Defensive Terms & Vocabulary

Basic Vocabulary:

Help: Player who is defending ball gets beat, calls for help so her teammates know to SLIDE
Balls In: A ball is passed in the middle to an open player

Crash: A player is going to goal in the middle and we NEED to CRASH middle
“I’m on your right, BRING HER”: I am on the right of the defender and want you to bring the attacker to me to double ball
Force Right: Force your attacker to YOUR right
Force Left: Force your attacker to YOUR left
Force OUT: Keep your attacker OUT and AWAY from the middle (remember keep those toes to the side line to keep stepping up to keep her out)
Cutter: I am defending an attacker who is cutting through the 11M
Leaving: I was your help left/right but now I am leaving you to go with my cutter

This allows the defender on ball to recognize she no longer has you as a help defender on her right/left

Critical Scoring Area (CSA): Middle of the 11M where the attacker can catch, shoot, score
Drop: When we are clearing the ball and we turn the ball over, we must yell DROP so that everyone sprints back to the 11M and gets back on defense
Step Up/Make Contact: It is important to make contact with your attacker BEFORE she gets into the 11M. Step up and close the space between you and the attacker.
Hedge in/Hedge Out: Players who are off ball are moving in and out (checking in and out) of the 11M to ensure they are always ready to help as the player with the ball starts to dodge.

This makes the CSA look crowded and may deter attackers from going to goal
Be aware of 3 seconds when doing this, you need to be in and out of the 11M within the 3 seconds or be a sticks length away

Pressure: We need the ball back. If you are on ball, you need to step out to pressure the attacker
I have two: Someone slid to ball and now one player is marking two attackers
I need one: A player is recovering back from a double/slide and needs someone to mark up on
Ball Down: The ball is on the ground and we need to be aware and go after the ball
Chase: A shot was taken and it went wide/behind, we need to chase the ball so we can try and get possession
Trap: Step up and force the attacker to pass where you want them to pass. Your adjacent will step up and force the ball back. “Trapping” the ball.

Keys to Remember:

We do not want goals to be scored, so we always need to be on our toes and ready to stop ball, slide to ball, send a slide, recover
We can never believe that we are BEAT à even if you girl gets a step on you, you always need to be ready to recover

If someone slides to your girl, that means you need to help out and find the open girl

Defenders are always setting up on the 11M (do not pressure ball for now)
Off ball – always setting up on the 11M to ensure that you are in a position ready to slide
If someone cuts through the 11M unmarked SOMEONE needs to slide

When you are on defense, your head should always be on a swivel moving back and forth to ensure you are aware of everything around you
Off ball defenders- you need to be aware of who has ball, where ball is, where your girl is and that the CSA is protected
You can never take a breath on defense – you always need to bready to stop ball, help, slide, hedge in and out, go for a groundball, clear the ball out, etc.

Once you make contact with your attacker, stay strong and hold your ground. If the attacker feels like you aren’t using your strength to keep then out, she will muscle her way to cage. Don’t extend your arms and push, but keep a steady center of balance and use your arms and legs to force her out of the 11M.
When you are defending a cutter, stay strong on her too. Do not let her just run through with your stick in front. Make contact and stay with her the entire time she is in the middle.

The most important part of any defense is that every player is communicating with each other.
After each goal, defense should bring it in for a quick huddle to discuss any adjustments that need to be made.