the TWO MAN game

The buzz at all of the latest clinics...the Two man game. What does it mean and how do I get a dose? The two man offensive game is “hot” in D1 lax with Loyola leading the way. Its simple to run, easy to teach, hard to defend and effective. Todays defenders are athletic, quick and recover well. On ball pressure and locking off adjacent’s used to be reserved for special situations. Now its commonplace. Coming from a basketball playing and coaching background, this concept is right up my alley. The concept is simple. Two offensive players work together to set picks on defenseman resulting in finding space and attacking the goal. Defense pays deeply for getting picked off on the perimeter. In basketball we worked on pick and rolls and slips. We set screened “off ball” to free up teammates for open looks. My favorite basketball coach of all time John Armstrong,(my 8th grade coach) had a great line we all LIVED by. After you pass “DO SOMETHING!” That meant set a pick or screen away. (He taught pick was on ball, screen was off ball)The terminology can be whatever you choose. Here’s some basics. 1. Start in what is called “pairs” Simply make kids aware of who their partner is. The simplest way to teach is in the 2-2-2 set in my opinion. The two behind partner, the two on the crease partner and the two top side do as well. When your partner gets the ball set a pick for him. If you pass to your partner set a pick for him. Thats simple enough. Make sure they are covered first. No use setting picks if a defender in not on a guy. 2.Teach what a moving pick is. Get reps in drills to eliminate moving screens. Unfortunately if you have inexperienced refs, they will be blowing a ton of whistles. In U15 and younger, I suggest talking to refs before the game letting them know you are teaching the two man game and asking for some warnings. As a rule I let opposing youth coaches know we will picking quite a bit, to prep them to teach how to defend and eliminate collisions that may get a kid blind-sided. 3.Run drills to teach the concept. I like pairing up kids and doing pick and rolls with no defense (skeleton). Make sure to run these drills from X, the wings and top side. Also 4 on 4 is an excellent drill for teaching the concept as well. Start with pick and rolls. Next blog I will talk about pick and pop, fade cuts, goal cuts, slips and how to defend the two man game