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Screen Shot 2017-05-22 at 11.56.53 AMVirginia, 5V4 Munro Lacrosse Drill
It is awesome!

Lars Tiffany always – always delivers a great podcast with a ton of new lacrosse drills. His drills are definitely among the most popular on my site. In this case a new lacrosse drill that features incredible support for transition lacrosse teams, a few new twists, quick reps and Riding and Clearing fundamentals all in one…

At this point after 150 plus hours of podcasts with great NCAA lacrosse coaches I was close to thinking I had seen it all on transition drills. Until this podcast.

The drill is a full field drill with 5V4 at each end, with Goalies. Nothing new so far eh? However there are some awesome wrinkles in this version of the drill which Coach Tiffany credits Jamie Munro with sharing. However, Coach Tiffany got what he expected and was surprised that he got even more.

So we are 5V4 at one end and then 5V4 at the other end… we roll the ball out to one end of the field, and we go back and forth from one end to the other end, like a full field transition toggle drill. This is where it gets interesting,

Wrinkles

1. In this drill there is a strict ten second count down for the team with the five offensive players to get off a shot.

2. In this drill there is a strict ten-second count to get the ball cleared from one end to the other.

3. But, you are gonna love this, — the team clearing after the shot cannot cross the midfield line.

4. As we go back and forth in fast transition and pressure rides and clears, the groups are on the field for two minutes before substitutions and we play the next two minutes.

Please read through the article then you will want to listen to Coach Tiffany share this in his own words by clicking the Preview Box free for all members, or just click here

So, once there is a shot, goal or a save, the clearing team only has ten seconds to clear the ball, but even with the goalie we are clearing 5V5, and heavy pressure. Thus somebody needs to cut or somebody needs to carry effectively. (Still not carrying across the midfield line) The ten-second clock is critical, if the time is close to running out we need a long pass to the other end, the drill does not stop.

What Coach Tiffany did not expect was how this lacrosse drill “morphs” into a full field pressure riding and clearing drill. And even if, as a coach you do not ride with pressure, at the end of the game if you need the ball, you may need to. This is a fun and fast way to get repetitions here.

And even if, as a coach, you do not run a ten-man ride, you might need to run a variation at the end of the game if you need the ball. At Virginia they experiment with the riding goalie coming out of the crease into coverage as you might in a tight pressure full field ride as well as leaving the four defenders to ride with pressure with the goalie in the cage.

If as a coach, you have no interest in a ten-man ride, chances are you will see it at some point in the season, thus having players move to get open in the clearing game, especially since we cannot carry the ball over the midfield line, again it is great exposure. But remember, nine and ten man pressure rides can create or dictate tempo for transition teams.

Variations,

If you have a U15 team, or smaller roster numbers you might try this drill with the cages moved just ten yards closer, or as a 3V2 on one or both ends.

At Virginia, they also run the same drill occasionally as 6V5 on each end just to change it up as well. Regardless, Coach Tiffany shared that he runs this drill twice a week for 12 to 15 minutes.

I am looking forward to trying this one! Please leave your comments below! Or email me at mike@laxcoachmike.com

5 Responses to “Article: Tiffany Virginia 5V4 very very fast…”

  1. Bulax32 Says:

    Is there a diagram we can see the drill laid out on a field?

  2. coachmike Says:

    Coach i do not have a diagram, but if you want to schedule a quick call I can walk you thru it, it is not as complicated as you might think,

    Mike

  3. ddrogows Says:

    What is the rule for maintaining the 5 v 4 after the transition? I am assuming you have 3 attack and 3 defense on both sides and start with 2 O-mids and 1 d mid. On the transition you are clearing 3A and 2 riding mids against Goalie, 3 D, and a d mid. What is the rule for transitioning to a 5 v 4 on the other side after the transition?

  4. coachmike Says:

    Great question, the 5V4 configuration just stays the same on each end, remember the clearing team cannot cross the midfield line so they are passing into the 5V4 that stays the same on the other end,

    They have only ten seconds to clear the ball, thus as they get close to the final count, they are still making a pass into the far end, hopefully it is not just a pure “Gillman heave” but perhaps a soft lob over the attackman, and count on our O guys to win the sprint to the ball, then their ten second count begins to go to the cage,

    I run something similar on my man down clear, overloading one side of the far end field, then a soft lob into the open space and a sprint to the ball, I got the idea from Coach Seaman years ago, but it takes practice,

    I would encourage you to click on the “Free Preview” to listen to Coach Tiffany describe the drill and that might help with your question as well? Does this help?

    Mike

  5. gooner1978 Says:

    I’m definitely going to give you a call to talk about this one. It seems as if this drill would work better for younger/high school teams with the goals moved up to the top of the restraining boxes.

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