Editor’s note: thanks for checking out the latest installment of Lax Out Loud, LaxAllStars.com’s newest educational series made possible by the fine folks at SISU Guard. Drew Snider is going break down the basics of positioning and movement during slides and the 3 v 2 through the Bump and Shag!
Bump and Shed was brought to my attention by Denver Outlaws and Team USA midfielder Drew Snider, who has made a living dominating on both sides of the ball in Major League Lacrosse.
The 3 on 2 and other unbalanced situations are going to happen, that’s lacrosse. Communicating through these daunting moments is the key to finding success during a sure-win for the bad guys. If we don’t master flawless communication, we welcome the opponent’s fast break, man-up unit and anyone working off of a pick to a fun afternoon of goals.
An introduction to ‘Bump and Shed’
Although Drew has sniped a MLL Championship winning goal, he doesn’t forget to drop back and work his tail off on defense. As a middie, that’s how you continue to send yourself to All-Star Games, Championships and beyond.
At first “Bump and Shed” may seem like one for the poles, but long sticks aren’t the only guys dealing with fast-breaks and unsettled situations, not to mention we have shorties on the field during a man-down scenarios.
You can start by having two coaches on either end to complete the passes. While the coaches move and pass to make the defense work, they can pause or slow down during the approach to monitor that the players are talking correctly and moving from spot to spot with flawless form.
The first defender approaches the coach with the ball, already in a solid defensive stance, ready to make a move to the ball. The second defender covers the man in the middle, ready to back up his teammate, but always between his man and the ball with his
“Bump and Shed” requires strong verbal communication amongst short-numbers and the ability to react quickly to verbal cues while on defense. Talking through the switch and transitions is key, everyone needs to know when to BUMP and who is GO.
It’s also important that the players always have their sticks up and in the middle, ready to knock down passes. The decoy attackman should always have his gloves touched by a stick and both players need to be squatting but on their toes, ready to make a move.
Key Requirements
Gear: Mouth Guard, Game Shoes, Stick, Pads (Optional)
Time: +/- 10 Minutes
Members: 5+ (2 Defensemen, 1 Player as center decoy, 2 Coaches or Feeders)
Communication Points: Shouting “bump” “go” and “I’m going”
Get Started
- To begin, the Defender #1 sprints to cover the ball, then sits in an athletic stance.
- Defender #2 slides between the attack in the middle and the ball, with his butt pointed to the ball side, sideline.
- Simultaneous with those actions, the Defender #2 will be yelling “I’m Go or Going.”
- As the ball moves between the cones, the players shuffle with it. Defender #2’s butt should be changing direction while keeping his eyes up and a stick on the attack.
- Once a pass is made across the defense, Defender #1 quickly recovers to the middle while yelling “Bump!”
- Defender #2 will now slide out to cover the ball and Defender #1 becomes the “Go Man.”
- The process is repeated until each player has covered the ball and the attackman in the middle with proper technique and speed.
We recommend starting simple and only using 2 defensemen, a decoy attackman in the middle and 2 coaches on the wings, if available. Midfielders can be a great additions to Bump and Shed as fundamental parts of the defense and often find themselves stopping a break or in on man-down.
Scout attackmen and quality passers can also be placed at the cones, to work on moving the ball through traffic. The defense shouldn’t try to take the ball away at all, but execute proper form when moving from player to player.
Once all players are comfortable in the drill, you can make it a game for the defense to take away the ball without throwing a check and you and even use the decoy attackman for quick relay passes and to disrupt the flow of the defense.
We make sure to tell you every time, but it’s important to recognize that everyone in the episode, including Drew, wore a mouth guard during the filming of Bump and Shed. It’s required for us to wear our mouth guards the entire time we are on the field in games so there shouldn’t even be a second-thought when it comes to wearing them during practice too!
We hope you learned something in our third defensive episode of Lax Out Loud! Chris O’Dougherty will be back next time around to teach us more Defensive Communication!
LaxAllStars.com members get 10% off mouthguards at SISUGuard.com! Join now to receive the coupon code on our Member Benefits page!
