Dodge with your head up. Against a short stick, a defense wants to slide to you quickly. You want to fi nd that slide man as quickly as you can. You can’t make a play if you don’t see the play.
Attack the Shorty
How Team USA hopeful, 2010 Tewaaraton winner and New York Lizard Ned Crotty exploits short-stick d-middies
>> WHAT I DO I am the executive director of lacrosse at the House of Sports TEACH LACROSSE
in Ardsley, N.Y. We have nine club teams, and a lot of academy classes. It’s a pretty awesome facility. We have basketball on the fi rst fl oor, second fl oor is all strength and performance, and third fl oor is a 90x40 turf fi eld. From 4 p.m. until about 9 is our wheelhouse with classes, broken up by age group and into parts: stick work, fundamentals, dodging, shooting, attack, defense, goalies. You come once a week for eight weeks for an hour. So, for example, every Tuesday at 6 o’clock, you’ll come for your class.
Have the defender a little bit on your hip.
PLAY FAST
At Duke, we broke the game down into eight or nine different ways to score. Off the faceoff, transition, ride, clear, unsettled, man-up, man-down, six-on-six. We realized if we could get two goals in each of those categories, we’ve got 16 goals a game. Focusing on 6-on-6 is only one aspect of the game. That’s how we wanted to play. The slowdown is terrible, especially with the exposure lacrosse is getting now nationally.
already know where you’re going with the ball or if you’re going anywhere with it.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
you’re going to beat your guy. That’s how you teach yourself to play one step ahead. The second you beat your man, you
and the slide man with the confi dence
At Duke, I learned to look at my defender
PREACH FUNDAMENTAL SHOOTING
When you’re throwing the ball, have your shoulder pointed toward your target. You’ll see players with their hands out in front of them, doing the catapult, like a chicken wing with their elbow in front of them. Two reasons why that doesn’t work is it’s not a consistent motion, and you are putting your arm and hand out for a defenseman to hit. Instead, get your bottom hand by your back
shoulder. Make sure you have your elbow up, everything shoulder-height. If your elbow is down, the ball is going to go down. As you pull your front elbow to your target, you can snap. It’s a much smoother and consistent motion.
MY NEW
MLL HOME I live in New York City, so commute-wise, it will be much easier with the Lizards. I’ll only be going to an airport seven times as opposed to 14. They did really well in the draft, picking up some defensive pieces. There’s also a lot of guys in the Team USA fold. We’re working out some chemistry through that. It’s my fi rst real trade ever. It was defi nitely tough to leave Rochester. Love those guys.
MY STORY
I was born in Albany, lived two years in Minnesota and then about 20 years in New Jersey. I grew up a hockey guy. I only played lacrosse four months out of the year and played hockey the rest. I never played fall ball or indoor lacrosse. But my brother had a bunch of really bad injuries in hockey that prevented him from going further. He had a sixth major concussion and lost peripheral vision for three months. When it came to me to play hockey or lacrosse, here I am.
>> MY RECRUITING PATH At Delbarton, my sophomore, junior and senior seasons we were top 10 in the country. My junior year, we had some top recruits — Dan Cocoziello and Alex Hewitt — in the class ahead of me. When we had the state semifi nals, it was pretty full with coaches. I benefi ted from that.
— compiled by Corey McLaughlin June 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 65
©JOHN STROHSACKER
©JOHN STROHSACKER (ALL)
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