Sep 6, 2023 3 min read

3v3 Sideways w/ Swing

3v3 Sideways w/ swing pass - this is a great drill to help teams improve many facets of your game especially spacing, decision making, 2 man concepts and read and anticipate skills.

Jordan Ruggeri is currently in his first season as the Head Coach at Hudson High School in Hudson, WI. Prior to that he was the Varsity Head Coach and Youth Program Director for Austin High School in Austin, TX for 6 years. Among many other lacrosse endeavors he's also served as Assistant Men’s Lacrosse Coach at NCAA Division I Bellarmine University in Louisville and NCAA Division III Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he worked with each program’s defense and face-off units.

You can find Jordan on instagram and twitter @CoachJRuggeri.

Below you will find the 3v3 Sideways w/ swing pass that Jordan shared on his instagram with Lax Tutors. This is a great drill to help teams improve many facets of your game especially spacing, decision making, 2 man concepts and read and anticipate skills.

3 V 3 Sideways w/ Swing Pass

🎯: The Setup

🎥: The Film

🥍 The Drill:

Start the drill with a whistle at any offensive line or with a Coach throwing ball in from the wing.
Go 3v3 - placing cones to create a space constraint. (See setup)
Play until goal, shot/save or Coach kills the rep.
This should be a fast pace drill with reps not lasting more than 20 seconds.
Add competition Offense vs Defense to turn the drill up a knotch!

🅾️ Offensive Skills:

Dodging to draw a slide
Mirrors, Picks, Slips, Fades or Follows
Crease Play (High/Low) or Fish Hooks

⚙️ Defensive Skills:

Communicating through picks
Slide & Recovery
On Ball/Off Ball Defense

🥅 Goals:

Create disadvantages (for the defense) - you can do this by creating tough situations within the 2 man game, through big/little matchups if applicable or creating space through dodging hard/moving off ball.
Space & Pace - Spacing is always a key factor on offense and when your space is limited with a field constraint, players must communicate with one another and use on/off ball skills listed above. Keep the drill moving quickly, play at game speed.
Read & Anticipate - This is a big one, don't get caught standing still or hesitating or the ball carrier will end up in a double team with no where to go. Good rule of thumb - have two guys working together and the other doing a great job on the crease. (As the ball moves this crease player will change).
Develop "flow" - Flow is created first through developing the offensive skills listed above so that your spacing is good and you can understand the movements. Many times players clog eachothers space and it makes things much easier for the defense. After spacing, it's developing better anticipation skills. Don't be afraid to walk through different looks you would want to see as a coach to give your players an idea of what a good rep looks like out of the get go. As the players get more expereinced, emphasize more creativity.

Stay tuned this Monday for a great addition to The Lax Tutors Vault from Coach Jordan Hirsch - Current Assistant of Israel National Team and Varsity Assistant at Hendrick Hudson HS in Montrose, NY.