Your edge // players
PROTECT THE ROCK
Denver’s Wesley Berg explains when to go one-handed in the spirit of ball security AS TOLD TO COREY MCLAUGHLIN
In times of trouble, don’t panic, says Denver attackman
Wesley Berg. Instead, protect yourself — and the ball — then work on moving the play along.
Sometimes a defender gets on you quick, like when Notre Dame All-American Stephen O’Hara crowded Berg here in the corner during the Pacific Coast Shootout in California last spring. O’Hara sought to knock the ball free with a butt-end check.
Berg, a right-handed Canadian with more than 160 points in three seasons with the Pioneers, didn’t have enough time to run by or around O’Hara, so he took his left hand off the stick and put the ball his strong hand, near his body, to help fend off his opponent. O’Hara still managed to get a stick on him, but Berg held onto possession.
Going one-handed is a concept that can be useful in LEFT HAND
If the defender gets his stick into your midsection and hands, drop your bottom hand off the stick so they can’t give you a can opener and pop the butt end of your stick so you drop the ball.
58 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » November 2014 LEFT ARM
Get your left arm out there. You can’t ward, but try to least to get your arm in the way so they can’t a free slap at your stick.
both field and box lacrosse. Berg, also a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian national team, plays both, covering 11 out of the 12 months of the year. Ball security is important no matter the circumstances.
“Having one hand on the stick is more of a safety net,” he
said. “You’re trying not to lose the ball. With two hands on the stick, you’re trying to make a play, pass it or shoot it. You use both in box and field, but a little more in field, you use a one-handed cradle because it’s such a possession game and there are long poles out there. A lot of times you catch the ball and they’re on you. When you don’t have any speed, you need to use your body and leg strength to push them away, and your back and upper body to protect the ball and protect your stick.”
RIGHT HAND
Keep the ball more into your mid-section or armpit. They can’t go over your head or get underneath and hit the butt end.
FEET
Keep your feet moving. If you’re always moving or you’re able to force contact and get in tight with a defenseman, they can’t get a stick on your or throw any checks. They will be chasing.
LEFT LEG
Against a long pole, you want to get into them. Put your shoulder down a little bit and use your legs to push them off balance. It’s really hard for a defender to check you or lift your stick when they’re off balance.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©DIRK DEWACHTER; ©TREVOR BROWN
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