NM Team U15 Defense and Clear
I. Philosophy
Team Defense is played with seven defenders, not one. Every defender relies on his teammates,
and every defender must know his role in all situations. If we fail to work as a unit, we will fail
to prevent our opponents from scoring.
The Four Pillars of Team Defense
1. Mental Toughness – All seven defenders must have the presence of mind to recognize
the offense’s objective, to determine the correct adjustment, and to communicate that
adjustment to our teammates.
2. Tenacity – We must be aggressive at all times, but we must never be reckless. We will
do all that we must to disrupt the offense without losing site of our responsibilities.
3. Anticipation – We will study our opponents, both their offensive and individual
tendencies, and adjust accordingly.
4. Alliance – Everything that we do as individuals affects the entire defense, for better or
for worse. Therefore, we will always communicate and be mindful of our slide
responsibilities.
II. Principles
a. Protect The Middle!! We’ll concede outside and poor angle shots because we know our
goalie will stop them.
b. Know your attack angles and deny entry to THE FAN (10-12 yds out from the goal)
c. The second slide is as important as the first
d. Before you slide, know who has your second slide – KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
e. Each time a pass is made, new slide calls must be made. ECHO THE Call!
f. Always have your HEAD ON A SWIVEL
g. When playing off ball, remember: BALL-YOU-MAN. Keep a big eye on your man, and a
little eye on the ball.
h. CLEAR THE CREASE! When a player enters, we must be physical
i. When preparing to slide, cheat towards the dodger; have one hip pointed towards your man
and one hip pointed towards the ball.
j. FLY back towards the hole after your man has passed the ball
k. STAY ON THE HANDS! KEEP YOUR CHECKS SHORT and on the gloves.
l. Keep your stick in front of the man to stay on his hands and impede his progress.
m. If a teammate slides to your man, try to force the turnover, race back to the hole to help out
and replace the slider – FIND ONE!!
n. ARRIVE WITH A CHECK! Beat the ball to your man and attack his hands.
o. In a loose ball situation on the crease, check the body first, then go for the ground ball.
p. We must get EVERY GROUND BALL; OWN THE FLOOR!
q. When we slide, we’ll slide later to opponents dodging a long pole.
r. RADAR; STICKS UP IN THE PASSING LANES AT ALL TIMES
Man to Man Defense - AIR FORCE
Air Force is an adjacent sliding defense. The help will come from the defender covering the opponent either to
the left or to the right of the dodger. There are always two players who are cold, and two players who have
second slide responsibilities. Use the COLD call to indicate the first slide.
A
D
A
“I got 2”
D
“I got 2”
M
D
A
“Cold Left”
D
D
M
“Cold Right”
D
“ I got ball”
M
Player Focus
 Athletic position
 Play with your feet and stay square
 Call out your man
 Communicate “I’ve got ball’, COLD, and TWO
 Stay between your man and the goal
Slide Principles
 If dodge beats defense adjacent defender slides
 Goalie calls “FIRE” to call slide
 Only slide if the man is clearly beaten
 Proper body positioning facilitates effective sliding. One hip points to the man
you’re covering and the other hip points to the man you’ll be sliding to.
 In AIR FORCE, two men are always “COLD”; the defender to the left of the ball,
and the defender to the right of the ball.
 There are also two “TWO” slides as well
 Second and third slides fill from adjacent to area left by the first slide
 Slide responsibilities change with every pass
 Protect “THE WALL” and force dodgers out of THE FAN
Man to Man Defense - AIR FORCE
A
“Cold Left”
D
A
D
“I got 2”
A
D
M
“ I got ball”
D
“Cold Right”
D
D
M
M
“I got 2”
A
“Cold Left”
D
A
D
“I got 2”
“FIRE”
M
D
D
A
“ I got ball”
“Cold Right”
D
M
“I got 2”
D
M
Man Down Defense - PRIDE
RECOGNIZE – COMMUNICATE – ANTICIPATE - EXECUTE
VS. 3-3 Offense
A
A
D A
D
“Next Right”
D
M
“ I got ball”
D
M
“Next Left”
D
M
Player Focus
 Be aggressive yet under control
 Sticks up above your shoulders and in the passing lanes
 Anticipate the next pass and slide there quickly
 Call out cutters and recognize whether to carry or pass on
 Always have your head on a swivel
 Always have your hips open to the ball
 When the ball is behind, don’t leave the crease early, and return quickly.
 Get back towards the hole after your man has passed the ball.
