Man-Up 3-1-2 Pick & Roll Up Top
We borrowed this simple youth or high school Man-Up play from Box Lacrosse. It will work just as well for your outdoor team in the 6-on-5 Man-Up format as it does in 5-on-4 Man-Up for Indoor Lacrosse.
We see teams miss easy Man-Up goals in games every day. Make sure your players recognize and understand the 2-on-1 in front of them: With six men on Offense (Blue) and only five on Defense (Red), there is a 2-on-1 and an open Blue man somewhere on the field. Move the ball to the open man faster than the Defense can "Rotate" to cover him.
Use this play to attack the top two corners of the typical "Box and One [in the middle]" Man-Down Defense that most youth and high school lacrosse teams will use.
Plus, by using the 2-Man Game Pick & Roll, you give the Defense a little something extra to worry about.
Here's THE PLAY:
Start in a 3-1-2 or "3-3" Formation so that all six of your players are at or in front of Goal Line Extended (GLE), in front of the goal where they can all score.
Start this play any time the ball gets to Blue 1. We run this play most often on the right side of the goal (when looking out from the Goal or Goalie) so that most of the passes and shot opportunities are right-handed, working with most younger players’ dominant right-hand side. You can’t score if you can’t make two passes.
Related: Check out our Wall Ball Workouts for help developing stick skills with dominant and non-dominant sides.
Figure 1.) Work the 3-on-2 up top. You might not have to go any further than this. Your three Midfielders (Blue 1, 2 and 3) should work against the top two Defenders of the "Box" (Red 1 and 2). One of these three should be able to get open from a good shooting position up top.
RELATED PLAYS:
- If your players understand how to find the 2-on-1, try some of our other favorite Man-Up Plays.
- Duke 3-1-2 "Inside-Out" Pick & Roll Offense: This college Pick & Roll and Dodging Play is the same idea in 6-on-6 settled offense. Duke used this in the 2014 NCAA National Championship game.
- 2-2-2 Man-Up Pick & Roll Play: We saw a youth team in Texas score four or five times in the same game with this simple play at a tournament in California last fall.
Don't forget about this little play during Indoor Lacrosse Season.
Try it out and see if you can get it to work for your team!
