Help and Recover
Defense
Legend
- attackers
- defenders
- ball
- slide and recovery
How it works
Slide to help a beaten defender and then recover to your own assignment in a 2v2 defensive drill.
What you need
- lacrosse stick
- lacrosse ball
- cones
- goal
Your focus
Help-and-recover is the backbone of team defense. Players who learn to slide and then immediately recover to their assignment prevent the second-level breakdowns that give up easy goals.
Two defenders guard two attackers. One attacker drives hard toward the goal.
The on-ball defender is beaten; the help defender slides to stop the drive.
The beaten defender immediately recovers to the now-unguarded attacker.
If the attacker passes quickly, the recovering defender must close out. Run 6 reps.
Goal
It's clicking when you slide, make the stop, and recover back to your own assignment before the ball moves again, the whole rotation happens without a gap.
Helpful cues
- Slide before the drive reaches the crease, don't wait
- Beaten defender: the moment you're passed, sprint to the open teammate
- Call 'slide!' so your partner knows you're coming
Adjust the challenge
Make it easier
Strip it back
Run as a walk-through drill first with no pass option for the attacker.
UpLVL it
Add the next challenge
Add a third attacker as a backside option, requiring a second slide.No account needed
Build a practice plan
Add drills, keep the plan in this browser, then share a link with your staff or parents.This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.
This library helps you find the right drill. Inside UpLVL the right drill finds the player.After every practice, UpLVL automatically surfaces the drills each player needs to work on most. See it for yourself.