VS. 2-2-2 Offense
A
A
D
A
D
D
D
M
D
“Next Right”
“I got 2”
“Next Left”
“ I got ball”
M
M
VS. 1-3-2 Offense
A
“I got 2”
D
A
M
D
D
A
“Next Left”
“Next Right”
D
M
“ I got ball”
D
M
VS. Circle Offense
A
D
“ I got ball”
D
A D
A
“Next Left”
“Next Right”
“I got 2”
“I got 2”
D
D
M
M
M
VS. 1-4-1 Offense
A
A
D
D
“Next Left”
M
D
M
LP
M
D
A
“Next Right”
“ I got ball”
Transition Defense
-
Delay the slide for as long as possible
Shimmy your shoulders to fake the slide: Invite a hasty pass!!
1. We must recognize transition situations all over the field
Transition situations occur when there is an extra offensive player and we find ourselves down a man. This
could be off a face off or simply during a clearing situation. It is critical that we recognize and communicate
immediately!!
2. Principles:
a. Determine who the point man will be. He will stop the ball carrier.
b. The other two defenders will call out HIGH and LOW
c. The defender opposite the point man will call out “HIGH”
d. The HIGH defender will open his hips to the point attackman and the low attackman. He will
cheat towards the slide, but he won’t have his back to either man.
e. The low defender will be the same side as the point defender. He will edge across the crease
towards the attackman diagonal opposite the ball carrier.
f. When the ball carrier becomes a threat, the point defender will play him. He will slide to the ball
carrier, try to get a check on his hands, then bust back to the hole if the ball carrier passes.
g. The high defender must read the ball carrier. He will slide to the first pass.
h. The low defender will read the second pass and slide accordingly.
i. The three defenders will stay in a tight triangle until help comes.
j. All defenders must play with sticks up and follow their sticks to slides. Communication is
imperative.
k. The point man should fake his slide a few times before actually sliding.
3. Sets
Fast Break Calls
M
Fast Break Slides
A1
D1-point
M
A1
D1
D2-High
D2
D3-low
A3
A2
A3
D3
A2
4. As the year progresses, we may vary our slides. The point man may come early, or wait to slide,
depending on the opponent.
5. “Lock” If a longstick advances the ball to the offensive end in a non-fast break situation, we’ll call
LOCK. This means that the three defensmen will shut off their attackman. The middie riding the
long stick ball carrier will stay in front of him and try to lift his stick to force a turnover.
Man Down - The Wheel
A WHEEL is a basic rotation defense. Communication is critical. It is our most effective defense
when the offense shows a 1-3-2, a Circle, or a 1-4-1. If there is no one on the crease, we’ll use a
wheel.
Vs. 1-3-2
Ball moves from wing to top
M
D-next right
M
Shorty
M
D-Ball
Pole-I got 2
Shorty
M
A1
D-Ball
M
Pole-next right!
A3
A1
D-next left
M
D-I got 2
A3
D-next left
A2
A2
****Everyone must work hard in the rotation for the wheel to work****
1. We need one man tight on the ball, and the two adjacents must be tight as well
- Communicate to the player covering the ball: “I got next right” and “I got next left”
- This means that you are ready to slide if the ball goes to your man, an adjacent.
2. If they have a man on the crease, our short stick will shut him off. If they have no crease man,
the short stick will join the rotation.
3. If they have a crease man, our pole who is not on the ball must split the two remaining offensive
players.
- He will call out “I got 2, I got 2” until his responsibility changes.
- He must keep his hips open to both men and be in a position to beat either man to the ball.
4. If they have no crease man, then the two defenders furthest from the ball play the remaining
three offensive players. Depending on each man’s relation to the man playing the ball, call out either
“Back Right” or “Back Left”
5. When the ball is passed, it is critical that we communicate and determine our new roles.
With each pass, our roles change. There is a new man on ball, two new adjacents, and a new split guy.
6. If we have to slide for a dodge, we will slide adjacent.
7. If a man dodges successfully from X, we will slide cross crease, from the ball side.
Wheel Special
In the wheel special, we shut off one man on the EMO. We may do this to confuse them or to deny
their top threat.
1. We’ll determine a number, 5 for example, and on their 5th pass we’ll shut off their guy.
2. If we call that number a second time, or a different number, that indicates when we’ll check out of it.
3. The four remaining defenders will adjust the rotation accordingly
4. If we know when a guy is getting the ball, we can shut him off before he gets it.
Man-to-Man Defense #1: Army
“It’s all verbal communication, talking through everything. When you go through the pre-game
schemes, you know what the other team is going to do, where they’re going to dodge and how.” –
Nicky Polonco, Team USA
This defense is based on the premise that we will slide to support a teammate only after our teammate has
been beat by a dodging opponent. In this defense, our first slide will come from the crease. We will not
slide until the dodger has started to advance past his defender.
1. There are two lines that we will refer to: the Goal Line Extended, and The Wall, which is
perpendicular to the GLE, running from the middle of the restraining line to true “X”.
