3-1-2 Outside-In Pick & Roll Offense
We've seen several top college teams using this play a lot already this season--Cornell, Syracuse and Yale have all used this in the first two weeks of 2015. It's a simple way to get your Midfielders "dodging downhill" and using the 2-Man Game.
A lot of people say that NCAA Lacrosse is a copycat league--that every team does the same things against each other. That's only natural, since every week every team has to be able to react to and defend against what every other team is doing. And out of that, we get to see a bunch of great plays!
This is a simple Dodging Offense that uses principles of classic Motion Offense, with some modern 2-Man Game to create space for your Midfielders to dodge and get some good shots on-the-run. Combine this with some 2-Man Game behind the goal to get your Attackmen involved.
Plus, this is only a slight variation on the 3-1-2 Inside-Out Pick & Roll Offense that Duke used when they won the NCAA National Championship in 2014. If you can teach your players both of these sets, you may find yourself with a very high-powered offense this season!
Here's THE PLAY:
3-1-2 Formation: Set up your three (3) midfielders in an "Umbrella" across the top of the box. Put one Attackman on the Crease and two Attackmen at GLE on both sides of the goal.
Figure 1.) Get the ball to Blue 2 so he can Dodge from top center. Start this play any time the ball moves from the "Outside" to the "Inside" of the field. We run this play most often on the right side of the field (when looking at the goal) since most players are right-handed.
Blue 3 will run inside to set a Pick on Blue 2's Defender (Red 2). Make sure your players are setting their Picks on the Defender's back side so they can't see where the Pick is coming from.
GAME TIPS:
- Make sure your players know when is a "Good Time" to start your Offense.
- After one or two tries up top, pass the ball down to the Attackmen so they can try some 2-Man Game from behind the Goal.
- Run this play in Practice against no Defense first so your players know where all the options are.
RELATED DRILLS & PLAYS:
- Classic 3-Man Weave: This old standard running and passing drill is great for working on stick skills and conditioning at the same time!
- The Modern 3-Man Weave: Check out our new take on the classic 3-Man Weave to teach your players cutting edge skills like Pick & Roll, Ball Reversals, etc.
- Duke 3-1-2 "Inside-Out" Pick & Roll Offense: Another modern Dodging Offense using the 2-Man Game to get your Middies "Dodging Downhill" into the middle of the field in front of the goal!
- 2-3-1 "Pass Down, Pick Down" Offense: This popular Box Lacrosse Offense uses the 2-Man Game with the ball, plus cuts and rotation on the back side of the field.
Let us know if you see any other college teams running this play. Definitely leave us a message if you use this with your youth or high school team this season!
