Janine Tucker's 4v3 Exchange Drill and How it Promotes Off-Ball Movement
Janine's 4v3 exchange drill is a fan-favorite women's lacrosse drill for your lacrosse practice plan. It will promote and teach off-ball movement to your players.
Struggling with Off ball movement
We've all been there; Whether it's ball watching, low Lax IQ, forgetfulness, or things just haven't clicked yet, we all have trouble promoting off-ball movement on the attack. Women's lacrosse drills often focus on the ball, not off-ball.
This drill changes everything.
Set Parameters
Like, in many drills, you must set parameters for this. Setting parameters will help teach the players and develop skills and lax IQ. In this drill, the attacking pairs must pass down, pick down, or flip/fake flip. Eyes must be up!
These specific parameters in Janine Tucker's 4v3 Exchange Drill force the off-ball and on-ball players to move.
Let's take a step back
Are you coaching a younger team? Jumping directly into the 4v3 Exchange Drill might be too much for your girl's lacrosse team. Break this drill up by first teaching them picks, pass down/pick down, and how to flip.
You don't even need a specific drill. You can always set them up on the 8M and walk through these movements. However, if you're looking for a specific women's lacrosse attack drill, see below.
I love this picking drill by Katrina Dowd called, Pick the Picker. I think working through Katrina's pick and shooting drill will be helpful before you build into Janine's Drill:
PS: We also have a Pick the Picker Play by Katrina Dowd. Head to the Coaching Classroom to view that women's lacrosse offensive play.
The 4v3 Exchange Drill
This is a fast-paced 4v3 drill that works on the offensive ball and body movement and defensive hedges, slides, and recognition. Set up the drill as shown in diagram 1. The coach at the top of the 12-meter starts with a pile of balls. Four offensive players run into the 8M in a box formation, and three defensive players in a triangle formation.
The drill starts when the coach throws the ball to an offensive player. The ball-side offensive and backside offensive players must crisscross before the ball can be shot. The ball side must flip/fake flip or throw down/pick down. The attackers are looking for an open player. Defenders must slow the ball and anticipate passes, feeds, and shots. Keep the ball hot and work the crisscross.
Diagram:
Coaching Points:
The backside players cannot just stand there. They have to exchange, dip in, or make small cuts!
Communication on defense!
Build it up!
Let's take the skills emphasized in the 4v3 exchange and build it to a 5v5. Watch the video below to see how Janine does it:
Watch the Full Training: Offensive Concepts with Janine Tucker [here]
continued discussion
We’re currently discussing this exact drill in our Community, Circle Up. You can join the discussion for free or join the WLD Membership for all of the extra learning opportunities like Drills, Practice Plans, Live trainings (like these!), Strategy and Skill lessons, Mindset training, Networking Groups, Book Club, and more!
Head to the Circle Up post [here].
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