For my loyal readers fear no longer, I have heard you. The angry twitter DM’s and pitch fork mobs all asking the same questions. “Where’s the different skill sets of “The Guys” article you teased in your first piece?” They have worked. I understand that not all star lacrosse players are built the same.
In the piece I am referring to, I broke down different roles within the PLL offense. Check that out if you haven’t yet as it’s being referred to by critics as one of the most polarizing lacrosse articles ever written. One of the roles was defined as “The Guys” which refers to the players within the offense who are the main initiators and often draw the most attention. While the roles across “The Guys” are similar, they carry a wide variety of skillsets that I have broken down below.
1. Bruisers
The Bruisers produce the weekly lacrosse highlights of guys running through their defenseman and getting into the teeth of the defense. They usually operate on the wing of their respective strong hand for the attackmen, but they can also take runs from up top to create a downhill avalanche (specifically midfielders).
Bruisers are the most frustrating personnel to try and scout because you know exactly what they are going to do but you can’t stop it. They square their defenseman up and through a mix of strength, balance, and deceiving speed, they are able to run through their defender along with any stick checks thrown to get up-field to their strong hand. Once they start running downhill it’s too late. Any slide coming is met with brutal force and they find ways to get shots off through absurd traffic. After the game is when they enjoy their Athletic Brewing in the locker room while they are covered in bruises from pinballing through defenses all day.
First Team All-Bruisers: Matt Rambo, Myles Jones, Dylan Molloy
2. Ankle Breakers
The most disrespectful highlight that can be dropped in basketball and lacrosse is the ankle break. The ankle breakers possess elite footspeed that allows them to leave a defenseman in the dust or on the turf. With their primary defenseman out of the way, they draw slides and use elite vision to set up teammates for scoring opportunities. Other times they cook their man so quickly the defense doesn’t have time to react or slide creating an easy path for a goal. Normally these guys operate from X so they can open up both sides of the field and put their defenseman in a blender as they try to match their change of direction.
First Team All Ankle-Breakers: Grant Ament, Michael Sowers, Mikey Powell (He is out of retirement for this exercise)
3. Smooth Criminals
These star players almost make the sport of lacrosse look easy. Every piece of their game is smooth and the play looks effortless. Additionally, they need to be locked up because at times it seems like they’re out redefining physics as we know it. Smooth criminals make plays from any spot on the field. They tend to find teammates in tight windows when nobody expects it, while also creating and finishing shots in magnificent ways. It’s hard to describe the blend of athleticism for them, they all tend to carry phenomenal wrist strength which plays a big part. They’re regulars on Sports Center’s Top 10 and end up in any lacrosse group chat with a couple of mind blown emojis.
First Team All Smooth-Criminal: Tom Schreiber, Lyle Thompson, Josh Byrne, Jeff Teat
