“There are three kinds of athletes. Those that make things happen, those that react to things that happen, and those that don’t know what’s happening.” Tommy Lasorda.

In Part 1 of this article I argued that aggressive takeaway defense was the way to go if you want to try and win the game from the defensive end, not just the offensive end. So now you have evaluated your personnel, and you have the kind of athletes that can make things happen. Now that you are convinced, how do you do it?

There are three basic elements of playing good pressure defense. First and foremost, you must have personnel that take great pride in, and are committed to, playing outstanding one-on-one defense. Second, you must look for ways to disrupt your opponents’ offense. Third, you must control the offensive players when the ball is in your end of the field. Combining individual defense plus disruption plus controlling the offense makes for good, aggressive team defense.

Playing excellent individual defense is beyond the scope of this article, and there are plenty of sources for instruction on how to do that. I will presume that readers are familiar with basic footwork, stick positioning and body positioning, which are all absolutely critical to successful individual defense. Here are some ideas that, when added to proper instruction on individual defense, might help you to play pressure defense.

Contest every pass, every shot and every catch. When your opponent is about to receive a pass, is adjacent to the ball carrier, or is the obvious outlet for the ball carrier, you will want to be in position to arrive when the ball arrives. In other words, you want to be in position to close quickly on your opponent so that you can apply a check at the very instant, or shortly after, your opponent catches the ball. The closer to the crease you are, the more effective the check has to be. If he is in an area where he can catch and shoot, you have to be in position to prevent the player from catching the pass. On the perimeter, with a six foot pole and about a three foot sleeve size, most defensemen can put a check on the opponent from almost ten feet away. Thus, even when you are the adjacent man and want to be in a position to slide to the ball if necessary, you can be safely inside and still get out to the perimeter quickly. Keep an eye on the ball as you are making your check. Once in awhile the pass will be too far inside, or your opponent will bobble or even drop the ball. If you are in position right away, you might be able to pick up the loose ball or dislodge it. Under no circumstances should your opponent mishandle the ball without you being there to contest the ground ball immediately. Remember, your hard-working teammate is really hassling the guy passing the ball, and might cause him to make a passing mistake. Don’t let your teammate’s effort to disrupt the pass go to waste. If you are playing aggressive defense and have forced your opponent to catch the ball far from the goal, even if you give up a step or he dodges you successfully the player is so far from the goal that your teammates will have time to slide. If you are sloughed in too far and get beaten one on one, the offensive player can shoot before the slide arrives.

Let’s say your opponent has received the ball properly and you have arrived when the ball arrives. You have come out quickly but under control and are in good athletic position. Your head is up, butt is down, stick is out in front and your feet are wide and balanced ready to control the offensive player. Put a check on your opponent immediately and make him turn his hips and body to the sideline to protect his stick. Most modern defensive strategies are predicated on taking away the middle of the field and forcing the shooter to a bad angle. Arrive on time and in position to force the offensive player away from where he wants to go. As in football, you want the offensive player going east-west, not north-south. If you make your opponent turn away from the goal, he is not catching the ball running north-south and you have won the first battle. He turned his hips first and you forced him to go where you wanted him to go. Now you want to try and take the ball away.

When do most takeaway checks occur? In general, the ball is taken away when the offensive player and defensive player are on a fairly long run, at the moment the offensive player changes direction and exposes his stick, or at the moment the offensive player exposes his stick for a pass or shot. Accordingly, try and force the offensive player to catch the ball and run 5 or 10 yards in one direction (preferably to where you are most comfortable throwing checks and where you know that is where he is going) and then make him change direction unless he is already going behind the net. Be prepared to throw checks along the run, and when the offensive player changes direction. At a minimum, your opponent should be so preoccupied with your aggressive defense that he is not thinking about passing to an open man or shooting. All he wants to do is to merely survive the onslaught of checks you are throwing. If your opponent wants to pass or shoot get your stick on his hands with a poke check or under his hands and lift. If you can knock him over with your body or hands, do that too. You don’t have to try and take the ball away. Causing the offensive player to throw a pass out of bounds is the same thing as a takeaway check, maybe better.

In general, if you are close enough to touch the offensive player with your hands, you should usually be pushing him to at least preserve space between you and the offensive player. This will give you a chance to recover if the offensive player changes direction. The advantage of a long stick can be neutralized by an offensive player working in tight who “pins” your stick and then turns and shoots or passes quickly. For short stick defensive middies, you want to have your hands on the offensive player so that you can push him out and knock him off balance when he shoots or passes. If you do get your body on the offensive player, the short stick can be used to make various kinds of wrap checks, but these are not often effective and short stick defenders are best off trying to drive the offensive player away from the goal and lifting the offensive player’s arm.

Aggressive defense can and should include double teaming of the ball. In general, you want to try and double team when the offensive player is changing direction and dodging back to the middle of the field and can’t see you coming. You should try and anticipate the change of direction and start the slide well before the change of direction occurs. Try and arrive right when the offensive player turns. You absolutely cannot allow the offensive player to get by your slide. Put your body squarely on the offensive player and throw a solid stick on stick check. Communicate with your teammates before double teaming so that they know you are leaving your man and can cover for you. If you are playing the ball and your teammate comes to double team, don’t let the offensive player get out of it by letting up with your checks or pressure. Don’t let the offensive player throw a pass to an outlet without really contesting it. If you are adjacent to the double team, try and prevent the easy outlet pass to beat the double team.

If your man passes the ball, keep your eye on it and open up to the ball and hustle inside toward the goal. When you are not covering the ball, get in the passing lanes whenever possible. If your man is far from the ball, move into the middle with your stick up and to the inside. Position yourself so that you can see your man and the ball. You, the ball and your opponent should from a triangle. A good off ball defenseman will devote a lot of effort to moving in position to help out when his man does not have the ball, and then getting back in position to cover his man and arrive on time as the ball comes around to his offensive player. This requires covering a lot of ground if done correctly.

A bad plan well executed is better than a good plan poorly executed. There are lots of different slide packages out there. Whichever one your team uses (adjacent slide, slide from the crease, lock on the crease, etc.), you should be thoroughly versed in what is expected in situations where sliding is required. Know exactly what is expected of you and each of the other players on the field so you can anticipate when you will need to slide and where. A good defensive player will want to be aware of where all six offensive players are at all times. Keep your head on a swivel. Assess what the offense is doing. Be aware of where the short stick middies are and position yourself accordingly. Think, communicate and adjust during the game if you think you should.

Make sure you have done the work necessary to get the payoff for all that hard defensive work. Can you pick the ball up in a crowd? Can you pass it accurately on the clear and on the fast break? Can you catch it on the run and shoot it on net if called upon? In addition to all the hard work it takes to become a good defender on the ball and off, an aggressive defender will want to learn all the skills necessary to get the ball off the ground, clear the ball effectively and to play in the offensive end too. If your team has special practices for the offense or extra man team, ask your coach if you can come and participate. Play some offense for one day of practice so you know what your enemy is trying to do to you. You will be surprised how much you can learn and you will recognize opportunities to disrupt what the offense is trying to do.