2. Before we slide, our first objective is to force the man with the ball down the side of the field. We will
never let an opponent dodge to the middle of the field.
3. Slide responsibilities must be constantly communicated. When the ball is passed, all slide
responsibilities change. Everyone must ECHO THE CALL!!
4. All defenders on the BACKSIDE HEMISPHERE must cheat in and pack the crease to help out.
Middies up top may need to slide down to the crease to help out. All of the defenders, other than the
man covering the ball, must have a TOE IN THE HOLE!
WAIT UNTIL THE DODGER HAS BEAT HIS DEFENDER BEFORE WE SLIDE! TEASE THE
SLIDE WITH YOUR SHOULDERS, AND SHOW TO AN OBVIOUS DODGER!
ARMY in settled situations
Vs. 1-3-2
Vs. 1-4-1 Offense
M
M
DM
M
Dm
Dm
M
LP-You can Go!
Pole-I’m Hot!
D-I got
two!
M
A1
D
D
M
A3
DM
I’m hot!
A1
D
A3
D
D
A2
A2
VS. 2-2-2 Offense
A
A
D
D
A D-I got your back!
M
LP-I’m Hot!
DM
DM
M
M
VS. 3-3 Offense
“I got 2”
A
D
A
D
A
LP-I’m hot!
“ I got ball”
DM
DM
M
M
DM
M
ARMY in Sliding Situations
“The second slide is key. I have to make sure I’m released to slide. Opponents want you to slide so they
can beat you on the second slide.” – Nicky Palanco, Team USA
5. Everyone must have his stick up at all times and his head on a swivel, ready to slide.
6. The man covering the offensive player on the crease nearest the ball will prepare to slide from the man
he is covering to the dodger. He will yell out: “I’m hot! I’m hot!”
7. The man opposite the ball (diametrically opposite, as on an X, will be the second slide. He will yell “I
got two! I got two!” indicating that he is the second slide, he’ll slide from his man to cover the man
his teammate who slid first was covering.
8. When a man is beaten off a dodge, and has started to advance past the defender, the man on the crease
will slide to help out his teammate. He will slide only after the dodger has passed his defender. Look
at the dodger’s feet, and his hands.
9. When sliding, be aggressive! Arrive underneath the man, on the opposite side of his present defender.
When he slides, he will yell: “FIRE! FIRE!” to let the second slide know to go.
10. If your man draws the slide/double team, look to force the turnover. If there is no turnover, get to the
hole and replace the slider – FIND ONE.
Vs. 1-3-2
Vs. 1-4-1 Offense
M
M
DM
M
Dm
Dm
“FIRE”
Pole-FIRE
D-you
can go!
M
LP-You’re good!
M
A1
D
D
M
DM
I’m hot!
A3
A1
D
D
D
A2
A2
A3
VS. 2-2-2 Offense
A
A
D
D
A
M
D-you can go!
LP-“FIRE”
DM
DM
M
M
VS. 3-3 Offense
“you can go”
A
D
A
D
A
LP-I’m hot!
DM
DM
DM
M
M
M
Special Slides in the ARMY set
“If your stick is positioned correctly, you can tie up the offensive player’s hands or check his stick when he
crosses the front.” – Pat McCabe, Team USA
11. If your man is attacking from the top, force him down the side away from the wall, staying above him,
so the slide can come underneath.
12. If your man attacks from the wing, force him underneath the GLE. Work to stay “TOP SIDE” by
angling your body to prevent him from entering the fan above the crease. The slide will come from
the crease. The second slide comes from the far top middie coming down.
13. If we’re beat from X, we’ll slide from the crease as well. The middie must come down to help out for
the subsequent slide!
14. When the dodger initiates from X, everyone must be aware of cutters!
Man Defense and the crease slide down low:
Wing Dodge with 1 Creaseman
M
Wing Dodge with 2 Creasement
M
DM
M
Dm
Dm
Pole-FIRE
M
DM
M
A1
D
M
D
LP-“FIRE’!
D A3
A1
D
D
D
A2
X Dodge with 1 Creaseman
M
A2
X Dodge with 2 Creasement
M
Dm
M
M
DM
Dm
DM
M
D
M
A1
D
Pole-FIRE
A3
A3
LP-“FIRE’!
D A3
A1
D
D
D
A2
A2
Clear
Four Across
D
M
G
M
M
D
D
Player Focus
 Four across the field even with goalie – defenseman in each alley
 Mid on side of goalie
 Move up the field as a line and draw man to the ball
 Middies move to stay open
 Change D for Middie for additional offense during transition
 Move the ball to the open man after drawing then up the field
 Backside middie is always middie back if D takes ball up and across mid line
M