an effective man-to-man package while not sacrificing ball pressure, or dictating terms of an offensive team. With an emphasis on playing aggressive defense and doubling the ball whenever possible, learn how he teaches defensive hedging and the responsibilities of the adjacent defenders. Coach Faith runs his team through three drills that work on these responsibilities in different scenarios, focusing on footwork and body positioning to force the ball carrier to their weak hand, the defensive communication required to be successful, and how to hedge and cover for a player that has been beat or is out of position.
Man-to-Man Backer Defense
Coach Faith leads you through the concepts and responsibilities of a man-to-man backer defense. Of prime importance is the understanding of the communication and shifting required by the defensive unit to make this defense successful; and specifically, the role the backer plays. Through a series of five drills, see how to defend the ball as it moves around the 8 as well as how to defend a spread offense. Learn how the backer is utilized effectively as offenses attack the net by increasing ball movement and sending cutters through the 8.
Additionally, by running both backer and man-to-man defenses without using a completely zone premise, Faith allows you to shift in and out of these defenses more seamlessly than if the backer defense emphasized solely zone concepts.
Drills to Develop Defensive Systems
The drills Coach Faith shows are situational in nature, creating chaotic scenarios for the defensive unit, and allowing a team defense to react and adjust to changing situations. These drills place a heavy emphasis on anticipation, communication, and reaction time for a team defensive unit, are easy to understand and implement, and are flexible enough that you customize to fit your team's dynamics
By breaking down his defense on the white-board and showing it with a walk-through on the field, Coach Faith provides great detail and insight on implementing a potent man-to-man defensive system.
70 minutes. 2017.
LXD-05267C:
with Mike Faith,
Franklin & Marshall Head Women's Lacrosse Coach;
Back-to-Back NCAA DIII Final Four appearances (2016-17);
2x Centennial Conference Champions (2017 & 2015);
former Elizabethtown College Head Coach,
2x Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Champs and 2x MAC Coach of the Year;
Division III All-American midfielder at Salisbury University
While offering insights and explanations that illustrate why his programs are consistently successful, Mike Faith provides a blueprint to run an outstanding practice. In this 'open practice' session, Coach Faith leads you through drills & skills for both the offense and defense. From goalie and team warm-ups through the closing scrimmage, see how the fundamentals of the game are worked as units, and as a team.
Easy to follow whiteboard explanations followed by clear and well-paced live video will give you the confidence you need to present these drills to your team. Every aspect of the game is covered so you won't leave your team unprepared for their first game.
Warm-Ups
Coach Faith starts by warming up the goalie for the shots she will see during the practice. He then leads the team through a series of warm-up drills that focus on competitive ground balls, partner passing, and a weave.
The warm-up session transitions to the split offense/defense section of practice through a progressive 1v1 drill, as well as working on simulated fast breaks.
Offense and Defense Split Session
Join the defense as they work on footwork, ground balls, and stick checks. Learn how to more efficiently make use of practice time by adding footwork into your ground ball drills. Work through a series of five drills that help your defenders practice their stick checks from both the front and the back, and in varying situations.
On the offensive side, learn to get your attackers to the net through a series of three drills that work on the footwork and movement required to beat defenders and create opportunities.
Full Team Practice
Watch as Coach Faith works on center draws, including the players taking the draw as well as how the circle players help by boxing out. See how the skills worked on to this point in the practice are utilized to make you successful in this key moment of every game. Watch as the team works on another critical part of every game: the man-up/man-down situation. See how to attack and defend during these 2-minute drills.
Coach Faith ends practice with a full field, then 7v7 scrimmage. This is a great way to help solidify the skills worked on during the practice by applying them to a game situation.
This video is a guide to running a practice that emphasizes both individual and team development, complete with X's and O's and full explanation of drills and concepts.
90 minutes. 2017.