One of the more interesting elements of the game of lacrosse is that not everyone has to play defense. This is pretty unique to the sport. In just about every other athletic event featuring a ball, players are much more accustomed to playing both sides of the game. The only real extreme exception to this is American football, where there is a very clear divide between offense and defense.
Basketball is probably the best example. You may be the best offensive player in the world, but you are still expected to play defense on the other end of the floor. Hockey works the same way, due to the constant back-and-forth nature of the game. Even on the soccer pitch, strikers will still have to play some version of defense. In baseball, everyone gets a turn hitting, followed by playing in the field. There is a natural offensive and defensive rhythm in just about every sport.
Lacrosse finds this strange middle ground for defense and offense. Sure, you can get an attackman stuck playing defense in transition, but this is actually pretty rare. And as you continue to progress through the levels of the game, lacrosse becomes more and more specialized. When you first pick up a stick, you are either a short stick or a long stick. Right away, you are splitting the group. You are already labeling at least half the players as long poles who will not be taught the offensive side of the game.
Even for midfielders, as they approach high school, it’s no longer just “midfielders.” You are either an offensive midfielder or a defensive midfielder. It is a disservice to the game to specialize positions in this way. Players are developing with no understanding of how the other side of the ball works. Have you ever tried to get an offensive player to understand defensive concepts? Or get a long pole to be comfortable with the ball in their stick? These are uphill battles.
But why are they uphill battles? It is because of these hard lines we put around players at such a young age. There become very clear expectations about what side of the ball they will play and what their job is. While it is great to help athletes understand what they need to do to be successful in their role, in the long run this actually hinders their development.
Especially at the high school level, most offenses have no idea how a slide package works. Most defenses couldn’t tell you the different ways an offense is looking to score. Players have become so hyper-focused on their position group that they no longer understand, at a basic level, what the other side of the ball is trying to accomplish. This is a huge problem. The best way to improve your side of the ball is to understand exactly what the other side is looking to do.
How can the offense create scoring advantages? Where are the openings going to be when a defense slides? How can I stay involved in the offense following a clear? These are just the beginning in a long list of questions related to truly understanding the game.
Separating players into specialized groups at such a young age and not encouraging them to play both sides of the ball limits their overall development. You end up with offensive players who have no understanding of how to play defense, and defenders who are terrified of staying on the offensive side of the field.
Lacrosse players whether on defense or offense need to understand every facet of the game in order to excel at their specific role. Practices should be structured in a way that defensive players have the ball in their sticks more often. There should be real intent to have offensive players play some defense from time to time. Not necessarily because they will need to do it in a game, but because it gives them a better understanding of what the other side actually feels like. This will not only help them improve their own skill set, but also help them recognize exactly what they need to exploit in the players they go up against.
