Michael McShea

Exits and Techniques

November 14, 2018November 14, 2018 Michael McShea

In this blog post I will break down some of the basic exits I use in games, and when and why I use them, and how you should incorporate them into your gameplay.

That being said the first exit, and the most common is the Pinch and Pop (PNP). By far the most popular exit and the most practiced. The PNP is great to use when you are battling against someone you are beating clean off of the whistle, and blowing right by them. This gives your team the opportunity of fast break goals. The PNP is obviously the main goal, because of the opportunity to create easy fast break offense.

This brings us to the next exit, called the defensive exit or the D exit. This is used when the PNP is no longer working or available. After a while after multiple PNPs the other team will send out a longpole or a defensive middie to just stop a fast break from happening. Thus if you can’t exit out of the front, you must turn to the back. While after clamping the ball and realizing the opponent is cutting off a break, rotate backwards with the clamp boxing out the opponent creating space to pop the ball and maintain possession.

Another common exit is the Side Door exit. This is a creative exit which can be used very similarly like the D exit. This move instead of completely going out the back you open up to your right and exit there away from the pole, creating space for a clean pop.

If you are interested in more check out these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM0y27biYmo

Face-Off, Face-Off Man, FOGO, Lacrosse, Uncategorized

Stance Science: Standing Up Neutral Grip

November 13, 2018 Michael McShea

blog photo 1

This is another type of stance, that sometimes face-off men use, to mix up their style of face-offs. This stance used to dominate the game, however after the recent rule changes, the knee down stance has become more dominant. However, the standing up stance is starting to make its way back into the game, and coming more common. This is because now that everyone is becoming so used to the knee down stance, standing up catches people off guard, and sneaks the ball out sometimes. This stance, is a bit more complicated because of the foot placement and your butt placement. Like in the photo above your right roof should be angled towards the ball, but not any further past the plastic of your head because that is in the neutral zone. Your left foot should be somewhat angled towards the ball and about where your butt end of your stick is. Your butt should be not too high in the air, and your knees should be bent. Your elbows should be inside both of your knees. Your right hand should be in the underhand grip, unlike the photo and the last stance. This is because the primary move of this stance is to sweep and rake the ball out quickly. This stance is great for stopping a fast break and creating a 50/50 loose ball and tie up a man who is quicker than you

Check this out for more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM0y27biYmo

Face-Off, Face-Off Man, FOGO, Lacrosse, Uncategorized

Stance Science: Knee Down

November 13, 2018 Michael McShea

Now that you know a little about what the face-off man does, and what his primary goals are, let me start to explain and break down a basic stance. This stance is called the knee down stance, for obvious reasons. Here, your right knee should be on the ground angled towards the ball, not straight forward towards your shaft. Your left foot should be even with about the butt end of your stick. Here is a photo of what it should look like.

Now, your hand placement should be what is known as motorcycle or “moto” grip. This is because you grip the shaft like you would drive a motorcycle. Your right hand should be as close to the plastic of the head, but not touching the plastic because that is illegal. The left hand should be about shoulders width, down the shaft, not too close or too far down the shaft. This is because when rotating in a 50/50 battle, this gives you the perfect quickness and strength to win the battle. This is by far the most common and dominant stance in todays game. I would definitely, recommend getting very familiar with this stance if you trying to learn to face-off.

Also watch this if you are interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM0y27biYmo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face-off

Face-Off, Face-Off Man, FOGO, Lacrosse

About The Face-Off Man

October 3, 2018October 16, 2018 Michael McShea

Referee_placing_ball_between_middies_for_a_lacrosse_faceoff.jpg

In the sport of lacrosse, facing-off is the way to start the game, begin each quarter and is done after a goal is scored. The most unique and skilled position in the game has blown up in the past years, and the demand for face-off men are high. Winning face-offs is a crucial aspect in the game, setting the tone for your team, giving your offense possession of the ball and a chance to score, while giving your defense a break. This position requires natural nervous system reaction time speed, athleticism, and grit/strength. Today many face-off men are short and stocky, and typically have a background in the sport of wrestling, since it is crucial to be low to the ground with quick movements. The goal of this position is after the referee blows the whistle, to clamp down onto the ball and pop it out to yourself, gaining possession for your team.

Face-Off Man, FOGO, Lacrosse

About My Blog

October 3, 2018October 16, 2018 Michael McShea

Thanks for joining me and checking out my blog!

My blog is about taking face-offs in the sport of lacrosse. The unique position that isn’t meant for everyone. They should expect to learn how to face-off, get in a proper stance, learn different techniques, how to warm up before a game and practice, what sticks are best meant to use for face-offs, and how to get recruited.

I want people to think that my blog is helpful when they come to my site. I also want them to think its a professional site that provides real useful information for people trying to learn the aspect of facing-off while I provide them with everything I wish I knew when I was their age.

My blog is the “go to” place for tips on how to face-off, different techniques/stances, favorite sticks and heads to use, and warm up and hand speed drills. This is such a unique position in lacrosse and in sports there are not many sites or people giving advice like this in the world, that are targeting a young audience and not older collegiate athletes, so this is unique.